SC2005 - Operating Systems
Course Summary
SC2005 is a course focused on operating systems, covering fundamental concepts such as process management, threading, shared resource handling, and real-time OS principles. It provides a solid foundation for understanding multithreading, tasks, and OS behavior, which is useful not only for embedded programming but also for developers working in full stack, frontend, or backend roles. The course also touches on OS security and hardware interaction. While the content is highly relevant for grasping OS design and concepts, some students feel it has limited direct application in current corporate environments, so supplementing lectures with self-study online can enhance understanding.
Workload
The workload is moderate and well-distributed throughout the semester. Labs occur on alternate weeks and can be completed remotely via VPN, offering flexibility. Tutorials are paced slowly but are important for exam preparation. Assessment includes midterms, finals, lab assignments, and quizzes. There is no group work, so the module has low team dependency. Overall, the workload is manageable but requires consistent effort.
Projects
There are no traditional projects; instead, the course features individual lab assignments where students modify OS source code and observe its behavior. Additionally, there are weekly online quizzes with multiple attempts, lab quizzes, and a final concept and algorithm quiz with a strict time limit. These components serve as practical exercises to reinforce the theoretical material.
Tips to Do Well
To succeed, actively engage with all lab assignments and avoid copying solutions—focus on truly understanding the material. Completing online quizzes diligently and saving screenshots for review can help with exam preparation. Hands-on practice with lab work is essential to grasp how operating systems are designed and function. Taking tutorials seriously will also aid in performing well on finals.
Based on reviews by HAS, VW