This course introduces students to the usage and administration of the UNIX operating system. The course will emphasize end-user tools and commands for basic file manipulation, editing, compilation, and debugging, as well as special features of the UNIX shell environment. Basic system administration will also be covered. Students will learn through a combination of traditional lectures, hands-on laboratory sessions, and individual assignments.
Check your grades online!The instructor/TAs will send email to the class listserv and post an announcement on the "What's New" page when grades are available for a given assignment/quiz. Grading will be based on:
Short quizzes will be given during lab sessions throughout the semester. Quizzes may cover any material up to and including the week before the quiz is given. Quizzes will not cover information discussed for the first time at the previous class meeting on Monday. There will be between 8 and 12 quizzes. Quizzes will be taken using opscan forms. Bring a #2 pencil to each lab session! Practice quizzes from a previous version of the class are available online via the WhizQuiz system.
Operating System used in the course
All lab sessions will use personal computers running Debian GNU/Linux 2.2r3. All homeworks and programming assignments will be expected to run under this operating system as well. You are encouraged to download and install the Debian system on your own machine. Information and downloads can be obtained from www.debian.org. Installing Linux can be a tricky task, and differs widely depending on your own system configuration. The Virginia Tech Linux/UNIX User's Group is available to help you with this process. You can sign up for one of their mailing lists or for an "install-fest" scheduled for September 22nd. Having Linux installed on your personal machine will help you to complete assignments accurately in this course, and will also be useful for future CS courses. If you decide not to install Linux, you will be able to access machines in the undergraduate UNIX lab by remote ssh/telnet 24 hours a day.Lab Sessions / Undergraduate UNIX laboratory
Lab sessions will be held in the UNIX laboratory, McBryde Hall room 124. The lab has 35 Linux workstations. This means that each of you should have a personal machine during the 1 hour lab session each week. For this reason, it is important that you attend the lab session in which you are enrolled. If you must attend a different lab session during a particular week, clear it with both your lab instructor and the instructor of the lab you want to attend. If there are no empty seats, you will not be allowed to attend that lab session. Lab sessions will generally consist of a quiz on the previous week's material (not every week), a brief review of the lecture, and a hands-on assignment allowing you to try the concepts, commands, tools, etc. discussed in the lecture.Lab hours and other lab information are posted on the CS lab home page.
Missing lecture or lab sessions
Attendance at all classes is necessary for students to succeed in this course. Attendance at lab sessions is required. However, attendance at lecture sessions is not required (the roll will not be called). If you must miss your assigned lab session, arrange with your lab instructor beforehand to sit in on a different session. No makeup quizzes will be given unless pre-approved by the instructor. If you miss lecture, it is your responsibility to obtain notes, handouts, and other information from your classmates. Do not be late to class! If you are tardy because of extenuating circumstances, you should sit in the empty seats near the upper door so as not to distract your classmates. Do not come to the classroom if you will be more than 10 minutes late.Asking Questions by email
Do not send general questions about homework assignments, quizzes, class content, etc. directly to the instructor or the TAs. Send email to cs2204@info.cs.vt.edu. This email is read by the instructor and all TAs. In your email, please include your name, student ID number, and the CRN of the lab section you attend (see the list above).Honor Code
All work in this course is to be your own. You may not copy code or use the structure or organization of another student's program. You may not use code obtained from the Internet or from students who have taken the class in previous semesters. You will be required to sign an honor code statement on all tests, quizzes, and programs.Special Needs
If you have any special needs or circumstances (disability accommodations, religious holidays that will cause you to miss class, etc.) please feel free to email the instructor or visit during office hours.