Start of classes.

The first set of lecture notes, Topic Study list, and course information will be posted in the course directory /cs/course/4221.

The list of suggested topics will be posted in the course directory on Red in the file: /cs/course/4221/4221_topics

COSC4221/5421 Test 1 will be held on Wednesday, November 2, 2011 19:00-22:00.

COSC4221/5421 Test 2 will be held on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 19:00.

It is possible that Test 1 and Test 2 may include true/false questions, questions that require short answers, questions that may require the drawing of diagrams, questions that require slightly longer answers, and other possible question formats.

Please note that the CSE 4221 project and assignment have been posted in the course directory on red: /cs/course/4221

For the project, you can choose one among the following three options:

1. Non programming project, the details which can be found in:

 /cs/course/4221/4221projF11.pdf

2. Alternative project, the details which can be found in:

 /cs/course/4221/4221projF11alternative.pdf

3. Alternative project 2, the details which can be found in:

 /cs/course/4221/4221projF11alternative2.pdf

For the assignment, you can also choose one among the following three options:

1. Non programming assignment, which is to do a Second Topic Study

 from the list of topics in:
 /cs/course/4221/4221_topics

2. Alternative assignment, the details which can be found in:

 /cs/course/4221/4221a1F11alternative.pdf

3. Alternative assignment 2, the details which can be found in:

 /cs/course/4221/4221a1F11alternative2.pdf

The due date for the Alternative assignment, Alternative assignment 2, and Topic Study is Wednesday, November 9, 19:00.

If you choose to do a Second Topic Study for the assignment, the due date for the Second Topic Study is Friday, December 2, 11:00.

COSC4221 Test 1 will be held on Wednesday, November 2, 2011 19:00-21:00.

Test 1 will include:

a) Material covered in the lectures from the beginning of the term up to and including the lecture on Wednesday October 26;

b) Material in the files OSD.1.pdf, OSD.1.1.pdf, OSD.2.pdf, OSD.3.pdf, and slides 1-64 of OSD.4.pdf (up to and including the slide on VFS Files Associated with a Process in Linux), in the course directory;

c) Material in Chapter 10 “File-System Interface” and Chapter 11 “File-System Implementation” of the book “Operating System Concepts”, 8th Ed;

d) Material in Chapter 12 of the book “Understanding the Linux Kernel”, 3rd Edition related to the material in the slides listed in item b above.

(Please make sure that you have the most up-to-date version of the slides in the above mentioned files, as some of the slides may have been updated since you last downloaded them.)

It is possible that Test 1 may include true/false questions, questions that require short answers, questions that may require the drawing of diagrams, questions that require slightly longer answers, and other possible question formats.

MAKE SURE YOU READ AND UNDERSTAND ALL THE MATERIAL IN THE SLIDES.

ALSO NOTE THAT DRAWING THE SAME KIND OF DIAGRAMS AS ILLUSTRATED IN THE SLIDES, WILL BE AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF TEST 1. For example, if you are given a diagram similar to that on slide 9 of OSD4.pdf, “Example of a Small File System Tree in Unix”, then you should be able to draw the corresponding diagram on slide 10, “Internal Structure of Small File system Tree in Unix”, as well as the corresponding diagram on slide 24, “In Memory VFS Objects and On Disk Objects”.

Please note that the Topic Study presentations will take place on Wednesday November 9, 2011. The presentations will take place in the same order of the corresponding topics in the list in /cs/course/4221/4221_topics

COSC4221 Test 2 will be held on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 19:00.

Test 2 will include:

(a) Material covered in the lectures, with emphasis on material covered in the lectures since Test 1 and up to and including the lecture on Wednesday November 23;

(b) Material in the slides 65-end of OSD.4.pdf, OSD.4.1.pdf, OSD.5.pdf in the course directory;

© Material in Chapter 18 of the book “Understanding the Linux Kernel”, 3rd Edition.

(Material in the slides 65-end of OSD.4 is also explained in Chapter 12 of the book, “Understanding the Linux Kernel”, 3rd Edition. Although there is no chapter in any book that covers all the material in the slides in OSD.5. However, reading Chapter 5, “Kernel Synchronization”, of the book, “Understanding the Linux Kernel”, 3rd Edition, may help understand some of the material on synchronization in the slides in OSD.5.)

It is possible that Test 2 may include true/false questions, questions that require short answers, questions that require calculations, questions that may require the drawing of diagrams, questions that require writing short programs using pseudo C code similar to that used in the slides, questions that require slightly longer answers, and other possible question formats.

MAKE SURE YOU READ AND UNDERSTAND ALL THE MATERIAL IN THE SLIDES. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALTHOUGH THE EMPHASIS OF TEST 2 WILL BE ON MATERIAL THAT HAS NOT BEEN TESTED SO FAR, THE MATERIAL IN TEST 2 MAY STILL DEPEND ON KNOWLEDGE OF PREVIOUS MATERIAL.

ALSO NOTE THAT DRAWING THE SAME KIND OF DIAGRAMS AS ILLUSTRATED IN THE SLIDES, WILL BE AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF TEST 2.