Free online courseOperating Systems and Systems Programming

Course Description

Welcome to "Operating Systems and Systems Programming," an immersive course instructed by . With a total duration of 38 hours and 48 minutes, this course delves into the intricate world of operating systems, offering a comprehensive study that is indispensable for anyone in the field of Information Technology, particularly within the realm of Operational Systems. While there are no reviews yet, the depth and breadth of this course make it a notable addition to your educational journey.

The course begins with an introductory lecture on the fundamental question: "What is an Operating System?" This sets the stage for the entire series, providing a necessary foundation by defining and contextualizing operating systems within modern computing.

Building on this foundation, the second lecture covers the four fundamental concepts of operating systems. This session outlines core principles that underlie all OS functions, ensuring that learners grasp the essential mechanics early on.

The next few lectures introduce critical abstractions including threads and processes, files and I/O, and inter-process communication (IPC) mechanisms like pipes and sockets. These topics are fundamental in understanding how operating systems manage resources and enable software applications to run efficiently.

Concurrency and synchronization are thoroughly examined in multiple lectures, exploring concepts like mutual exclusion, semaphores, atomic instructions, monitors, and reader-writer problems. These sessions are supplemented with additional material to deepen understanding and ensure mastery of these complex topics.

The course also dedicates significant time to scheduling, memory management, and demand paging. From classic scheduling policies and real-time case studies to address translation, virtual memory, caching, and demand paging policies—this section is rigorous and essential for anyone looking to specialize in systems programming.

A comprehensive look at I/O, storage devices, and performance evaluation follows, providing insights into general I/O operations, storage performance, and queuing theory. These lectures pave the way to understanding the nuanced performance aspects and design considerations of modern filesystems.

Deep dives into filesystems cover design principles, case studies, buffering, reliability, and transactions, equipping learners with practical knowledge that extends beyond theoretical concepts.

Distributed systems topics, including networking, TCP/IP, RPC, distributed file systems, and storage, are further explored, highlighting critical components of contemporary distributed computing environments. Optional advanced topics like Key Value Stores, Chord, DataCapsules, and even Quantum Computing are available, showcasing the course's breadth and forward-thinking approach.

Whether you're a student, an IT professional, or a systems programming enthusiast, this course offers a thorough, detailed exploration of operating systems that is sure to enhance your knowledge and skills in this vital area of technology.