Instructor Information
| Instructor: | Jon Sorenson |
|---|---|
| Office: | Fairbanks 158 (CSSE Department) |
| Phone/Voicemail: | 940-9765 |
| Home Phone: | 280-1168 (before 9pm please) |
| E-Mail Address: | jsorenso@butler.edu |
| Home Page URL: | http://euclid.butler.edu/~sorenson/ |
| Office Hours: | MWF 11-11:50, TR 1-2:30, or by appointment |
Course Goals
Our purpose in this course is to learn the inner workings of modern operating systems. The topics we will cover will include processes, CPU scheduling, concurrent programming and synchronization, deadlock, virtual memory and paging, file systems, networks, and distributed operating systems.
The suggested prerequisites for this course are CS321, SE361, and either CS252 or MA206. There will be three programming projects using thomas, the campus Unix server.
Toward a Liberal Education
The computer is a powerful tool that helps us work, communicate, and learn. Working to make the world a better place, effectively communicating with others, and learning to learn, are all core concepts of a liberal education. The operating system is the primary piece of software that makes computers (including iPods, phones, and video games) usable, and so studying the structures and algorithms of operating systems puts us in a position not only to be liberal thinkers ourselves, but to enable liberal thinking in others.
Course Materials
The required text is Operating System Concepts, by Silberschatz, Galvin, and Gagne, 8th edition, Wiley, 2009.
All handouts for this course will be made available through the world-wide-web (WWW) home page for this course. The URL is http://euclid.butler.edu/os. (Note that there is a "printer friendly" button at the bottom left.)
Grades
Your grade will be based on quizes, the projects, and exams as follows:
| Programming Projects (3) | 150 points | (50 pts each) |
| Exams (2) | 150 points | (75 pts each) |
| Quizes (8) | 200 points | (25 pts each) |
| Total: | 500 points |
Only the top 8 quiz scores will count - I'm hoping we have 10 or more quizes so you can drop your 2 lowest grades. Quizes will be based directly on the ungraded homework assignments.
Letter grades are assigned according to the following scale:
| 93% | 90% | 87% | 83% | 80% | 77% | 73% | 70% | 67% | 63% | 60% |
| A | A- | B+ | B | B- | C+ | C | C- | D+ | D | D- |
If the class average is low (say, below 70%), then I may curve slightly in your favor.
For a description of the grading criteria for programming assignments, see the Program Grading Criteria page, which is also accessible from the course home page.
Late Days
Each weekday that an assignment is late, you are charged one late day. Weekends, breaks, and holidays do not count as late days. You begin the semester with 5 free late days to use (or not use) as you wish. Once you go over this limit, each additional late day costs you 5 points.
Late days are designed to handle normal problems, such as having an exam or major project due in another course, or missing a day or two with a cold, or going to your cousin's wedding. If you have unusual circumstances please talk to me about it as soon as possible.
Partners
You may work in groups on the projects. You may collaborate on the homework, but you're on your own for quizes. You must work alone on the exams.
Help
If you have questions or are confused, please feel free to come see me. I do not expect you to learn all the material the first time you see it; if you could do that, you wouldn't need me! You are welcome to visit me in my office anytime my door is open (which is most of the time). If you do not come during office hours, and I have work I need to do, I may ask you to come back later if you can. Don't take this personally. I enjoy teaching, and I like helping students, so don't think you are imposing on me by asking for help. This is my job.
Students with Disabilities
It is the policy and practice of Butler University to make reasonable accommodations for students with properly documented disabilities. Written notification from Student Disability Services is required. If you are eligible to receive an accommodation and would like to request it for this course, please discuss it with me and allow one week advance notice. Otherwise, it is not guaranteed that the accommodation can be received on a timely basis. Students who have questions about Student Disability Services or who have, or think they may have, a disability (psychiatric, attentional, learning, vision, hearing, physical, medical, etc.) are invited to contact Student Disability Services for a confidential discussion in Jordan Hall 136 or by phone at extension 9308.
I will be happy to comply with your needs as best as I am able.