Webster Vienna
Course Syllabus
Course
COSC 2610/52 – Operating Systems
Syllabus prepared/updated on: December 11, 2009
Term
Spring II, 2010
Instructor
Name:
Phone:
Email:
Albert E. Cawns, M.S., M.E.A.
cawnsae@webster.edu
Course Description
An overview of the concepts and theories of operating systems. Examines
the major components found in all operating systems including the memory,
process manager, and device and file managers.
Prerequisites
COSC 1550
Learning Outcomes
Textbook and other
Materials
At the completion of this course, student will be able to:

Explain operating system tasks.

Explain how each subsystem manager works.

Describe what operating systems are, what they do, how they do.

Evaluate operating system performance.

Compare different operating systems.
Understanding Operating Systems, Ida M. Flynn & Ann McIver McHoes,
Thomson Learning, (Fifth Edition) ISBN 9781423901606.
Grading
The UNDERGRADUATE catalog provides these guidelines and grading
options:











A, A- superior work in the opinion of the instructor
B+, B, B- good work in the opinion of the instructor
C+, C, C- satisfactory work in the opinion of the instructor
D+, D passing, but less than satisfactory work in the opinion of the
instructor
I incomplete work in the opinion of the instructor
ZF An incomplete which was not completed within one year of the end of
the course
F unsatisfactory work in the opinion of the instructor; no credit is granted
W withdrawn from the course
IP course in progress
NR not reported for the course
Z a temporary designation given by the registrar indicating that the final
grade has not been submitted by the instructor. When the final grade is
filed in the Office of the Registrar, that grade will replace the Z.
Page 1 of 3
Midterm Examination
Final Examination
Quizzes
Class participation
Total
=
=
=
=
=
35%
35%
20%
10%
100%
General grading scale: (plus and minus letter grades will be assigned.)
90-100 = A ; 80- 89 = B ; 70- 79 = C; 60-69 = D; Below 60 = F
Activities

Weekly homework will be assigned for each chapter.

Weekly quizzes between exams based on the homework.

Midterm exam covers chapters 1-5.

Final exam covers chapters 6- 8, 11, 12

Selected material from 13-16 and 9-10 may also be assigned and
included in exams.
University Policies
Cheating
Any student found cheating on any part of the course work (homework
assignment, term paper, quiz, exam, etc.) will automatically be given an
“F” for the course. Any student found to be helping another student to
cheat will likewise be given an “F” for the course. In each case, the
student will also be put on disciplinary probation for the remainder of her
or his stay at Webster. If the student is found to have engaged in cheating
a second time, s/he will be automatically expelled from the University.
Attendance
Class attendance is obligatory. Instructors will take attendance at each
class session and reduce a student’s course grade by half a letter grade
for each full week of class missed. Any student who misses three or more
full weeks of class will automatically be given an “F” for the course.
Course Policies


It is the student’s responsibility to obtain notes and materials for class
time missed.
This syllabus may be revised at the discretion of the instructor without
the prior notification or consent of the student.
Weekly Schedule
Week 1
Course overview
Operating systems overview – Chapter 1
Memory management – early systems – Chapter 2
Single-user contiguous scheme
Fixed partitions
Dynamic partitions
Relocatable dynamic partitions
Week 2
Memory management – Virtual Memory – Chapter 3
Paged memory allocation
Paging, page replacement policies and concepts
Segmentation
Virtual memory
Page 2 of 3
Week 3
Processor management – Chapter 4
Job scheduler
Process scheduler
Process scheduling policies and algorithms
Process management
Deadlock and starvation – Chapter 5
Week 4
Midterm Exam
Concurrent processes – Chapter 6
Multiprocessing configurations
Process synchronization
Process cooperation
Week 5
Device management – Chapter 7
Sequential access storage media
Direct access storage devices
Components of the I/O subsystem
Management of I/O request
Week 6
File management – Chapter 8
File manager
File organization
Physical storage allocation
File access methods
Week 7
Security & Ethics – Chapter 11
System management – Chapter 12
Week 8
Course Review
Final Exam
Additional
Information
Prepared by:
Date:
Approved by:
Date:
A. E. Cawns
2009-12-11
Brian Lewis
2010-01-05
Information Technology Department Head
Page 3 of 3