CS604 Operating Systems

CS604: Operating Systems

CS604 Operating Systems is a fundamental course that explores the design and implementation of the most important piece of software on any computer. The operating system (OS) acts as the intermediary between the computer hardware and the applications you run, managing all system resources and providing a stable, abstract environment for programs.

This course goes "under the hood" of computing to answer critical questions: How can a computer run multiple programs at once (concurrency)? How does the OS keep programs from interfering with each other (isolation)? How is memory allocated and protected? How are files stored and retrieved from a disk? You will gain a deep understanding of the core components of an OS, using systems like Linux and Windows as practical examples.

Key Topics Covered:

• OS Introduction & Structure: What is an OS? We explore its components, services, and the various architectures (e.g., monolithic, microkernel).
• Process Management: The concept of a process (a program in execution) and a thread (a lightweight unit of execution). This includes process creation, termination, and inter-process communication (IPC).
• CPU Scheduling: The algorithms the OS uses to decide which process to run on the CPU at any given time (e.g., FCFS, SJF, Priority, Round Robin).
• Process Synchronization: The core problem of concurrency. We study the "critical section problem" and the mechanisms to solve it, such as semaphores, mutexes, and monitors.
• Deadlocks: The "deadly embrace" scenario where two or more processes are blocked forever, waiting for each other. We will learn about deadlock characterization, prevention, avoidance (e.g., Banker's Algorithm), and detection.
• Memory Management: How the OS allocates main memory (RAM) to processes. This includes techniques like paging (the foundation of virtual memory) and segmentation.
• Virtual Memory: A key technique that allows processes to use more memory than is physically available, using demand paging and page replacement algorithms (e.g., FIFO, LRU).
• File Systems: How the OS manages long-term storage. This covers file concepts, directory structures, disk allocation methods (e.g., contiguous, linked, indexed), and disk scheduling.

Course Objectives:

1. Understand the core functions and components of a modern operating system.
2. Analyze and compare different CPU scheduling and page replacement algorithms.
3. Implement solutions to classic process synchronization problems using semaphores or mutexes.
4. Grasp the mechanisms of memory management, including paging and virtual memory.
5. Explain the structure of file systems and disk management techniques.

CS604 is an essential course that provides a foundational understanding of how computers work at a low level. The concepts learned here are critical for systems programming, high-performance computing, and diagnosing complex software problems.