CA644, System Software
Dr. Niall McMahon
2022-09-13
If you print these slides, think about using two pages per sheet (although don't worry too much about it).
- I'm Dr. Niall McMahon of the School of Computing.
- My details are at https://www.computing.dcu.ie/~nmcmahon/
- You can contact me at niall.mcmahon@dcu.ie.
- Course information, FAQs and Notes are available on Loop.
- And questions are always good; by email is ideal or during class when we’re having interactive sessions.
- Lectures and labs on Tuesdays, 10:00 - 13:00.
- We'll take a ten minute break every hour.
- All lectures take place in GLA.L129.
- Consult Loop for any news, updates and lecture notes.
- 75% by examination.
- 25% by continuous assessment, i.e. two assignments.
- There is no resit available for the continuous assessment component.
- 75% of your overall final mark.
- More about this during the semester.
- Takes place in December
- 25% of your overall final mark.
- There will be two assignments, one due at the end of Week 5, the second at the end of Week 10.
- The first assignment is worth 10% and the second, 15%.
- If you have questions, take a look at the FAQs on Loop.
- Do I have to do the assignments?
Yes!
- I have a lot of questions!
Great! There will be an FAQ on Loop soon with a lot of answers.
| Week |
Starting |
Tue, 10:00 - 13:00 |
Online |
Assessment |
% |
| 1 |
13/09/2022 |
Lecture / Lab |
- |
- |
- |
| 2 |
20/09/2022 |
Lecture / Lab |
- |
- |
- |
| 3 |
27/09/2022 |
Lecture / Lab |
- |
- |
- |
| 4 |
04/10/2022 |
Lecture / Lab |
- |
- |
- |
| 5 |
11/10/2022 |
Lecture / Lab |
- |
Assignment 1 |
10% |
| 6 |
18/10/2022 |
Lecture / Lab |
- |
- |
- |
| 7 |
25/10/2022 |
Lecture / Lab |
- |
- |
- |
| 8 |
01/11/2022 |
Lecture / Lab |
- |
- |
- |
| 9 |
08/11/2022 |
Lecture / Lab |
- |
- |
- |
| 10 |
15/11/2022 |
Lecture / Lab |
- |
Assignment 2 |
15% |
| 11 |
22/11/2022 |
Lecture / Lab |
- |
- |
- |
| 12 |
29/11/2022 |
Lecture / Lab |
- |
- |
- |
| - |
--/12/2022 |
- |
- |
Exam |
75% |
We mean,
- Software that provides a platform for other programs.
- Operating systems and software that interacts closely with operating systems, e.g. hardware drivers.
- "Low level" tools and code.
Some of the topics we'll cover include:
- (Unix) Linux Shell.
- Operating systems (OSes).
- System calls.
- System programming.
- Networking.
- Server-side development and deployment.
- Quality control.
- Security.
To some extent, about:
- Linux and its interaction with application software.
- Shell scripts that use system tools and OS calls to automate complex and repetitive tasks.
- C applications that are tightly integrated with the OS.
- Server deployment and operation.
- Developing systems software solutions.
- Recommended media will be posted to Loop.
- I will update this weekly.
-
If you have questions, ask me in class or send an email.