Course Overview

QMCS 360, Fall 2005

Meeting Times: Tuesday and Thursday,
1:30 PM to 3:10 PM

Meeting Dates: September to December, 2005

Class Location: OWS LL 54

Instructor: Dr. Rick Smith
Office: OSS 413, phone 651-962-5395
E-mail: resmith@stthomas.edu

Office Hours:
Monday & Wednesday: 3:15-5:15pm
Tuesday & Thursday: 3:15-4:00pm

Syllabus Contents

• Course Description/Objective
• Required Text / Assignments
• Computers: Requirement / In Class
• Grading
• Working Together/Cheating
• Students with Disabilities
• Course Topics

Course Description

The basic principles of designing and building operating systems. Sequential versus concurrent processes, synchronization and mutual exclusion, memory management techniques, CPU scheduling, input/output device handling, file systems design, security and protection. This course fulfills the second-level Computer Competency requirement in the core curriculum.

Course Objectives

• Examine the fundamental components of an operating system
• Develop confidence in dealing with large-scale computer programs
• Understand how the components of operating systems work together to get its work done
• Understand the essentials of how large computer programs are developed and mainatained

Required Text

Stallings, Operating Systems: Internals and Design Principles, 5th ed., Prentice Hall, 2005.

We will be relying heavily on the textbook this semester. Here are some study suggestions. You should have paper at hand to take notes, or you should write notes and underline important points in the book itself.

• Go through the chapter and look at topic headings, figures, and so on, before starting.
• As you read, write down questions that occur to you.
• Transcribe or highlight important concepts.
• Imagine you're carrying on a dialog with the author while trying to understand the material.

Assignments

You should schedule at least 5 hours a week for course homework. This includes:

• 1-2 hour a week for reading.
• 4 hours for written assignments

However, the work may take a lot longer than that. Some students find the computer assignments very easy to complete while others struggle. It's possible that you will make mistakes that will take more than a couple of hours to unravel, so allow extra time.

To earn full credit for your assignments, follow all instructions, especially those describing how to hand the homework in. Many assignments must be printed and handed in, while others must be submitted electronically.

Computer Requirements

Every student at St. Thomas has been assigned a user name. It is essential that you know your St. Thomas user name and password to reach class materials.

To keep up to date with what's happening in the course, you must visit the course Web site regularly, and check your St. Thomas e-mail regularly. I may need to send special announcements to the class via e-mail on occasion.

Materials handed in to me electronically must be in a format I can read: text, MS Word, Powerpoint, PDF, Excel, Open Office, Web pages.

You also need to be able to create and run Java programs.

Computers in the Classroom

Obviously, there is a computer at every seat in the classroom. We won't use them very often.

I realize that they pose an incredible temptation for many people, but...

As noted in the comment to the right on lectures and notes, it's best if you take notes during lectures, even if they get dreadfully boring. Handwritten notes are best, since it lets you reconstruct diagrams I might draw as well as words I might say.

Grading Scale

Grades will be computed numerically based on the default scale used in Blackboard, which treats 90% and above as an A, 80% and above as a B, and so on. If the grade is on the border between, say, an A- or a B+, the Blackboard calculation is accepted as the final authority.

To get an "A" you must show that you can get correct and highly readable results from a computer. You must also be able to describe computer-related concepts in readable prose. People who can achieve correct but less readable results will earn a B. People who fail to hand in assignments or do poorly on tests might not earn a B.

Students that have difficulty with written English should take advantage of UST services like the Writing Center to ensure that their prose is correct and readable.

Scaling of Course Work

• 20% - in-class activities and quizzes
• 35% - assignments
• 25% - exams
• 20% - final project

Except when noted otherwise or excused for special circumstances an assignment will be penalized one letter grade for every day it is late.

I expect you to attend class every day. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to make up any missed in-class exercises. It is also your responsibility to get notes for any missed lectures.

I will re-examine and correct grading errors for 1 month following the due date of an assignment. After that, the assignment can not be made up or grading errors corrected.

Working Together

Seek help on homework assignments if you need it, from the instructor, from colleagues, and from your fellow students - you'll learn a lot by asking and answering each others' questions. Be sure to seek help if you are having trouble with an assignment, especially the programming assignments.

Cheating

All work handed in to the instructor and all tests must be put together exclusively by the student whose name it carries. Two or more students must not hand in the same computer file or printed output, identical except for the name. There are plenty of opportunities to personalize one’s assignments, so be sure to do so.

Students with Disabilities

In compliance with the University of St. Thomas policy and disability laws, I am available to discuss academic accommodations that you may require as a student with a disability.  Students are encouraged to register with the Enhancement Program-Disability Services office for disability verification and for determination of academic accommodations.  Please do so within the first two weeks of the term.  

Contacting Disability Services

Appointments can be made by calling 651-962-6315 or 800-328-6819, extension 6315. Telephone appointments are available as needed. You may also make an appointment in O’Shaughnessy Educational Center, room 119. For further information, you can locate the Enhancement Program on the web at http://www.stthomas.edu/enhancementprog/.

Topics Covered

PART ONE: BACKGROUND

PART TWO: PROCESSES

PART THREE: MEMORY

PART FOUR: SCHEDULING

PART FIVE: INPUT/OUTPUT AND FILES

PART SIX: DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS

PART SEVEN: SECURITY