INSTRUCTIONAL METHODOLOGY:

This course will have 75% lecture and 25% laboratory.  The student will be required to do assigned readings from the text and handouts as well as scheduled individual labs to reinforce the material covered in class.  Scheduled tests will be used to assess the progress of the student toward achievement of the course objectives.  The COSC/CIT open labs are available for students for work outside of scheduled lab time.
 

TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT SERVICES

In response to COVID-19-related campus closures, Austin Community College now provides free, secure drive-up WiFi to students and employees in the parking lots of all campus locations. WiFi can be accessed seven days a week, 7 am to 11 pm. Additional details are available at https://www.austincc.edu/coronavirus/drive-up-wifi

GRADING SYSTEM

Grade Policy: Grade will be assigned based both on concepts and practical application. Exams, homeworks, and programming assignments will be a part of the grade. There are no extra credit assignments given in this course.

Examinations: Three major exams will be given during the semester.  If you miss an exam, a make-up exam will be given for excused absences only.  Contact the instructor before or immediately after the emergency that caused you to miss the exam.  Only one exam, exam 1 or exam 2, may be missed and eligible for make-up.  There will be NO make up for EXAM 3.  If you miss EXAM 3, you will receive a grade of zero (0).

Grading Criteria: Each student’s grade for this course consists of the following four parts:

            Semester Exams (2 @ 25% each)    50%
            Projects                                                   25%
            Homework Assignments                     20%
           Capstone Project                                     5%

   An overall grade will be assigned on the following grading scale:

            A - 90.00% to 100%
            B - 80.00% to  89.99%
            C - 70.00% to  79.99%
            D - 60.00% to  69.99%
            F  - Below   60%

Scheduling of Computer Time: Scheduling of computer time outside of regular lab time is the student’s responsibility.  Availability of computers is NOT an excuse for being late with any assignment.

Approved Course Text and Teaching Materials:
Operating System Concepts, 10th Edition, Abraham Silberschatz, Greg Gagne, Peter B. Galvin, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., April 2018 (ISBN: 978-1-119-32091-3)

Software:
Java or C++, Eclipse, NetBeans, or IntelliJ IDEA

COURSE OBJECTIVES / LEARNING OUTCOMES:

The course will start with a brief historical perspective of the evolution of operating systems over the last fifty years, and then cover the major components of most operating systems. This discussion will cover the tradeoffs that can be made between performance and functionality during the design and implementation of an operating system.  Emphasis will be given to the following three major OS subsystems:

• Process Management (processes, threads, CPU scheduling, synchronization, and deadlock),
• Memory Management (segmentation, paging, swapping),
• File Systems, and Operating System support for Distributed Systems.

Course topics include:

1. Operating System Structures
2. Processes
3. Threads and Concurrency
4. CPU Scheduling
5. Synchronization Tools
6. Synchronization Examples
7. Deadlocks
8. Main and Virtual Memory
9. Mass Storage Structure
10. I/O Systems
11. Security
12. Virtual Machines

SCANS COMPETENCIES:

SCANS (Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills):

Refer to http://www.austincc.edu/cit/courses/scans.pdf for a complete definition and explanation of SCANS.  The following list summarizes the SCANS competencies addressed in this particular course: