Note: You are looking at a static copy of the former PineWiki site, used for class notes by James Aspnes from 2003 to 2012. Many mathematical formulas are broken, and there are likely to be other bugs as well. These will most likely not be fixed. You may be able to find more up-to-date versions of some of these notes at http://www.cs.yale.edu/homes/aspnes/#classes.

Syllabus for Computer Science 422b/522b, Operating Systems. Instructor: James Aspnes.

1. Meeting times

Lectures are Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:00pm to 2:15pm in AKW 500.

2. On-line course information

On-line information about the course, including copies of all handouts, can be found using the URL http://pine.cs.yale.edu/pinewiki/CS422. This will also be the main location for announcements about the course, lecture schedules, and so forth. Please check it frequently.

3. Synopsis of course

This course covers the fundamentals of operating system design and implementation. Lectures present the central ideas and concepts (e.g., synchronization, deadlock, process management, storage management, file systems, security, protection, and networking) and explain how they are manifested in practical operating systems. Students will be working on a series of six programming assignments leading to a small but real operating system. Prerequisite: CS 323.

4. Textbook

Silberschatz, Galvin, and Gagne. Operating System Concepts, 7th Edition, Wiley, 2005. ISBN 0-471-69466-5. Publisher site.

5. Prerequisites

The prerequisite for this course is CS 323. You are strongly encouraged to take this course before you take CS 422/522. I will, however, accept students that have not taken 323 as long as they have comparable knowledge of systems programming. See me if you aren't sure.

6. Course requirements

Five homework assignments and a final exam. The final exam will count for approximately 2 homework assignments.

7. Use of outside help

Students are free to discuss homework problems and course material with each other, and to consult with the instructor or a TA. Solutions handed in, however, should be the student's own work. If a student benefits substantially from hints or solutions received from fellow students or from outside sources, then the student should hand in their solution but acknowledge the outside sources, and we will apportion credit accordingly. Using outside resources in solving a problem is acceptable but plagiarism is not.

8. Clarifications for homework assignments

From time to time, ambiguities and errors may creep into homework assignments. Questions about the interpretation of homework assignments should be sent to the instructor at <aspnes@cs.yale.edu>. Clarifications will appear in the on-line version of the assignment.

9. Late assignments

In general, late assignments will not be accepted without a Dean's Excuse. However, you apply a total of up to 100 late hours during the course of the semester to avoid this requirement without penalty.