CS230/330 : Operating Systems (Winter 2002)

Instructor

Name: David Beazley
Office : Ryerson 257B
Phone : (773) 702-9111
email : beazley@cs.uchicago.edu
Office hours: Whenever I am around (which is most of the time) or by appointment

Teaching Assistants

Varsha Dani (varsha@cs.uchicago.edu)
Brian Ward (bri@cs.uchicago.edu)

Graders

Aquinas Hobor (aahobor@cs.uchicago.edu)

Class Information

Class mailing list : cs330@cs.uchicago.edu
Class web page: http://www.classes.cs.uchicago.edu/classes/current/CS33000/.

Overview

The primary objective of this class is to cover concepts central to the design and implementation of modern operating systems. Topics include but are not limited to processes, threads, memory management, file systems, interprocess communication, I/O systems, scheduling, synchronization, and security. A secondary objective of this course is to give you some experience working on a substantial software project and to prepare you for future work in systems research.

Prerequisites

CS116 C/C++ Programming.
CS222 Computer Architecture.
Knowledge of basic data structures.
Prior experience with the Unix operating system (highly recommended).

Textbooks

Required

Operating System Concepts, 6th Ed., by Silberschatz, Galvin, and Gagne.

We will cover at least the first four parts of the book (chapters 1-14), with selected topics from part 6 (protection and security).

Recommended

The following books are not required, but you may want to make a purchase if you are unsure about your preparation for this class.

The C Programming Language, by Kernighan and Ritchie (a.k.a, the famous "K&R" book).
The Practice of Programming, by Kernighan and Pike.
Advanced Programming in the Unix Environment., by W. Richard Stevens.

Grading Structure

Unix shell project (10%)
Kernel project (60%)
Midterm code review (15%)
Final code review (15%)

Grading Scale

90-100 : A
80-89 : B
70-79 : C
60-69 : D
< 60 : F

Graduate Credit

There are no extra course requirements for graduate students. However, graduate students are held to a much higher standard when grading the kernel project. Undergraduate students electing to take the course for graduate credit will be held to this higher standard and may receive a lower grade if their work is not comparable to that of the graduate students.

Class Accounts

To access the class machines, you will first need to obtain a CS account. Please go to http://www.cs.uchicago.edu/info/services to obtain an account. A dedicated set of Sun Solaris machines are used for this class. These machines are only available to students in CS230/330 and are intended to provide an environment in which you can experiment without receiving the wrath of annoyed system administrators. The names of the class machines are as follows:

stonecrusher.cs.uchicago.edu
sunspot.cs.uchicago.edu
stimulation.cs.uchicago.edu
sidewinder.cs.uchicago.edu

Three of these machines are located in Ryerson 257 and can be used at the console. Otherwise, all of the machines are remotely accessible via 'ssh'.

A few words about the project

Operating systems is a very demanding course that requires dedication and a significant amount of programming. Most of your grade in this course is determined by a class project in which you will work in groups to implement a fully-functional operating system kernel. Everything you might have heard about the project is true. Therefore, even though I will not be assigning daily busywork, you should plan on spending a considerable amount of time working on the project. Also, be advised that you will not pass the class unless you receive a passing grade on the project.

With this said, here are few things to keep in mind:

This is an advanced computer science course intended for graduate students and advanced undergraduates. I assume that you are reasonably proficient with C/C++ programming and basic data structures. If you aren't up to speed on these topics, it is your responsibility to hit the books now.
You should be able to work independently and find relevant programming information on your own. For instance, you should know how to use Unix man pages and how to find programming information in books and on the internet. Don't expect an excuse of "I couldn't figure out how to do it because you didn't tell us in class" to work here. When in doubt, post a question to the class mailing list---we will answer your questions (provided they are asked).
The development environment for the project is Sun Solaris and ANSI C. You should be somewhat familiar with basic Unix commands, a text editor such as emacs or vi, and use of a C compiler. We will provide some help to get you started, but this class isn't meant to be an introduction to Unix. If you have never used Unix before, you might consider installing Linux on your own computer and playing around with it.
The time commitment required for the kernel project is substantial. Based on previous course evaluations, students report spending 15-30 hours per week outside of class working on the project. Please keep this in mind when planning your time schedule. I will do my part to make sure you are properly caffeinated.
A significant amount of interaction tends to occur outside of the classroom and in the labs. Therefore I encourage you to interact with your classmates, to provide assistance to those who might be struggling, and to engage in an open exchange of ideas. Part of your project grade will be based on your lab participation. Hint: a lot of OS students tend to hang out in Ryerson 257 where there are machines, snacks, and a generally high degree of OS-related mayhem.
Last, but not least, remember that the kernel project is actually a lot of fun. Not only do you get to write your own operating system, you're going to be writing code that is so sick, so depraved, and so twisted, it will make all of those lame script-kiddies want to run away in horror. Besides, what could be better than getting a nice winter tan from the glow of a CRT?

Midterm and final code review

Part of your grade is determined by a midterm and final code review. For these code reviews, your kernel project group will meet with myself and the TAs to discuss your project. In the review, you may be asked to describe certain aspects of your kernel implementation and design. We may also ask questions about how you might modify your kernel to accomplish certain tasks. The primary goal of these code reviews is to check on your progress and to identify potential problems that would prevent you from successfully finishing the project. The reviews might also be used to identify project slackers (see below). Of course, this obviously doesn't apply to anyone in this class.

Programming languages

The programming language used in this course is ANSI C. Although C++ could probably be used, most programmers don't understand C++ well enough to use it in this class without blowing their whole leg off. Therefore, it may not be used. We will provide some assistance to get you started with C. However, you should consider getting the book "The C Programming Language" by Kernighan and Ritchie if you don't have it already.

How to fail

Despite the difficulty of this course, only a handful of students have ever failed. All of them failed because they simply didn't do any work on the project or they let the rest of their group do all of the work (while they sat around and goofed off). Be aware that even if your project partner earns an A, you can still get a well-deserved F for lack of participation. Please don't become the newest member of this "elite" club.

Academic Dishonesty

You are encouraged to interact with your classmates and to discuss various design aspects of the projects and assignments. However, the work you hand in must be your own. Blatant copying or sharing of solutions or source code will result in an F in the course and referral to the college administration. Also, be advised that the operating system project changes from year-to-year. Therefore, past "solutions" to the project are of questionable utility.

Taking care of your health

The best way to complete the OS class project is to make steady daily progress. However, some students have the mistaken assumption that they can simply finish each part of the project a couple of days before the deadline in some kind of frantic coding marathon. This is NOT a pretty sight! Aside from the obvious loss of sleep, waiting to the last minute has caused some students to suffer from repetitive stress injuries. Don't let this happen to you.

Don't try to do the project all at once---work on it a little bit each day. You will be surprised at how easy it is when you are well-rested and you aren't working against the deadline all of the time.
Take frequent breaks. Walk around. Get some fresh air. Think about the project away from the computer for awhile.
Let your project partner do their fair share of the work. Don't hog the terminal and be the one who does all of the typing.
If you see someone slouched over a terminal, give them a dope slap and tell them to sit up straight and get on with it.

Where to go for help

Operating systems is traditionally one of the most challenging computer science courses. Do not hesistate to see me or the TAs if you have any problems or concerns. Our goal is to make sure that you succeed in this class.