CS 422 - Principles of Computer Systems

Credits: 5
Variable Credit Course: No

Lecture Hours: 55
Lab Hours: 0
Worksite/Clinical Hours: 0
Other Hours (LIA/Internships): 0

Course Description: Explores the design, implementation, and evaluation of computer systems, including operating systems, networking, distributed systems, and parallel execution.

Prerequisite: CS 243 with a grade of C or higher and CS 301 with a grade of C or higher and upper division BSCS enrollment. Admission to BSCS program and Dept. Chair permission.
Meets FQE Requirement: No
Integrative Experience Requirement: No

Student Learning Outcomes

Summarize the structure of operating systems and file systems by creating a hierarchical diagram with key components such as the kernal, layers, directory structures and memory management. Implement a component of an operating system or file system.
Apply the principles of concurrency including synchronization and scheduling through code.
Explain the basic architecture of a network including the difference between client and server programming.
Implement a solution that requires working with bits to detect and fix data errors.
Compare and contrast routing solutions and concurrency solutions for distributed systems.
Work within the operating system to practice editing and exploring large code bases that the student did not implement.

Course Contents

Operating systems: The structure and organization of the file system. The structure of the operating system including the difference between the kernel and user space. Memory management. Principles of concurrency including scheduling and synchronization. System calls - the type of tasks they are used for and how they work.
Networks: The protocol stack, TCP/IP/UDP overview. Basic error detection and handling.
Distributed systems: Routing protocols. Consistency solutions.
Use system calls to interact with the operating system.

Instructional Units: 5