Module Identifier | CS23710 | |||||||||||
Module Title | C AND UNIX SYSTEMS PROGRAMMING | |||||||||||
Academic Year | 2004/2005 | |||||||||||
Co-ordinator | Mr David E Price | |||||||||||
Semester | Semester 2 | |||||||||||
Other staff | Mr David E Price, Mr Peter Hoskins, Mr Richard C Shipman | |||||||||||
Pre-Requisite | CS22210 | |||||||||||
Co-Requisite | CS21120 | |||||||||||
Course delivery | Lecture | Up to 22 lectures | ||||||||||
Other | Workshop. Up to 2 sessions | |||||||||||
Assessment |
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Further details | http://www.aber.ac.uk/compsci/ModuleInfo/CS23710 |
The facilities of C will be introduced by comparison with those of Java, the emphasis being on the rationale behind the language design decisions for the two programming languages. Emphasis will also be placed on C programming incorporating good modular design, readability, portability, and use of appropriate tools.
The second part of the course will address the structure of the UNIX operating system and the interface presented by functions and system calls for use from C.
The module will also consider the relevance of standards, both in C and in UNIX.
The UNIX operating system is studied as an example of the operating systems material covered in CS22210 and also as an application of the C language.
2. Control Structures - 2 Lectures
Sequence, branching and iteration in C compared with that of Java.
3. Basic Data Structures - 1 Lecture
Review of basic data types and operators in C.
4. Functions - 1 Lecture
Discussion of ways in which functions are implemented, and used in C, including parameter passing mechanisms.
5. Composite Data Structures - 1 Lecture
A first discussion of Arrays in C. Input/Output.
6. Software Support Tools - 1 Lecture
Make, Lint, Debuggers. Libraries and library utilities. Static/Dynamic analysers.
7. C Programming Style and Portability - 1 Lecture
Language standards. Portability. Programming standards.
8. Arrays, Pointers and Functions - 2 Lectures
A discussion of pointer data types, how they relate to arrays, and how they contrast with Java objects.
9. Dynamic Data Structures - 2 Lectures
Implementation of various record structures and dynamic structures. Pointers. Malloc. Examples in C. Parallels will be drawn with how the internals of Java do this for you.
10. Pitfalls - 1 Lecture
Major problem areas. Design rationale of C and of Java in problem areas.
11. Further Features - 1 Lecture
C preprocessor, header files, conditional inclusion, macro substitution, bitwise operators, casts, enumeration, scope, static and external declarations, separate compilation.
12. The Structure of UNIX - 3 Lectures
An overview of the structure of the UNIX operating system and a description of the major components, including: the kernel, device drivers, IEEE POSIX and the terminal. An introduction to the programming interface to UNIX.
13. The Filesystem and Files - 2 Lectures
The structure of the filesystem and associated operations. The types of file and the operations on files.
14. Process Management - 3 Lectures
The manipulation of processes and interprocess communication.
This module is at CQFW Level 5