THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2019/2020

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Informatics : Informatics

Undergraduate Course: Operating Systems (INFR09047)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Informatics CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 9 (Year 3 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryStarting in 2020-21, this course will run as a Level 10 course open to third- and fourth-year students.

This course provides an introduction to the design and implementation of general purpose multi-tasking operating systems. It concentrates on the kernel aspects of such systems with the emphasis being on concepts which lead to practical implementations. Throughout the course reference is made to a number of significant actual operating systems (Linux, Windows variants etc.) to illustrate real implementations.

This 20 credit course replaces INFR09015 - Operating Systems (10 credits).
Course description Process management
*The process concept, synchronisation, mutual exclusion, semaphores and monitors. Threads. Inter-process communication.

Resource Allocation
*Deadlock prevention, avoidance and detection.

The OS Kernel
*Micro and Monolithic kernels. Multi-tasking, privilege, interrupt handling. System and user processes. System calls.

Memory Management
*Description of problems of allocation, protection and sharing. Virtual Physical memory mapping schemes.
*Segmented paged virtual memory. Paging control, replacement algorithms; the working set model. Sharing code and data.

Time Management
*CPU scheduling algorithms. Real-time scheduling. Disc access scheduling.

File Management
*Naming and Directory schemes. Disc space allocation. File protection and access control. System security.

Other Topics
*Various additional topics may be included from year to year.

Relevant QAA Computing Curriculum Sections: Operating Systems
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Students MUST NOT also be taking Operating Systems (INFR09015)
Other requirements This course is open to all Informatics students including those on joint degrees. For external students where this course is not listed in your DPT, please seek special permission from the course organiser (lecturer).
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesVisiting students are required to have comparable background to that assumed by the course prerequisites listed in the Degree Regulations & Programmes of Study. If in doubt, consult the course organiser (lecturer).
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2019/20, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 20, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 174 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 70 %, Coursework 30 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Written Exam 70 %, Coursework 30 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Feedback Not entered
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)2:00
Resit Exam Diet (August)2:00
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Describe the structure and components of modern operating systems
  2. Explain the abstract concepts and concrete implementations of operating systems
  3. Compare and contrast the differing approaches taken by various operating systems
  4. Evaluate the suitability of differing approaches in different application domains
  5. Design OS components to address particular needs
Reading List
A. Silbershatz, P. Galvin, and G. Gagne, 'Operating Systems Concepts' (10th Edition), John Wiley Addison-Wesley, 2018
W. Stallings, 'Operating Systems, Internals and Design Principles' (5th edition or later), Prentice Hall, 2005.
Additional Information
Course URL http://course.inf.ed.ac.uk/os
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Antonio Barbalace
Tel:
Email: abarbala@exseed.ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMrs Michelle Bain
Tel: (0131 6)51 7607
Email: michelle.bain@ed.ac.uk
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