CS 161: Operating Systems

Tuesday/Thursday 1:00-2:30

Pierce 301

James Mickens & Margo Seltzer

Spring 2016 CS161 Course Syllabus

A Note on Notes

On more conventional class days we frequently prepare notes designed to help us guide the class through the topics we want to cover. We may intentionally leave things off the slides that are good for class discussion. Our goal is that significant parts of the material we cover will be derived in real-time during class through whole-class discussions, small group interactions, Q&A, or any other technique we can use to engage you in thinking deeply about the material.

For example, when we want to compare two approaches to something, We will often leave a slide blank. During class, we might ask you to fill in the comparison in small groups or we might do it all together as a class or we might set up a debate. The rationale is that there is often more than one right answer. We might evaluate the tradeoffs differently; our words are not the final word, and you will learn to make your own decisions about tradeoffs by practicing doing so. So, please don't be surprised if you skip class and find that the slides posted on the web site don't tell the whole story; they are not intended to tell the whole story. The whole story includes class time.

How to read this Syllabus

• Lectures that have something other than "Quick Survey" in the Pre-Class Prep column will be conducted in a flipped style where attendance is mandatory (yes, we will actually check).
• If the entry in the date column is a hyperlink, it references the work we will complete in-class on that day.
• Documents resembling lecture notes will be linked from the topic lines.
• All web work must be completed by 9:00 AM on the day of lecture.
• On days where there is no Pre-Class Prep, we may still have short surveys. These are marked as "Quick Surveys." These must also be completed by 9:00 AM, but we promise that they won't take more than a minute or two. (We use these surveys to understand how much time you're spending, how your partnership is going, whether you've been exposed to a particular topic in the past, or other information that helps us plan class time.)
• All reading is from Doeppner, Operating Systems in Depth, unless otherwise stated.

Collaboration Policy

• Web work is to be completed individually and should not be discussed prior to class. If you find questions on the web work confusing, please email Professors Mickens and/or Seltzer, who will either answer directly or dedicate a few minutes of class time to clarifying confusing points.
• The documents you turn in for assignment 1 should be the work of an individual, however, you are allowed and encouraged to discuss the assignment and problems with other students. Those conversations should be limited to a spoken language and not code.
• Assignments 2-4 will be completed in pairs. You may discuss the assignment with other groups and as indicated below, you will be giving and receiving feedback on your design by another group. These design reviews must be documented in your design document. The code you turn in should have been produced only by team members (design documents might contain pseudo code, but should not contain real code). If you receive significant design advice or feedback from anyone, please document that in your design document.
• Exams are to be completed entirely independently. Details on what materials will be allowed for the two tests will be specified on the test itself.
• When in doubt: Ask!

Schedule

Calendar