FIT3046 - Operating environments - 2017

6 points, SCA Band 2, 0.125 EFTSL

Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Faculty

Information Technology

Unit guides

Offered

South Africa

  • First semester 2017 (Day)

Synopsis

Processes and threads: interprocess communication, scheduling. Deadlock: detection, prevention, avoidance. Memory management: allocation, swapping, virtual memory. Input/output principles and examples: disks, graphical user interfaces, network terminals. File systems: files, directories, disk space management. Security: authentication, cryptography, common attacks, principles of secure system administration. Case studies: Characteristics of major PC operating systems such as Linux and Windows.

Outcomes

At the completion of this unit students will:

  1. know the general purpose and functions of operating systems;
  2. understand the hardware and software mechanisms used to carry out these functions;
  3. be familiar with the principal differences between common major operating systems such as Windows and Linux;
  4. be able to install new operating systems on PC hardware;
  5. be willing to select operating systems based on their merits rather than their marketing.

Assessment

Examination (3 hours): 60%; In-semester assessment: 40%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload equals 12 hours per week comprising:

  1. Contact hours for on-campus students:
    • Two hours of lectures
    • One 2-hour laboratory
  2. Additional requirements (all students):
    • A minimum of 8 hours independent study per week for completing lab and project work, private study and revision.

See also Unit timetable information

Chief examiner(s)

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Prerequisites

FIT1031 or FIT1001

Prohibitions

FIT2022, FIT2070, GCO2814, GCO3818

Additional information on this unit is available from the faculty at: