COMP2006J Operating Systems

Academic Year 2021/2022

The course is structured in such a way as to present important concepts of operating systems. The emphasis is on fundamental topics and techniques, although references to actual systems are made as well in order to illustrate concepts and/or implementation issues. The introduction is devoted to a brief history of operating systems, and their design issues and philosophies. The main components of an operating system are explained, and different approaches to how these components are organised and implemented are presented. This is followed by another very important topic, which is process management. The notion of process helps to explain, understand and control the execution of programs in an OS. This leads to the subject of how processes are organised (communication, cooperation, and synchronisation). Next we study process scheduling, which is at the heart of any multiprogrammed operating systems. We follow by studying memory management. More precisely we focus on the concepts of segmentation, paging, and virtual memory. Another key component that we study is the file system. Interference in resource utilisation is a serious threat in an OS. Two complementary sets of techniques to counter security threats are presented: protection and security.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module, students should be able to explain what an operating system is, and why we study operating systems; be able to use the concept of process and concurrency; understand the issues and techniques associated to process synchronisation (deadlock, starvation); understand process scheduling; understand memory management, real memory and virtual memory; define and apply the concept and mechanisms of file systems; demonstrate and formulate protection and security mechanisms; and evaluate the complexity of building an operating system.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

22
Practical

23
Autonomous Student Learning

69
Total

114
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lectures
In-class formative assessments
End-of-term examination 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Pre-requisite:
COMP1001J - Intro to Programming 1


 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Practical Examination: Multiple programming assignments regarding concepts covered in class Throughout the Trimester n/a Alternative linear conversion grade scale 40% No

20
Continuous Assessment: In-lab online quizzes Varies over the Trimester n/a Alternative linear conversion grade scale 40% No

40
Examination: Final exam for the module Coursework (End of Trimester) No Alternative linear conversion grade scale 40% No

40

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Remediation Type Remediation Timing
In-Module Resit Prior to relevant Programme Exam Board
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Online automated feedback

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

Name Role
Dr Abey Campbell Lecturer / Co-Lecturer