There are four assignments for this course. The first assignment deals with adding system calls to the GNU/Linux kernel. The second assignment deals with modifying or replacing the GNU/Linux scheduler. The third assignment deals with concurrency issues in multi-threaded systems. The final assignment deals with paged memory systems. Assignment #1 and #2 will be written using the C programming language. Assignment #3 will be written using the Java programming language.

Modfying the GNU/Linux Kernel

In order to ease the logistical problems of students modifying an operating system kernel, we will be using a system called UML (User Mode Linux). UML allows a Linux kernel to be booted within a virtual space within Linux. Essentially, students will be running Linux within Linux.

As students modify the kernel, they are likely to make mistakes. Because students will be modifying the kernel that runs in a virtual space, they will not have a negative affect on other student's wanting to use machines in the lab.

Assignment specifications

The following are the assignment specs for this course:

Assignment number	Title/Link	Due Date1
#1	Add a system call to GNU/Linux	Monday, October 4, 2004
#2	Replace/Modify the GNU/Linux Scheduler	Monday, October 25, 2004
#3	Concurrent Processing	Monday, November 15, 2004
#4	Paged memory system	Monday, December 6, 2004

¹Note: Assignments are due at midnight on the due date specified