Module Descriptors
COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND SYSTEM SOFTWARE
XCOM41069
Key Facts
Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Sciences
Level 4
15 credits
Contact
Leader: George Sunley
Email: George.Sunley1@staffs.ac.uk
Hours of Study
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities: 36
Independent Study Hours: 114
Total Learning Hours: 150
Assessment
  • ASSIGNMENT weighted at 50%
  • EXAMINATION - UNSEEN IN EXAMINATION CONDITIONS weighted at 50%
Module Details
Module Indicative Content
Boolean logic and circuits, sequential and combinatorial circuits - demonstrating how large complex computer circuits can be built from logic gates as building blocks. Instruction and data representation. Interface standards. Interrupt processing and peripheral device control. Memory chips and memory organisation.
Operating system support for the development of substantial software systems. Process management, the process and thread concepts and concurrency. Synchronisation and communication. Storage management: Internal algorithms and structures.
Module Learning Strategies
Lectures 2 hours per week, tutorial/practical 1 hour per week, directed reading and research. The tutorial/practical session will have to be scheduled in an appropriate laboratory.
(1:n)2 (1:20)1

Module Resources
PC laboratories with Linux & Windows O/S
Java & C language platforms
Module Special Admissions Requirements
Prior study of Hardware, Software Systems and Networks or equivalent.
Module Texts
Silberschatz, A. , P.B.Galvin, G.Gagne, Operating Systems Concepts, Wiley, 2003, ISBN: 0471452491
Nutt,G., Operating Systems: A Modern Perspective., Addison-Wesley, 2003, ISBN: 0201773449
Stallings, W., Computer Organisation and Architecture, Prentice Hall, 2002, ISBN: 013035119-9
Module Additional Assessment Details
Assignment 50% (learning outcomes 2)
Exam 2 hours 50% (learning outcomes 1, 3, 4)