Registry

Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2012 - 2013
Please note that this information is subject to change.

Module Title	Operating Systems
Module Code	CA216
School	School of Computing
Online Module Resources
Module Co-ordinator	Semester 1: Liam Tuohey Semester 2: Liam Tuohey Autumn: Liam Tuohey
Module Teacher	Liam Tuohey
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5
Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

Description

The aim of this module is to introduce the student to modern operating systems: what an operating system is, what it does and how it does it.

Learning Outcomes

1. Explain the interfaces to and the role of an operating system
2. Summarise the process life-cycle and apply a selection of scheduling algorithms
3. Write multithreaded programs and employ synchronisation and locking mechanisms to solve concurrency-related issues
4. Critically evaluate a selection of approaches to implementing virtual memory
5. Identify the issues facing file system designers and explain how they are solved
6. Choose appropriately between interprocess communication mechanisms and write programs that use those mechanisms

Workload	Full-time hours per semester
*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Lecture	24	Classroom lecture
Laboratory	20	Computer lab exercises
Independent learning	69	Independent learning
Assignment	12	Programming assignment
Total Workload: 125

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Basics.
Role of an operating system. Virtual machine and resources manager abstraction. Operating system interfaces: hardware and software..

Process management.
The process abstraction. The process life-cycle. Multitasking. Deadlock. Scheduling..

Concurrency.
Threads. The critical section problem. Software and hardware solutions for mutual exclusion. Semaphores. Threads and concurrency..

Memory management.
The memory hierarchy. Memory management objectives. Segmentation. Paging and page replacement. Thrashing. Memory management case study..

File systems and I/O.
Disk block allocation strategies. Disk scheduling algorithms. File system case study..

IPC.
Pipes. Sockets and sockets programming. DNS. RMI..

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment	30%	Examination Weight	70%

Course Work Breakdown
Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Group assignment	Programming assignment	15%	Week 6
Computerised test/exam	Lab exam	15%	Week 12

Reassessment Requirement
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; 1 = A resit is available for all components of the module 2 = No resit is available for 100% continuous assessment module 3 = No resit is available for the continuous assessment component
This module is category 1

Indicative Reading List

Abraham Silberschatz, Peter Baer Galvin & Greg Gagne: 0, Operating Systems Concepts with Java, 9780471769071
John O'Gorman: 0, Operating Systems with Linux, 9780333947456

Other Resources

None

Array

Programme or List of Programmes

BSSA

Study Abroad (DCU Business School)

BSSAO

Study Abroad (DCU Business School)

CASE

BSc in Computer Applications (Sft.Eng.)

ECSA

Study Abroad (Engineering & Computing)