CS270 (spelled CS290B) -- Operating Your Systems Topically in an Advanced
Way
Coordinates
- Where: Trailer 932
- When: 11:00 AM to 12:50 PM, Mon. and Wed.
- Why: Because operating systems are important
CS270 Links of Meaning
Overview
There are three overall pedagogic objectives for this course. The first is
is for you, the student of the first part, develop an understanding of the
structure and design principles inherent in different "successful" operating
systems. Secondly, the course provides an opportunity for you to develop
critical reading and presentation skills (at least with respect to the
discipline of systems research but hopefully in general). Lastly,
the course will furnish you with an engineering experience that is intended
both to cement the understanding fostered by the previous two objectives, and
to serve as a potential starting point for further research in this area.
Course Reading and Class Participation
The lecture component for the course will center on discussion of the papers
shown in the reading list according to the schedule
listed there. Your instructor will present some introductory material for
each paper, and then will lead a group discussion by actively engaging you
in the analysis and critique of each work. Participation in this portion of
the course is worth approximately 50% of the final course grade so it is
important to attend each lecture and to come prepared to discuss the specified
papers. Because the format for the discussions is somewhat unusual, class
participation will not be graded during the first two weeks of the course to
permit a smooth and pleasant acclamation to the lofty new climes of graduate
operating systems.
Course Texts
The required reading material for the course can be found on the reading list.
In addition, there are three text books may prove useful, but which are by
no means mandatory. They are
- Maurice J. Bach, "The Design of the Unix Operating System," Prentice-Hall,
1986.
- William Stallings, "Operating Systems Internals and Design Principles",
Fifth edition, Pearson Prentice-Hall, 2004.
- Silberschatz, Galvin, and Gagne, "Operating Systems Concepts," Sixth
edition, Wiley, 2003.
These texts contain background information that can help illuminate some of
the more dense concepts presented in the readings. The specific editions
listed are ones that are currently available, but older additions will
certainly suffice. To repeat, however, these references are optional.
Class Project
The course also includes a project component
that will give you the
opportunity to work in teams on an adventure that will hopefully help to
elucidate some of the concepts embodied in the readings and discussions.
On the final day of lecture, you will present and demonstrate your project to
your instructor and a small panel of experts (the demonstration date may slip
until the final exam period, depending on course progress, the availability of
the panel, and student preference). Because of the nature of the project
(see the project description for details), it
will not be possible to schedule demonstrations outside the
demonstration period. Thus it is imperative that you plan to attend both the
final lecture and the final exam for this course. The project grade will be
approximately 50% of the final course grade.
Crash and Burn
While some of the course endeavors may seem a little intimidating, especially
at first, the intention is that you focus on the learning opportunities and not
on the final outcome. Thus, as a bit of the safety net for the nervous, you
can also consider writing a survey covering a particular aspect of the course
you find particularly compelling. The survey must be analytical as well as
synthetic and will be graded according to normal publication standards. This
assignment is not mandatory, but rather allows you (if you choose) to extend
your grasp of the field. As a good grasp is good and a better grasp is
better, I will consider augmenting your final score with up to an additional
10% as a result of a well-written survey. To be absolutely and completely
clear, this is essentially an "extra credit" assignment that can be used in
liu of potentially absent "grading points" in your final score. You should
not make the mistake, however, of assuming that simply turning in a document
will assure you of the full 10%. My grading methodology applies rather strict
standards to both extra credit assignments and written work. These effects
are additive.
Grading Summary
In summary, the grades will be assigned as follows:
- 50% class participation
- 50% course project
- 10% (possible but not assured) written survey
and there will be no possibility to demonstrate your project outside the
demonstration period.