Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2025 - CMPT 303 D100

Operating Systems (3)

Class Number: 5406

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 6 – Apr 9, 2025: Tue, 10:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

    Jan 6 – Apr 9, 2025: Fri, 10:30–11:20 a.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    CMPT 225, (CMPT 295 or ENSC 254), and (CMPT 201 or ENSC 351), all with a minimum grade of C-.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

A course teaching the internals of modern operating systems. Topics consist of kernel components of modern OSes, such as system calls, device drivers, virtual memory, scheduling, file systems, synchronization for multi-core, and memory ordering.

COURSE DETAILS:

Students taking this course will gain a comprehensive grounding in the area of multiprogrammed operating systems, including an understanding of the theoretical and practical issues and problems in operating system design. The student will gain an understanding of the needs of computing processes, the services offered by the OS to meet these needs, and how the services are shared between concurrent processes. Lectures will focus on the principles and problems of OS design and will be supplemented by independent reading. Programming exercises (in C) will require the student to implement programs illustrating the principles used in OS design. Basic knowledge of C programming and the UNIX environment is assumed. This course will be taught in-person, and students will be required to attend in-person tests. Should this course be moved to remote teaching during the semester due to pandemic restrictions, students must have access to a computer with internet access, allowing the use of a conferencing system such as Zoom or BB Collaborate Ultra. Some components of the course will require synchronous (real-time) participation during the scheduled lecture and/or exam times. Visual proctoring may be required, subject to university approval.

Topics

  • System calls
  • Virtual memory
  • Scheduling
  • File systems
  • OS Security
  • Basics of the networking stack

Materials

RECOMMENDED READING:

Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces
https://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~remzi/OSTEP

Remzi H. Arpaci-Dusseau and Andrea C. Arpaci-Dusseau (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
ISBN: 9781985086593

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.