CMSC 421: Principles of Operating Systems

Midterm / Final Exam Resources

• Midterm study guide
• Final study guide

Learning Unix/Linux/Editors

• How to use the submit command
• Unix Tutorial for Beginners
• The Complete Beginner's Guide to Linux
• Learn how to use the Emacs editor
• Interactive tutorial for the VIM editor
• UMBC Linux Users Group

Programming in Linux

• A Simple Makefile Tutorial
• Interactive Git Tutorial
• Linux kernel source code can be downloaded from the Linux Kernel Archives, or via git at https://git.kernel.org.
• Linux Kernel in a Nutshell is made available for free by its author, Greg Kroah-Hartman. Greg is one of the key maintainers of the Linux kernel source code.
• The Linux Documentation Project contains all sorts of guides to running Linux.
• Linux Kernel Newbies has a guide to downloading and compiling the Linux kernel.

Modifying the Linux Kernel

• Linux Cross-Reference, affectionately known as "LXR", is a convenient way to browse the Linux source code
• The Linux Kernel API, slightly outdated though mostly correct.
• Kernel System Calls, for x86.
• Adding a system call to the 3.16 kernel.
• Linux Device Drivers, though this book does not cover any recent kernel changes. Ensure you read the third edition of the book.

Software Downloads

• VirtualBox, to run Linux virtual machines on your Windows/Mac/Linux home computer.
• Ubuntu 14.04 LTS ("Trusty Tahr") is the Linux distribution for CMSC 421.
• Other popular Linux distributions include Fedora (popular for businesses), Debian (what the instructor runs), and Linux Mint (a modern desktop distribution).