University of Texas at Dallas—Department of

Computer Science

CS 4348.001 – Operating Systems Concepts (Honors)

Spring 2011

Instructor: S. Venkatesan (Venky) ES 4.212, Phone: 972-883-2452, e-mail

address: [email protected] , URL: www.utdallas.edu/~venky

Office Hours: T/Th: 10:30-11:30 am. Other times by appointment.

Prerequisites: The prerequisites for this course are CS 3340 (Computer

Architecture), CS 3345 (Data Structures), working knowledge of C/Unix and
admission to BS Honors. Only people satisfying the prerequisites may
register for this class.

Course Objective: To give the student ideas and insights on important

design issues associated with modern operating systems.

Course Learning Objectives

An understanding of basic elements of computer system hardware.

An understanding of modern operating systems.
An understanding of processes
An understanding of threads
An understanding of concurrency issues.
An understanding of simple memory management.
An understanding of virtual memory
An understanding of scheduling algorithms.
An understanding of I/O management
An understanding of file management.

Required Textbooks and Materials

Text: William Stallings, “Operating Systems Internals and Design Principles,” Sixth edittion.
Prentice Hall.

Assignments & Academic Calendar

Course Syllabus Page 1

Material from the book that you are responsible for: Chapters 1-12, parts of
chapters 15/16.

Quizzes: There will be five quizzes (closed notes and book) in the class. The
first four quizzes will be on 01/27/11, 02/17/11, 03/22/11, and 04/12/11.
These first four quizzes will be no more than 15 minutes in duration. Best 3
quizzes of these four will count towards the grade. (I will drop the lowest
score among the first four quizzes.) These quizzes will be given in the first 15
minutes of the class. In additon, there will be a long quiz (about 30 minute
duration) given on 04/28/11. This long quiz will count towards your grade.

Exams: There will be two exams---Exam I on 02/22/11 Exam II on

04/14/11. The exams are closed book, closed notes. All exams will be in the
regularly scheduled class room and during the regularly scheduled time. The
duration of each exam is 75 minutes. There is no final exam.

Projects: There will be programming projects in the class. Knowledge of C

and Unix is needed. Details will be provided during the semester.

Additional Meetings: In addition to the regularly scheduled class meetings,

I may announce review sessions for the exams and project if there is
sufficient demand. Please check webct for details.

Make sure that you bring UTD ID for the quizzes and exams.

Grading Policy
Grading:
Exams: Exam I: 25% Exam II: 25%
Short Quizzes: 5% each. (Best 3 out of the four; I will drop your lowest
score.)
Long quiz: 10%
Project: 25%

Doing well in each of the three components is necessary for the A or B

grade.

Use of eLearning: I will use eLearning website to communicate with you

extensively. Please use it and log in regularly to check for
messages/distribution of other information, etc.

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Important Dates

Date Event
01/27/11 Quiz 1
02/17/11 Quiz 2
02/22/11 Exam 1
03/22/11 Quiz 3
04/12/11 Quiz 4
04/14/11 Exam 2
04/28/11 Long Quiz

Course & Instructor Policies

There are no special assignments or extra credit work. You are responsible
for everything that goes in the class including assignment of projects. No late
work will be accepted and no make-up exams without valid reason.
Classroom attendance is highly recommended.

Field Trip Policies

Off-campus Instruction and Course Activities

Not applicable.

Student Conduct & Discipline

The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at Dallas

have rules and regulations for the orderly and efficient conduct of their
business. It is the responsibility of each student and each student
organization to be knowledgeable about the rules and regulations
which govern student conduct and activities. General information on
student conduct and discipline is contained in the UTD publication, A to
Z Guide, which is provided to all registered students each academic
year.

The University of Texas at Dallas administers student discipline within

the procedures of recognized and established due process. Procedures
are defined and described in the Rules and Regulations, Board of
Regents, The University of Texas System, Part 1, Chapter VI, Section
3, and in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities of the

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 university’s Handbook of Operating Procedures. Copies of these rules
and regulations are available to students in the Office of the Dean of
Students, where staff members are available to assist students in
interpreting the rules and regulations (SU 1.602, 972/883-6391).

A student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the
responsibilities of citizenship. He or she is expected to obey federal,
state, and local laws as well as the Regents’ Rules, university
regulations, and administrative rules. Students are subject to
discipline for violating the standards of conduct whether such conduct
takes place on or off campus, or whether civil or criminal penalties are
also imposed for such conduct.

Academic Integrity

The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and
academic honesty. Because the value of an academic degree depends
upon the absolute integrity of the work done by the student for that
degree, it is imperative that a student demonstrate a high standard of
individual honor in his or her scholastic work.

Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts

or omissions related to applications for enrollment or the award of a
degree, and/or the submission as one’s own work or material that is
not one’s own. As a general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves one of
the following acts: cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or falsifying
academic records. Students suspected of academic dishonesty are
subject to disciplinary proceedings.

Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other
classes, and from any other source is unacceptable and will be dealt
with under the university’s policy on plagiarism (see general catalog
for details). This course will use the resources of turnitin.com, which
searches the web for possible plagiarism and is over 90% effective.

Email Use

The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of

communication between faculty/staff and students through electronic
mail. At the same time, email raises some issues concerning security
and the identity of each individual in an email exchange. The
university encourages all official student email correspondence be sent
only to a student’s U.T. Dallas email address and that faculty and staff
consider email from students official only if it originates from a UTD
student account. This allows the university to maintain a high degree
of confidence in the identity of all individual corresponding and the
security of the transmitted information. UTD furnishes each student
with a free email account that is to be used in all communication with

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 university personnel. The Department of Information Resources at U.T.
Dallas provides a method for students to have their U.T. Dallas mail
forwarded to other accounts.

Withdrawal from Class

The administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal

of any college-level courses. These dates and times are published in
that semester's course catalog. Administration procedures must be
followed. It is the student's responsibility to handle withdrawal
requirements from any class. In other words, I cannot drop or
withdraw any student. You must do the proper paperwork to ensure
that you will not receive a final grade of "F" in a course if you choose
not to attend the class once you are enrolled.

Student Grievance Procedures

Procedures for student grievances are found in Title V, Rules on

Student Services and Activities, of the university’s Handbook of
Operating Procedures.

In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades,

evaluations, or other fulfillments of academic responsibility, it is the
obligation of the student first to make a serious effort to resolve the
matter with the instructor, supervisor, administrator, or committee
with whom the grievance originates (hereafter called “the
respondent”). Individual faculty members retain primary responsibility
for assigning grades and evaluations. If the matter cannot be resolved
at that level, the grievance must be submitted in writing to the
respondent with a copy of the respondent’s School Dean. If the
matter is not resolved by the written response provided by the
respondent, the student may submit a written appeal to the School
Dean. If the grievance is not resolved by the School Dean’s decision,
the student may make a written appeal to the Dean of Graduate or
Undergraduate Education, and the deal will appoint and convene an
Academic Appeals Panel. The decision of the Academic Appeals Panel
is final. The results of the academic appeals process will be distributed
to all involved parties.

Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the

Office of the Dean of Students, where staff members are available to
assist students in interpreting the rules and regulations.

Incomplete Grade Policy

As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for

work unavoidably missed at the semester’s end and only if 70% of the
course work has been completed. An incomplete grade must be

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 resolved within eight (8) weeks from the first day of the subsequent
long semester. If the required work to complete the course and to
remove the incomplete grade is not submitted by the specified
deadline, the incomplete grade is changed automatically to a grade of
F.

Disability Services

The goal of Disability Services is to provide students with disabilities

educational opportunities equal to those of their non-disabled peers.
Disability Services is located in room 1.610 in the Student Union.
Office hours are Monday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.;
Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, 8:30
a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The contact information for the Office of Disability Services is:

The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22
PO Box 830688
Richardson, Texas 75083-0688
(972) 883-2098 (voice or TTY)

Essentially, the law requires that colleges and universities make those
reasonable adjustments necessary to eliminate discrimination on the
basis of disability. For example, it may be necessary to remove
classroom prohibitions against tape recorders or animals (in the case
of dog guides) for students who are blind. Occasionally an assignment
requirement may be substituted (for example, a research paper versus
an oral presentation for a student who is hearing impaired). Classes
enrolled students with mobility impairments may have to be
rescheduled in accessible facilities. The college or university may need
to provide special services such as registration, note-taking, or
mobility assistance.

It is the student’s responsibility to notify his or her professors of the

need for such an accommodation. Disability Services provides
students with letters to present to faculty members to verify that the
student has a disability and needs accommodations. Individuals
requiring special accommodation should contact the professor after
class or during office hours.

Religious Holy Days

The University of Texas at Dallas will excuse a student from class or

other required activities for the travel to and observance of a religious
holy day for a religion whose places of worship are exempt from
property tax under Section 11.20, Tax Code, Texas Code Annotated.

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 The student is encouraged to notify the instructor or activity sponsor
as soon as possible regarding the absence, preferably in advance of
the assignment. The student, so excused, will be allowed to take the
exam or complete the assignment within a reasonable time after the
absence: a period equal to the length of the absence, up to a
maximum of one week. A student who notifies the instructor and
completes any missed exam or assignment may not be penalized for
the absence. A student who fails to complete the exam or assignment
within the prescribed period may receive a failing grade for that exam
or assignment.

If a student or an instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence

[i.e., for the purpose of observing a religious holy day] or if there is
similar disagreement about whether the student has been given a
reasonable time to complete any missed assignments or examinations,
either the student or the instructor may request a ruling from the chief
executive officer of the institution, or his or her designee. The chief
executive officer or designee must take into account the legislative
intent of TEC 51.911(b), and the student and instructor will abide by
the decision of the chief executive officer or designee.

These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the

discretion of the Professor.

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