If you're studying this unit in Melbourne, it's delivered in our First Year Model from semester 1, 2018. Instead of juggling four units at once, you'll focus on this one unit across a four-week period. 

This unit introduces students to modern computer operating systems, their major components and roles. Students will be exposed to at least two popular operating systems including a mobile OS.
Content includes: Operating System (OS) concepts, OS architectures; threads and processes; concurrency, daemons and services; memory management, devices and device drivers; file systems, security; basic scripting.

Unit details

Location:
Footscray Park
VU Sydney
Study level:
Undergraduate
Credit points:
12
Unit code:
NIT1202

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Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate an understanding of the basic OS architectures, functions and roles;  
  2. Cite the history and identify social impacts of different operating systems, including mobile OS;  
  3. Describe OS components for processes, devices, files and memory management;  
  4. Research and report information on operating system types; and  
  5. Understand the basis of Unix shell scripting.  

Assessment

Assessment type Description Grade
Test Test 1 25%
Test Test 2 25%
Assignment Two (2) Assignments (25% each) 50%

Required reading

Understanding Operating Systems 8th ed.
McIver-McHoes A. & Flynn, I. (2017)
Cengage Learning

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