CS5460/6460: Operating Systems (Spring 2012)

This course is about the design and implementation of operating systems, which provide a crucial layer of abstraction between hardward and application programs. A knowledge of operating systems is essential for understanding how large systems are put together.

Also see this blog entry Why Take an Operating Systems Course?

• lectures: Tues, Thurs at 12:25 PM-01:45 PM in WEB 1230
• instructor: John Regehr
• TAs:
  • Chad Brubaker
  • Ashwin Kumar
• Office hours (in the CADE lab, WEB L224 / L226)
  • Ashwin: Mon and Fri 3:00-4:00
  • Chad: Weds 10am-noon
  • John: after class
• prerequisites: CS 4400 and proficiency in C programming
• class mailing list: cs5460@list.eng.utah.edu -- everyone enrolled in the class must subscribe to this list -- mail sent to this list goes to everyone in the class so please use it wisely
• instructor+TA mailing list: teach-cs5460@list.eng.utah.edu -- use this to reach us instead of mailing us directly (don't subscribe to it)
• add/drop policy: the University is strict on this, see here for details and also keep the academic calendar in mind
• incomplete policy: incompletes are a pain for everyone involved; I won't give you one unless you have a documented legal or medical emergency

• Operating System Concepts, 8th edition, Silberschatz, Galvin, Gagne
• Optional but recommended: The C Programming Language (2nd Edition) by Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie

Final grades will be calculated by combining project and exam grades as follows:

Late policy: Late homeworks will not be accepted unless you have a good excuse AND you have made arrangements with me in advance.

Please read the School of Computing's Cheating Policy, and also YOU MUST sign a copy of the Acknowledgement Form and return it to the SoC front office

Collaboration policy:

• Working with others on assignments is a good way to learn the material and we encourage it. However, there are limits to the degree of cooperation that we will permit.
• When working on programming assignments, you must work only with others whose understanding of the material is approximately equal to yours. In this situation, working together to find a good approach for solving a programming problem is cooperation; listening while someone dictates a solution is cheating. You must limit collaboration to a high-level discussion of solution strategies, and stop short of actually writing down a group answer. Anything that you hand in, whether it is a written problem or a computer program, must be written in your own words. If you base your solution on any other written solution, you are cheating.
• When taking a quiz or exam, you must work completely independently of everyone else. Any collaboration here, of course, is cheating.
• We do not distinguish between cheaters who copy other's work and cheaters who allow their work to be copied. If you cheat, you will be given an E in the course and referred to the University Student Behavior Committee. If you have any questions about what constitutes cheating, please ask.