UBMC | CSEE


CMSC421 -- Principles of Operating Systems

Syllabus

Instructor

Instructor:    Gary Burt
Webpage:       http://www.umbc.edu/~burt 
Office:        ECS 202B
Office Hours:  by appointment or walk-ins when my door is open.
Telephone:     410-455-3928 (email is preferred)
E-mail:        burt@cs.umbc.edu

Teaching Assistant: Meenakshi Bangad Webpage: http://www.cs.umbc.edu/~bangadm1 Office: ECS-334 email bangadm1@csee.umbc.edu Office Hours: Mon/Wed 1-3 p.m.

Class Time and Place

Section 301: TTH 1:00 - 2:15 pm SS207
Section 201: TTh 2:30 - 3:45 pm FA006

Textbook

Required

Recommended

Course Homepage

This course has a homepage where assignments and grades will be posted. Many of the handouts will also be available off of the homepage. The URL is:
http://www.cs.umbc.edu/courses/undergraduate/CMSC421/spring02/burt
The easiest way to get to it is to go to my webpage, and follow the link.

Grading

a number of projects 200-300 points each
a number of pop-quizzes 5 points each
a number of homework assignments 100 points each
term paper 100 points
midterm 200 points
final exam worth 400 points

Your final letter grade is based on the standard formula:

Your grade is based on timely work accomplished during the semester; incomplete grades will only be given for medical illness or other such dire circumstances.

Project Submission and Grading

The critical skills cannot be learned simply by attending the class. You should budget enough time to work on the projects as well. This course requires a significant amount of work on your part. Late assignments will be penalized 10 percent per day up to a maximum of five days late. Any project not turned in will receive a grade of -100%.

You will be turning in your projects electronically. Details will be announced in class before you need to submit projects. If an assignment is due on the 13th, as long as the computer time stamps it the 13th, it is on time.

I grade the Midterm, Final and written reports. Projects are graded by a grader. Grading for the projects will be done on the basis that you must precisely follow instructions on projects and exams. If it says you are to show sixteen bits and you only provide eight, it is wrong. You must comment the programs as required or you will lose points.

Project Policy

All projects must be completed by your own individual, creative effort. You should never have a copy of someone else's project either on paper or electronically under any circumstance. Also, you should never give a copy of your project, either on paper or electronically, to another student. This also means that you cannot "work" on the project together. Cases of academic dishonesty will be dealt with as severely as allowed by University policy.

If your project is turned in by someone else, both you and the person copying your project will receive a -100% for that project. This includes "substantially similar" projects. Furthermore, all parties concerned will have their prior projects checked for cheating. So, if you cheat on Project 4, you can lose all the points from Projects 1 through 3 as well, even though you may have done all the work and just "let" other people copy from you.

Academic Conduct Policy

The following is taken from the UMBC Student Handbook:

DEFINITIONS OF ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT

Academic misconduct may include but is not limited to the following:

POLICY FOR RESOLVING CASES OF ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT

Individual faculty members have the right and responsibility to deal directly with any cases of academic misconduct which arise in their courses. Instances of academic misconduct may be identified in one of two ways. If a faculty member believes a student has committed an act of academic misconduct--for example, by direct observation of student behavior, by comparing the contents of an assignment with that submitted by another student, or by reviewing notated sources or references--the faculty member, in consultation with the Chair of the Academic Conduct Committee, will assess the student's alleged misconduct and the faculty member's options. If a student believes that academic misconduct has occurred, the student will notify either the faculty member or the Chair of the Academic Conduct Committee.

It is particularly important that the Chair of the Academic Conduct Committee be consulted. The Chair can provide knowledge and insight for the faculty member. Communication of instances of academic misconduct also protects the integrity of the university by providing a means of recording infractions that may be repeated by a particular student, or which may prove endemic to a particular course or department. Consultation with the Chair of the Academic Conduct Committee provides a formal record of the infraction and resolution, protecting the student, professor, and university should any questions later arise.

The student will have the opportunity to respond to an accusation of academic misconduct.

Communications

All communications with the instructor and the TA must have your name and the last four of your Social Security Number (last four). Too many of you have email that shows up with a fancy alias and we can't figure out who "Joe Snuffy" is! This includes all email, projects, homework, written reports, etc. Except for in-class work, all material must be typed (or printed on the computer). Too many of you have handwriting that would qualify you to be a medical doctor!

Lectures and Readings

Exams

Written Report

The is one written report required for this class, due at the beginning of class when the midterm exam is given. For this report, you will locate an article (published on hard-copy or electronically) on some aspect of Operating Systems. Your report will summarize the article and you will present your analysis of the article. The report must be printed on the computer, using a font of 12 points and double spaced. It will be three full pages plus an additional title page which provides your name, SSAN (last four), title of the article and section number.

Out-of-Class Help

You will have some difficulties in this class and will need some extra help. This is normal. You can come to me or the TA for this help. The sooner you come to us for help, the easier it is for you to catch up. Don't wait until you are totally and hopelessly lost. Work the exercises in the book, even when it is not homework, because you can not learn this material only by reading it. You must write programs to learn all these concepts. The TA's primary responsibility in this course is to help you. Don't waste this opportunity.

In the past, I have had students who would visit me as much as four times a week for assistance. Then again, I have had former students come back and visit for assistance in other courses. Don't be afraid of upsetting me because you ask for help too much.

ADA Compliance

We recognize that some of you might have disabilities that require special attention from the instruction staff. Please make us aware of them so that UMBC can make suitable arrangements.

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