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This course will introduce students to the basic principles of system software: operating systems, compilers, and networking. The following topics are explored through theoretical and practical programming experiences: process and memory management, concurrency and synchronization, network communication, programming for performance, etc.

Course Learning Objectives:

1. Design and develop system-level and multi-threaded programs in C.
2. Utilize a command-line interface and describe its role in an operating system.
3. Summarize components of the operating system stack and how they inter-operate.
4. Analyze performance and consider the influence of system components on application performance.

Topics covered include:

• Processes & Threads
• Signals & I/O
• POSIX System Calls
• Client & Server Networking
• Cache & Virtual Memory

Past Course Projects include:

• Command-line tools: C code stats, csv/tsv editors, custom word count (wc), custom grep, “tree” file and directory statistics
• Pointers & Dynamic Memory: MIPS disassembler, Reverse Polish Notation Calculator, Ciphers, keyword highlighters, library catalog search, gitlog/bash statistics
• Shell with background processes, signal handling, piping & redirection
• Dynamic Memory Allocator
• Multi-threaded Servers: Ebay-like Auctions, Chat rooms, Polls, Course Registration, Charity Donations

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