haas/spring2026/sysprog/README.md
... ...
@@ -0,0 +1,783 @@
1
+# spring2026/sysprog
2
+# CSCS2730 Systems Programming
3
+## Syllabus / Course Homepage
4
+
5
+* Instructor: Matthew Haas (haas@corning-cc.edu)
6
+* Office: CHM123
7
+* Office Hours: T 10:00a-10:50a, W 1:30p-2:20p, R 10:00a-12:50p
8
+* In-person meeting details: CHM123 W 2:30p-3:20p
9
+* Class DESIG: sysprog
10
+* Class Chat: #sysprog on discord
11
+* Public Directory: /var/public/fall2025/SYSPROG
12
+* CRN: 30189
13
+* 'W' Drop Date: April 6, 2026
14
+
15
+=> https://discord.gg/8eu3nKjUXX Discord invite
16
+=> projects.gmi sysprog projects page
17
+=> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JsIuYeV5c72l5qaQEFOoNhJDYeaCv60U-kCKMaKzhv4/ SUNY CCC Syllabus Statements
18
+
19
+## Course Description
20
+
21
+Systems programming for portable operating system implementations. File
22
+and Device I/O, timers, process management, sockets, threads, file
23
+systems, terminals, signals, pipes, semaphores. Focus on concurrency and
24
+effective resource utilization.
25
+
26
+(3 cr. hrs.) (Fall). Prerequisites: CSCS1320, CSCS1730, or Instructor
27
+consent.
28
+
29
+## Course Objectives
30
+
31
+Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
32
+
33
+* better understand file I/O for efficient data processing
34
+* utilize capabilities built into the operating system
35
+* write programs that interact with and spawn processes
36
+* use pipes and sockets to communicate and share data
37
+* demonstrate knowledge of concurrency
38
+* design programs that handle signals
39
+* explore efficient solutions to data- and processing- intensive problems
40
+* utilize collaboration of resources to solve problems
41
+
42
+## Assumptions
43
+
44
+There are many great opportunities for realization and insight ahead, but
45
+there are also many obstacles standing in the way of you staying on a
46
+path of success. I find that uncommunicated assumptions can play a role
47
+in hampering progress, so please ensure you are suitably read up and
48
+aware of my assumptions coming into the course, along with my assumptions
49
+of your assumptions, playing the role of a studious student seeking
50
+enlightenment.
51
+
52
+Let's also make sure we are on the same playing field by establishing
53
+some definitions:
54
+
55
+**student**: A student is primarily a person enrolled in a school
56
+or other educational institution and who is under learning with
57
+goals of acquiring knowledge, developing professions and facilitating
58
+employment in a particular field. In the broader sense, **a student
59
+is anyone who applies themselves to the intensive intellectual
60
+engagement with some matter necessary to master it** as part of
61
+some practical affair in which such mastery is basic or decisive.
62
+(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student)
63
+
64
+While a decent definition, I would argue that it falls short by not also
65
+indicating certain things that should be stated, so herein are some
66
+further assumptions:
67
+
68
+A student, entering into the educational environment of a particular
69
+class or degree of study (especially at the undergraduate level where we
70
+reside), **DOES NOT** need to have any prior experience with the subject
71
+matter. That is: if you are taking a course on introductory programming
72
+in a certain language, the student is not expected to know how to program
73
+in that specific language (and depending on prerequisites to the course,
74
+may not even need to know anything about programming at the introductory
75
+level).
76
+
77
+To learn something means you don't know it. Not knowing something,
78
+there's a state of not understanding, and not being aware of what a
79
+particular thing or concept is. A student taking a class to learn
80
+something necessarily needs to be in active pursuit of gaining an
81
+understanding, but is not expecting to come in knowing anything. Learning
82
+is often a mistake-ridden process of bumping around in progressively less
83
+conceptually dark spaces as patterns are sussed out and intuitive
84
+connections are established. We learn best from our mistakes, so a
85
+student that does not make mistakes, or that avoids opportunities to make
86
+mistakes, isn't being a good student.
87
+
88
+Learning is build upon an ever-growing foundation (your life experience
89
+and knowledge, some derivation of society's and civilization's collective
90
+body of experience and knowledge), and to be eligible to take a college
91
+class, yes, SOME prerequisite knowledge is assumed, namely:
92
+
93
+* you are functionally literate in English
94
+* you know how to and can/will read (input/consume)
95
+* you know how to and can/will write (output/create/produce)
96
+* you know how to and can/will do math/computations
97
+* you know how to and can/will think
98
+* you know how to and can/will ask questions
99
+
100
+A student's (or learner's) absolute BEST tool is the question,
101
+specifically the regular asking of them. You **NEED** to be regularly
102
+engaging yourself and the class with questions, and responses to
103
+questions. No two people perceive something the same exact way.
104
+One explanation is not ideal for every individual. If an available
105
+explanation falls short with respect to being clarifying or promoting
106
+understanding, you should ask a question. If an available explanation is
107
+clarifying, but then upon further thought creates confusion or makes you
108
+wonder about other, potentially related things: YOU SHOULD ALSO ASK a
109
+question.
110
+
111
+The benefit of authentic education is that it transitions one from a
112
+state of predominantly not knowing what they don't know, to a state where
113
+while they may know that they know more than they did before, also then
114
+cultivates an important perception of then KNOWING that they don't know
115
+even more things.
116
+
117
+Education isn't about certainty or comfort in attaining a set of facts
118
+and calling it quits: It is about coming to terms with the endless
119
+uncertainty of possible things that can be pursued or known. We can never
120
+know everything, but we CAN know that we can never know everything. We
121
+instead strive for a functioning subset where we learn enough to give us
122
+a foundation in the present, and consistently keep learning (although
123
+hopefully less so exclusively in a classroom as time goes by, but
124
+instead by the individual having gained enough experience to become a
125
+self-learner) to keep up with the demands of tomorrow.
126
+
127
+So, as a student learner embarking upon and taking this class, know that
128
+I don't assume you know anything about the course you are taking, and
129
+that you will be reading and thinking and doing and computing and asking
130
+questions regularly so that by the conclusion of the course, you will
131
+have some greater idea of the nature of what was encountered in the
132
+class.
133
+
134
+If you don't want to ask questions, for whatever reason, nor want to
135
+bother with expanding your horizons, in learning new and different
136
+concepts and ways of doing things (ie you want to remain small and
137
+stagnant), then I would urge you to reconsider taking this course: it is
138
+NOT a daycare to keep your mind and hands pacified. It is an educational
139
+environment where you will be tasked to grow and improve.
140
+
141
+## Course Materials
142
+
143
+Understanding Unix/Linux Programming: A Guide to Theory and Practice
144
+by Bruce Molay
145
+Publisher: Prentice Hall
146
+ISBN: 0-13-008396-8
147
+=> http://www.pearsonhighered.com/academic/product/0,3110,0130083968,00.html URL to publisher page of book
148
+=> https://www.pearson.com/us/higher-education/program/Molay-Understanding-UNIX-LINUX-Programming-A-Guide-to-Theory-and-Practice/PGM190781.html Book URL
149
+
150
+## Technology Policy
151
+
152
+The baseline qualifications for taking this course include you having a proficiency:
153
+
154
+* to type on a full-size computer keyboard (104-key or equivalent)
155
+* with basic computing concepts (files, storage, units of information)
156
+* to read instructions and available technical data in relevant theatres and domains
157
+
158
+... and an ability:
159
+
160
+* to readily ask questions
161
+* to take notes and later retrieve useful information from them
162
+* to recall important concepts and experiences
163
+* to work on class-related content outside of class
164
+
165
+... and a willingness:
166
+
167
+* to attempt solving new and unfamiliar problems
168
+* to encounter new and unfamiliar concepts
169
+* to indulge in new and unfamiliar activities
170
+* to learn in new and unfamiliar ways
171
+* to work on class-related content outside of class
172
+
173
+## AI use policy
174
+
175
+With the advent of commercially-viable and desktop-usable AI products
176
+(AI/AGI/chatGPT/LLMs/etc.), heretofore all regarded as "AI", questions of
177
+ethics and allowability of such tools in the learning process have become
178
+a rather hot topic. For the purposes of my classes:
179
+
180
+AI use is **not** recommended; you would be better off at this stage not
181
+even touching it.
182
+
183
+AI is a powerful tool for productivity, yet when used prior to
184
+solid understanding of the concepts and information being transacted,
185
+ultimately suffer and stagnate.
186
+
187
+You should aim to understand and know how to do things yourself, by
188
+hand/manually. This allows you to better vet AI output, not to mention
189
+better leverage various automation technologies.
190
+
191
+During this learning process, do as much of the task as you can by hand
192
+or mentally: this is how you gain understanding and comprehension. This
193
+allows you to better vet AI output.
194
+
195
+If you insist on using AI, you hereby acknowledge you assume
196
+responsibility for its inherent perils and hazards it can cause you and
197
+your progress/success in this class:
198
+
199
+* accept that you are putting yourself at risk of deeply sabotaging your learning journey, subjecting yourself to stagnant thought and limited perspectives, as you insulate yourself from the rigors of doing the actual work
200
+
201
+* accept that you will have to live with the awareness that the instructor and other suitably aware individuals in the course may lose some faith in your humanity
202
+
203
+* accept that, if you pass off AI-generated work as your own, and your work is questioned, **if you are unable to competently demonstrate your understanding, you risk losing any and all credit for that deliverable**
204
+
205
+* YOU are the student, YOU are the one here to do the work and learn.
206
+
207
+AI prose is increasingly sophisticated and convincing. Yet there is a
208
+difference between verbosity and competence. Learning to differentiate
209
+between them is a valuable life skill, and an important ability to have
210
+when dealing with AI output.
211
+
212
+## Grading Policy
213
+
214
+The grading policy is broken down into 4 areas, totalling 104 points
215
+(which will account for 100% of the grade):
216
+
217
+* Notes/Journal/Writing (13pts)
218
+* Projects (52pts)
219
+* Participation (13pts)
220
+* EoCE (26pts).
221
+
222
+Each area, as well as the overall grade, will be evaluated based on a sum
223
+of accumulated points on each projects out of a sum of total points on
224
+each project (as opposed to a sum of averages on each project). This
225
+totaling tends to favor those who consistently do work throughout the
226
+semester, and I want to reward that.
227
+
228
+In addition, for each third to quarter of the class (at instructor's
229
+discretion), there will be a possibility of a **knowledge assessment**,
230
+the results of which will serve as a credit multiplier to any points
231
+accrued (ranging from 0.00-1.00). That means: if you skip or bomb the
232
+knowledge assessment, all your accrued points for that segment of the
233
+course are multiplied by 0.00, and that is the resultant credit that is
234
+factored into your grade.
235
+
236
+While the term 'percent' may be used, it is more appropriate to consider
237
+it a 'percent-oh-four', as the word 'percent' refers to PER each CENT
238
+(100). We are dealing not with 100s, but 104s.
239
+
240
+Also: with the possible exception of the project component, any
241
+accumulated point excesses will be capped at the allocation per that
242
+grading unit.
243
+
244
+## Letter Grades
245
+
246
+Letter grades are pegged to the following numeric values:
247
+
248
+* **A** (99.00+)
249
+* **A-** (93.00-98.99)
250
+* **B+** (87.00-92.99)
251
+* **B** (81.00-86.99)
252
+* **B-** (75.00-80.99)
253
+* **C+** (69.00-74.99)
254
+* **C** (63.00-68.99)
255
+* **D** (57.00-62.99)
256
+* **F** ( 0.00-56.99)
257
+
258
+Any calculated values in excess of two decimal places that may impact the
259
+result is at the sole evaluatory discretion of the instructor (for
260
+example, getting a 92.997; if you've been a pleasant, decent human being,
261
+I may do you a favor. Just sayin'). Application of any 'rounding' or
262
+other result processing is also at the sole discretion of the instructor.
263
+
264
+Bonus points, if given/available, are applied to a particular grade
265
+component (for example, a project bonus point will only pad the projects
266
+component of the grade), and then only up to a maximum of that grade
267
+component's total value (ie, one cannot use bonus points to exceed the 13
268
+possible overall points on the journal, or participation, for example).
269
+
270
+In addition, some further constraints pertaining to bonus point
271
+eligibility:
272
+
273
+Bonus projects that are due the same week as a for-credit project will
274
+only be considered if the for-credit project was actually turned in.
275
+
276
+Bonus projects that are due the same week as a for-credit project will
277
+only be considered if the for-credit project had a final evaluated result
278
+of greater than or equal to 52%.
279
+
280
+Bonus points from early submission of a for-credit project will only be
281
+applied if the for-credit project had a final evaluated result of greater
282
+than or equal to 52%.
283
+
284
+**NOTE**: bonus projects or other extra credit items are **not** eligible
285
+for early submission bonuses.
286
+
287
+## Course Notes
288
+
289
+Accomplishing the assigned tasks represents only part of the educational
290
+experience. A vital part of learning involve understanding and thinking.
291
+Writing is perhaps the best tool we have of capturing thought.
292
+
293
+In each course, as appropriate, there will be an on-going, weekly
294
+class-collaborative documentation, in the form of coursenotes or some
295
+related endeavour where the aim will be to assemble a coherent,
296
+informative document providing insight what went on in class / improved
297
+presentation of some class resource.
298
+
299
+While collaborative in nature, each individual will be evaluated based on
300
+number of commits and quantity of content contributed. While class or
301
+resource topics may vary from week to week, look to contribute at least
302
+256 words of informative, relevant content for consideration of full
303
+credit in this category.
304
+
305
+## Projects
306
+
307
+Projects constitute the portion of your grade involving activities you
308
+perform in the name of experiencing and demonstrating knowledge in this
309
+class- the means by which I will be assessing your understanding of the
310
+material through directed explorations of various topics. Such projects
311
+may be comprehensive to one another.
312
+
313
+In some cases, depending on the situations involved, a project may be
314
+conducive for group-based collaboration. This is not the default case,
315
+but is specified on a case-by-case basis. In such scenarios, all involved
316
+group members should be identified prior to starting on the project.
317
+Additionally, ALL group members in a collaborative situation must perform
318
+fairly equivalent work output into the completion of the project.
319
+Deficient members may experience reduced success.
320
+
321
+In accordance with the late policy, projects past their deadline will see
322
+a late penalty of 33% levied per day. This is to mitigate procrastination
323
+and encourage better time management, and also to ensure progress
324
+continues- once we hit the third day, a past due project is no longer
325
+worth any credit, so it behooves everyone to stay on top of assigned work
326
+and to complete it by its respective deadline. To clarify, if a project
327
+is due by the end of Wednesday, it would be 33% late Thursday (1 day
328
+late), 66% late Friday (2 days late), 100% late once it becomes Saturday
329
+(3+ days late).
330
+
331
+## Participation
332
+
333
+Maintaining an ever present effort in your journey with respect to being
334
+present for class gatherings and making such effort known is an important
335
+aspect to academic interactions.
336
+
337
+For class (no matter the setting), you are to show your effort through
338
+demonstrating regular interactive activity on lab46 and related class
339
+resources (discord, repository). Emphasis will be on communications
340
+taking place with the entire class (the class discord chat).
341
+
342
+Participating in class interactions is of significant importance.
343
+Participation is like the "I care" component of your grade. If you care
344
+enough to learn and help enhance the experience, you will have no trouble
345
+here. If you are disruptive or are not putting forth effort, however,
346
+then it will be duly reflected.
347
+
348
+Weekly participation may link directly to overall credit received on
349
+weekly projects! Do not be silent and in the shadows- ask questions and
350
+be interactive with the class!
351
+
352
+Each week, you have the ability to earn participation credit by
353
+performing various activities (for some amount of points per week, likely
354
+reflective of week and progression of semester). The particular **wcp#**
355
+projects will detail the specific attributes and points available (and
356
+needed) for a particular week.
357
+
358
+I would encourage you to vary your participation activities from week to
359
+week, especially as no one single activity will eventually be enough to
360
+cover the entirety of your weekly participation requirements.
361
+
362
+If you anticipate missing a class, please notify me in advance. While you
363
+may still lose applicable participation credit, the advance notice will
364
+be taken into positive consideration.
365
+
366
+## EoCE
367
+
368
+As the semester starts wrapping up, the End of Course Experience (EoCE)
369
+will be released.
370
+
371
+Intended as a sort of comprehensive project(s), its aim is to evaluate
372
+your knowledge gained from the class this semester. Unlike other classes
373
+which have a "Final Exam", the EoCE is meant to be an EXPERIENCE, and as
374
+such celebrated across the land. If you're new to my classes, you'll see
375
+those with prior experience jump for joy at the thought of an EoCE (the
376
+twitching / convulsing is merely ecstatic joy that is difficult for the
377
+corporeal body to manifest).
378
+
379
+## Submission Guidelines
380
+
381
+The following are some guidelines to keep in mind when preparing your
382
+work for submission. Not all may always be applicable, to each class, or
383
+even each submission.
384
+
385
+### Digital is best
386
+
387
+Technology is a wonderful thing. It facilitates many of the tasks we'd
388
+otherwise have to do manually by hand.
389
+
390
+The intent here is to make things easy on both you and me.
391
+
392
+So use the technology, and don't just it for the sake of using it-- use
393
+it to make the task at hand easier (ie use the technology available and
394
+sanctioned for the course).
395
+
396
+With that said, some additional aspects to keep in mind:
397
+
398
+* e-mails were designed to be plain text; don't make them into web pages
399
+* e-mails should always have an informative subject line
400
+* if you've got non-text files to include in an e-mail, just attach them
401
+* you've got many attachments? archive/compress them, attach the archive
402
+* plain ASCII text (UTF-8) is preferable over any enriched text format
403
+
404
+If appropriate, I also will accept submissions via singing telegram,
405
+airplane banner, crop circles, creative dance, three part rock aria, etc.
406
+so long that I get to witness such creativity, and receive something
407
+which lets me look back on it later (photos, video, transcription on
408
+paper, etc.). Chances are such unique submissions will gain you favorable
409
+considerations.
410
+
411
+### Identification
412
+
413
+Where applicable, be sure to include the following information on any
414
+submission:
415
+
416
+* Name,
417
+* Course and Section,
418
+* Due Date,
419
+* Assignment # and description,
420
+* Short abstract describing the purpose of your program / assignment.
421
+
422
+Presentation of this information in a clear and organized fashion will
423
+make your assignment all the easier to read. You may come up with your
424
+own format for the display of this information.
425
+
426
+Any e-mail submissions should have an appropriate subject line. Please
427
+use subjects on all e-mails. This is also very important.
428
+
429
+Leaving off the subject line is like sending a letter without putting a
430
+stamp on it-- it causes someone extra work. And that someone would be me.
431
+So don't do it. Please please please use informative subject lines!
432
+
433
+### Paraphrasing
434
+
435
+For any provided questions, keywords, etc.: identify each question or
436
+selection you are answering by listing or paraphrasing the original
437
+question.
438
+
439
+Do not just give me an answer.
440
+
441
+This is important. I mean it. You don't know how frustrating it is to get
442
+an assignment that just has the answers on it. It takes so much longer to
443
+evaluate.
444
+
445
+I reserve the right to deduct points if you don't do this.
446
+
447
+### Organization
448
+
449
+Keep your programs and assignments organized and easy to read.
450
+
451
+Use a uniform writing style. Messy or unorganized submissions will have
452
+points deducted. Think to yourself: does it look good? Would **you** want
453
+to read this? Take pride in your work.
454
+
455
+These assignments are not just for me to read and grade- you may wish to
456
+incorporate them into a portfolio for use in the future. Making an
457
+investment now could pay off later!
458
+
459
+### Timeliness
460
+
461
+Turn in submissions on time.
462
+
463
+Late submissions will be subject to an appropriate penalty. Circumstances
464
+vary, see the Late Policy for details.
465
+
466
+In many cases, where possible, I do accept resubmissions.
467
+
468
+### Errors
469
+
470
+If you encounter an error while performing some task (and the directions
471
+do not indicate you should be receiving an error), chances are you made a
472
+typo. Consult the class chat, ask someone, or contact me.
473
+
474
+**NOTE**: Submissions containing answers based on user error will be
475
+considered incorrect.
476
+
477
+### Backups
478
+
479
+Be sure to keep a backup copy of all assignments submitted in the event
480
+something is lost in transmission.
481
+
482
+**It is your responsibility to be able to send another copy of your
483
+submission should the original be lost.**
484
+
485
+### Common Sense
486
+
487
+Use your own judgment. The world today is increasingly filled with rules
488
+and policies dictating what you can and cannot do. I am not about to
489
+go and list all the specifics and restrictions regarding assignment
490
+submission.
491
+
492
+You are here to learn and to grow, and I want to allow you a certain
493
+amount of flexibility in that process. Spending all your time formatting
494
+an assignment to my specifications isn't my idea of learning. Incorporate
495
+these guidelines into your general style, if you miss the mark I'll let
496
+you know. But focus more on learning and understanding than worrying
497
+about dotting every 'i' or crossing every 't'. There's enough of that
498
+elsewhere in the world.
499
+
500
+## Late Policy
501
+
502
+Sometimes, even though we try our hardest to get everything in on time,
503
+the spurious Murphy's Law will make an appearance. Your dog ate your
504
+network cable, a burst of cosmic rays damaged your RAM precisely where
505
+your work was located... the list goes on.
506
+
507
+If something is not submitted by its respective due date (or, heaven
508
+forbid, the late window), and no advance attempt has been made to
509
+communicate with me, the assignment will be invalidated of any value.
510
+
511
+Bottom line.. if something is going to be late: let me know. It happens,
512
+just don't make a habit of it. Communication is key.
513
+
514
+Unless otherwise specified, past due assignments will lose 33% credit per
515
+day, rendering them worthless credit-wise after 3 days.
516
+
517
+Please do remember most projects are released **at least** one week in
518
+advance. If you wait until the finals days before the deadline, and
519
+struggle due to lack of time, that isn't grounds for reconsideration of
520
+any deadlines or late penalties. Take the whole time, work away slowly at
521
+it over time, and that will likely lead to far fewer deadline rushes.
522
+
523
+### Attendance
524
+
525
+Attendance plays an important part in one's educational journey each
526
+semester. Missing class deprives you of essential knowledge and hinders
527
+understanding towards your eventual mastering of a topic.
528
+
529
+Because we are all here to learn (and if learning isn't a priority, I
530
+highly suggest you think about making it such), and believe it or not-
531
+learning isn't just about one person, but the entire group. So it is
532
+important to be present in order to positively contribute to the learning
533
+experience.
534
+
535
+I also reserve the right to report absent, or highly tardy students in
536
+the course. In some cases, that could result in being dropped from the
537
+course. On the same token, I reserve the right NOT to report or do
538
+anything to such students. Sometimes failure can be the best teacher.
539
+
540
+### Behaviour
541
+
542
+Should your behaviour in the class be notably and consistently unruly,
543
+off-topic, or alarming, I have the ability to remove you from the class.
544
+
545
+I will likely issue a warning or report (although not necessarily to the
546
+individual- sometimes an administrative reporting is in order to have
547
+them resolve the issue) indicating a desire to have you cease the
548
+particular behaviour, but through continued transgressions, may actually
549
+elevate to forced removal from the class.
550
+
551
+The priority is to the well-being of the class community. I cannot have
552
+individuals derailing that for their own personal gain or purposes.
553
+
554
+## Collaboration
555
+
556
+Because this course is open resource (ie book, computer, note, etc.) I
557
+would like it generally to remain **closed person** and **closed
558
+intelligence** (the thinking done should be your own, not outsourcing it
559
+to some artificial entity). The reason for this is that the amount of
560
+resources available to you are vast, and the goal here is to discover and
561
+learn the material through individual initiative.
562
+
563
+It IS possible to help others without giving away answers.
564
+
565
+Respond to questions with a question, give pointers to where information
566
+might be located in legitimate sources, remind them of the usefulness of
567
+manuals, and the availability of search engines.
568
+
569
+Individuals are allowed and expected, to assist others through the class
570
+chat **WITHOUT GIVING EXPLICIT ANSWERS**, so long as it does not
571
+interfere with any other existing circumstance. If group work is required
572
+on anything, that attribute will be specifically stated.
573
+
574
+Explicit copying on or of any class work is forbidden. If any evidence or
575
+suggestion of non-authentic work is discovered (and I can tell you some
576
+stories) in your particular direction, you risk both my wrath as well as
577
+the possibility of disciplinary action by the school. Academic dishonesty
578
+and plagiarism may be prosecuted under the purview as laid out in the
579
+school's Academic Honesty Policy, as listed under the Code of Student
580
+Conduct: Academic Honesty section in the CCC Course Catalog.
581
+
582
+So just play it safe and make sure your work is your own, and borrowed
583
+information is appropriately cited or referenced.
584
+
585
+## Pet Peeves
586
+
587
+Everyone has their buttons that can be pushed the wrong way. Here are a
588
+few of mine, that I would prefer not encountering:
589
+
590
+The eager, often surface-only desire to destroy things (especially with
591
+no desire to understand the why behind it all).
592
+
593
+The notion that 'old', 'unpopular', 'uncomfortable', or 'different',
594
+especially in terms of technology or experiences, is somehow bad (there
595
+are plenty of useful things to learn, for the patterns will often
596
+remanifest in future technologies down the road)
597
+
598
+Apologizing: "sorry I had to ask a question", "sorry I misunderstood",
599
+"sorry I failed to do that action"; I WANT people to ask questions.
600
+Questions are based on not fully understanding something. And if your
601
+actions come up short, apologies only serve to highlight the deficiency.
602
+The best solution: to fix it and not keep repeating the same mistake.
603
+There may be things worthy of apologizing for. For most incidents of
604
+apology I encounter related to classes, such is irrelevant. If you feel
605
+you are in the wrong for asking a question, you're doing this whole
606
+learning thing wrong.
607
+
608
+Overhelping "the weakest link"; a somewhat modern trend, where I see
609
+woefully unprepared/unready individuals overly assisted through the
610
+course (where the intent is to save them from failing). This is but a
611
+short-term perspective, contributing to their long-term failure.
612
+
613
+Opting out of things that seem overwhelming, yet somehow expecting things
614
+will get better as time goes on.
615
+
616
+The desire to impress me-- impressing comes by being impressive, not
617
+selling an act to me (in short, don't try to impress me, just do your
618
+best work, and have me be impressed by how impressive it naturally is).
619
+
620
+Avoiding the developing/strengthening your own memory and recall, and
621
+relying on others (including the instructor) to be your memory.
622
+
623
+The obsession over and recitation of hardware specs-- this has nothing to
624
+do with computing, yet many mistakenly believe it to be such (a small
625
+aspect of IT and an occasionally fun hobby? sure.)
626
+
627
+The compensation for lack of knowledge by clinging tightly to (perceived)
628
+known knowledge-- I expect everyone not to know things; knowing we don't
629
+know enables us to learn.
630
+
631
+The avoiding of questions out of fear they may not be worthy of asking--
632
+how else can I know where you are if you don't ask?
633
+
634
+The asking for the answer as if it were a question, to avoid thinking or
635
+doing the work yourself. Questions are the a result of your thinking, not
636
+"I don't know, so tell me?", or the worst (literally): "What do I need to
637
+do in order to get an A/full credit?"
638
+
639
+The absolute belief that if I say something then it is the truth (same
640
+for the inverse, converse, contrapositive, etc.)-- being open-minded and
641
+questioning is one of the greatest abilities we can have. Society trains
642
+you to be compliant with external authority at the expense of your own;
643
+to be educated and intelligent, in part, means you have cultivated your
644
+own self-authority so you can make your own decisions.
645
+
646
+The impression that if something is said frequently or confidently
647
+enough, then it must be true, and that makes someone an "expert" who
648
+should be believed, followed, and unquestioned.
649
+
650
+The tendency to brute force through something instead of trying to think
651
+or learn new approaches-- memorizing and regurgitation will often not
652
+work out in your favour here (or greatly annoy me).
653
+
654
+Being tangibly obsessed with knowing your exact grade, while being
655
+uninformed about the process of calculating it yourself from available
656
+information.
657
+
658
+Complaining upstream about me/my class without actually bringing issues
659
+to me first to address.
660
+
661
+Destroying context in asynchronous communications (ie deleting Discord
662
+messages after making a post, asking a question, and getting some sort of
663
+resolution): this makes it entirely unhelpful for others to also benefit,
664
+and leaves gaping holes in the existing conversation. Please do not
665
+delete your Discord messages after getting a response.
666
+
667
+Using AI, and failing to distinguish between your own skills and
668
+knowledge, and what AI is able to produce, treating them as one and the
669
+same. As I've said elsewhere, at this level, you should be avoiding
670
+flagrant AI use, as it can become a fatal crutch, stagnating your
671
+abilities.
672
+
673
+## Rules for Success
674
+
675
+For maximum success in the class, please adhere to the following rules:
676
+
677
+* start on activities early
678
+* observe/study, read/intuit, and comprehend the subject matter
679
+* play/tinker/experiment with the subject matter (external to projects)
680
+* ask well-informed and copious questions
681
+
682
+Struggle and problems in the course almost immediately arise when one
683
+fails to follow one or more of these guidelines.
684
+
685
+## Documentation
686
+
687
+The following criteria should be kept in mind when contributing content
688
+to collaborative documentation, the course notes, and any pertinent
689
+class-related communications:
690
+
691
+* Never use a form of a word in its own definition
692
+* Use external hyperlinks only as citations
693
+* Content first, then formatting
694
+* There is only one empire- ours
695
+* Contribute only original content
696
+* Paraphrase and cite existing information
697
+* Do NOT blatantly copy existing information
698
+* A healthy resource is an active resource
699
+* Do not focus on just your contributions
700
+* Mistakes are opportunities for future contributions
701
+
702
+## Topics
703
+
704
+The following is a list of the major topics being covered in this course:
705
+
706
+* UNIX Systems Programming
707
+* User space
708
+* Kernel, Kernel space
709
+* Users, Files, and the Manual
710
+* File Access (open, read, write, lseek, close)
711
+* File descriptors
712
+* Buffering
713
+* System Calls
714
+* Directories and File Properties
715
+* File Types and File Properties
716
+* Bit Sets and Bit Masks
717
+* User IDs, Group IDs
718
+* Focus on File Systems
719
+* Filesystem Structure; inodes and data blocks
720
+* Directories
721
+* Links
722
+* Connection Control
723
+* Device files
724
+* Race conditions
725
+* Atomic Operations
726
+* Streams
727
+* Terminal Control and Signals
728
+* Blocking vs. Non-Blocking
729
+* Signals
730
+* Event-Driven Programming
731
+* Alarms, Interval Timers
732
+* Reentrant code, critical sections
733
+* Asynchronous input
734
+* Processes and Programs
735
+* UNIX process model, processes
736
+* Parent/Child processes
737
+* Shell Variables and the Environment
738
+* I/O Redirection and Pipes
739
+* I/O Redirection
740
+* Pipes
741
+* Servers and Sockets
742
+* Client/Server model
743
+* Coroutines
744
+* Connections and Protocols
745
+* Server sockets
746
+* Client sockets
747
+* Zombies
748
+* Programming with Datagrams
749
+* TCP vs. UDP
750
+* Distributed Systems
751
+* UNIX domain sockets
752
+* Threads
753
+* Multithreading
754
+* Creating/destroying threads
755
+* Sharing data between threads
756
+* Synchronizing data
757
+* Inter Process Communication
758
+* Named pipes
759
+* Shared memory
760
+* File locks
761
+* Semaphores
762
+
763
+## Student Understanding and Agreement of Syllabus Terms
764
+
765
+By reading through this document, participating in the class chat,
766
+utilizing class resources, and performing the various class activities
767
+and projects, you understand and consent:
768
+
769
+* to the rules, policies governing your status as a student at SUNY CCC.
770
+* to the structure, policies, and nature of the course as laid out here.
771
+* to having an adequate understanding of course prerequisite knowledge.
772
+* to maintain a respectful, inquisitive, well-behaved, and learning-oriented focus as you participate and go through the course.
773
+* to practice (and further cultivate, as needed) the fundamental aspects of a student taking this course, which includes being able and willing:
774
+* to read, comprehend and work with the material and information inherent to the course.
775
+* to write and express your thoughts in coherent, descriptive sentences.
776
+* willing to analyze, problem solve, debug, troubleshoot, ideate, creatively, and logically/rationally think.
777
+* willing to compute and transact in number concepts (literal, symbolic or abstract) and any related units in their various processes.
778
+* to, upon facing uncertainty, confusion, or lack of understanding, will ask copious, well-informed, and well-intending questions to clarify your state of understanding.
779
+* if cause for issue rises, you will bring it to my attention so that it may be best addressed as locally and pertinently as possible to the course and its educational environment.
780
+* participate in the course with a focus on curiosity, discovering, exploring, learning, and understanding.
781
+* starting early on deliverables so that ample time is available for discovering, exploring, learning, and asking any questions as needed.
782
+* that, as a student, a genuine learning experience necessarily involves some level of unfamiliarity, which may invoke discomfort.
783
+* that your learning and the nature of the course is an inherently asynchronous thing. It is your responsibility to manage your time, so that you can have adequate time to ask questions and accomplish your own tasks.
haas/spring2026/sysprog/index.md
... ...
@@ -1,783 +0,0 @@
1
-# spring2026/sysprog
2
-# CSCS2730 Systems Programming
3
-## Syllabus / Course Homepage
4
-
5
-* Instructor: Matthew Haas (haas@corning-cc.edu)
6
-* Office: CHM123
7
-* Office Hours: T 10:00a-10:50a, W 1:30p-2:20p, R 10:00a-12:50p
8
-* In-person meeting details: CHM123 W 2:30p-3:20p
9
-* Class DESIG: sysprog
10
-* Class Chat: #sysprog on discord
11
-* Public Directory: /var/public/fall2025/SYSPROG
12
-* CRN: 30189
13
-* 'W' Drop Date: April 6, 2026
14
-
15
-=> https://discord.gg/8eu3nKjUXX Discord invite
16
-=> projects.gmi sysprog projects page
17
-=> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JsIuYeV5c72l5qaQEFOoNhJDYeaCv60U-kCKMaKzhv4/ SUNY CCC Syllabus Statements
18
-
19
-## Course Description
20
-
21
-Systems programming for portable operating system implementations. File
22
-and Device I/O, timers, process management, sockets, threads, file
23
-systems, terminals, signals, pipes, semaphores. Focus on concurrency and
24
-effective resource utilization.
25
-
26
-(3 cr. hrs.) (Fall). Prerequisites: CSCS1320, CSCS1730, or Instructor
27
-consent.
28
-
29
-## Course Objectives
30
-
31
-Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
32
-
33
-* better understand file I/O for efficient data processing
34
-* utilize capabilities built into the operating system
35
-* write programs that interact with and spawn processes
36
-* use pipes and sockets to communicate and share data
37
-* demonstrate knowledge of concurrency
38
-* design programs that handle signals
39
-* explore efficient solutions to data- and processing- intensive problems
40
-* utilize collaboration of resources to solve problems
41
-
42
-## Assumptions
43
-
44
-There are many great opportunities for realization and insight ahead, but
45
-there are also many obstacles standing in the way of you staying on a
46
-path of success. I find that uncommunicated assumptions can play a role
47
-in hampering progress, so please ensure you are suitably read up and
48
-aware of my assumptions coming into the course, along with my assumptions
49
-of your assumptions, playing the role of a studious student seeking
50
-enlightenment.
51
-
52
-Let's also make sure we are on the same playing field by establishing
53
-some definitions:
54
-
55
-**student**: A student is primarily a person enrolled in a school
56
-or other educational institution and who is under learning with
57
-goals of acquiring knowledge, developing professions and facilitating
58
-employment in a particular field. In the broader sense, **a student
59
-is anyone who applies themselves to the intensive intellectual
60
-engagement with some matter necessary to master it** as part of
61
-some practical affair in which such mastery is basic or decisive.
62
-(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student)
63
-
64
-While a decent definition, I would argue that it falls short by not also
65
-indicating certain things that should be stated, so herein are some
66
-further assumptions:
67
-
68
-A student, entering into the educational environment of a particular
69
-class or degree of study (especially at the undergraduate level where we
70
-reside), **DOES NOT** need to have any prior experience with the subject
71
-matter. That is: if you are taking a course on introductory programming
72
-in a certain language, the student is not expected to know how to program
73
-in that specific language (and depending on prerequisites to the course,
74
-may not even need to know anything about programming at the introductory
75
-level).
76
-
77
-To learn something means you don't know it. Not knowing something,
78
-there's a state of not understanding, and not being aware of what a
79
-particular thing or concept is. A student taking a class to learn
80
-something necessarily needs to be in active pursuit of gaining an
81
-understanding, but is not expecting to come in knowing anything. Learning
82
-is often a mistake-ridden process of bumping around in progressively less
83
-conceptually dark spaces as patterns are sussed out and intuitive
84
-connections are established. We learn best from our mistakes, so a
85
-student that does not make mistakes, or that avoids opportunities to make
86
-mistakes, isn't being a good student.
87
-
88
-Learning is build upon an ever-growing foundation (your life experience
89
-and knowledge, some derivation of society's and civilization's collective
90
-body of experience and knowledge), and to be eligible to take a college
91
-class, yes, SOME prerequisite knowledge is assumed, namely:
92
-
93
-* you are functionally literate in English
94
-* you know how to and can/will read (input/consume)
95
-* you know how to and can/will write (output/create/produce)
96
-* you know how to and can/will do math/computations
97
-* you know how to and can/will think
98
-* you know how to and can/will ask questions
99
-
100
-A student's (or learner's) absolute BEST tool is the question,
101
-specifically the regular asking of them. You **NEED** to be regularly
102
-engaging yourself and the class with questions, and responses to
103
-questions. No two people perceive something the same exact way.
104
-One explanation is not ideal for every individual. If an available
105
-explanation falls short with respect to being clarifying or promoting
106
-understanding, you should ask a question. If an available explanation is
107
-clarifying, but then upon further thought creates confusion or makes you
108
-wonder about other, potentially related things: YOU SHOULD ALSO ASK a
109
-question.
110
-
111
-The benefit of authentic education is that it transitions one from a
112
-state of predominantly not knowing what they don't know, to a state where
113
-while they may know that they know more than they did before, also then
114
-cultivates an important perception of then KNOWING that they don't know
115
-even more things.
116
-
117
-Education isn't about certainty or comfort in attaining a set of facts
118
-and calling it quits: It is about coming to terms with the endless
119
-uncertainty of possible things that can be pursued or known. We can never
120
-know everything, but we CAN know that we can never know everything. We
121
-instead strive for a functioning subset where we learn enough to give us
122
-a foundation in the present, and consistently keep learning (although
123
-hopefully less so exclusively in a classroom as time goes by, but
124
-instead by the individual having gained enough experience to become a
125
-self-learner) to keep up with the demands of tomorrow.
126
-
127
-So, as a student learner embarking upon and taking this class, know that
128
-I don't assume you know anything about the course you are taking, and
129
-that you will be reading and thinking and doing and computing and asking
130
-questions regularly so that by the conclusion of the course, you will
131
-have some greater idea of the nature of what was encountered in the
132
-class.
133
-
134
-If you don't want to ask questions, for whatever reason, nor want to
135
-bother with expanding your horizons, in learning new and different
136
-concepts and ways of doing things (ie you want to remain small and
137
-stagnant), then I would urge you to reconsider taking this course: it is
138
-NOT a daycare to keep your mind and hands pacified. It is an educational
139
-environment where you will be tasked to grow and improve.
140
-
141
-## Course Materials
142
-
143
-Understanding Unix/Linux Programming: A Guide to Theory and Practice
144
-by Bruce Molay
145
-Publisher: Prentice Hall
146
-ISBN: 0-13-008396-8
147
-=> http://www.pearsonhighered.com/academic/product/0,3110,0130083968,00.html URL to publisher page of book
148
-=> https://www.pearson.com/us/higher-education/program/Molay-Understanding-UNIX-LINUX-Programming-A-Guide-to-Theory-and-Practice/PGM190781.html Book URL
149
-
150
-## Technology Policy
151
-
152
-The baseline qualifications for taking this course include you having a proficiency:
153
-
154
-* to type on a full-size computer keyboard (104-key or equivalent)
155
-* with basic computing concepts (files, storage, units of information)
156
-* to read instructions and available technical data in relevant theatres and domains
157
-
158
-... and an ability:
159
-
160
-* to readily ask questions
161
-* to take notes and later retrieve useful information from them
162
-* to recall important concepts and experiences
163
-* to work on class-related content outside of class
164
-
165
-... and a willingness:
166
-
167
-* to attempt solving new and unfamiliar problems
168
-* to encounter new and unfamiliar concepts
169
-* to indulge in new and unfamiliar activities
170
-* to learn in new and unfamiliar ways
171
-* to work on class-related content outside of class
172
-
173
-## AI use policy
174
-
175
-With the advent of commercially-viable and desktop-usable AI products
176
-(AI/AGI/chatGPT/LLMs/etc.), heretofore all regarded as "AI", questions of
177
-ethics and allowability of such tools in the learning process have become
178
-a rather hot topic. For the purposes of my classes:
179
-
180
-AI use is **not** recommended; you would be better off at this stage not
181
-even touching it.
182
-
183
-AI is a powerful tool for productivity, yet when used prior to
184
-solid understanding of the concepts and information being transacted,
185
-ultimately suffer and stagnate.
186
-
187
-You should aim to understand and know how to do things yourself, by
188
-hand/manually. This allows you to better vet AI output, not to mention
189
-better leverage various automation technologies.
190
-
191
-During this learning process, do as much of the task as you can by hand
192
-or mentally: this is how you gain understanding and comprehension. This
193
-allows you to better vet AI output.
194
-
195
-If you insist on using AI, you hereby acknowledge you assume
196
-responsibility for its inherent perils and hazards it can cause you and
197
-your progress/success in this class:
198
-
199
-* accept that you are putting yourself at risk of deeply sabotaging your learning journey, subjecting yourself to stagnant thought and limited perspectives, as you insulate yourself from the rigors of doing the actual work
200
-
201
-* accept that you will have to live with the awareness that the instructor and other suitably aware individuals in the course may lose some faith in your humanity
202
-
203
-* accept that, if you pass off AI-generated work as your own, and your work is questioned, **if you are unable to competently demonstrate your understanding, you risk losing any and all credit for that deliverable**
204
-
205
-* YOU are the student, YOU are the one here to do the work and learn.
206
-
207
-AI prose is increasingly sophisticated and convincing. Yet there is a
208
-difference between verbosity and competence. Learning to differentiate
209
-between them is a valuable life skill, and an important ability to have
210
-when dealing with AI output.
211
-
212
-## Grading Policy
213
-
214
-The grading policy is broken down into 4 areas, totalling 104 points
215
-(which will account for 100% of the grade):
216
-
217
-* Notes/Journal/Writing (13pts)
218
-* Projects (52pts)
219
-* Participation (13pts)
220
-* EoCE (26pts).
221
-
222
-Each area, as well as the overall grade, will be evaluated based on a sum
223
-of accumulated points on each projects out of a sum of total points on
224
-each project (as opposed to a sum of averages on each project). This
225
-totaling tends to favor those who consistently do work throughout the
226
-semester, and I want to reward that.
227
-
228
-In addition, for each third to quarter of the class (at instructor's
229
-discretion), there will be a possibility of a **knowledge assessment**,
230
-the results of which will serve as a credit multiplier to any points
231
-accrued (ranging from 0.00-1.00). That means: if you skip or bomb the
232
-knowledge assessment, all your accrued points for that segment of the
233
-course are multiplied by 0.00, and that is the resultant credit that is
234
-factored into your grade.
235
-
236
-While the term 'percent' may be used, it is more appropriate to consider
237
-it a 'percent-oh-four', as the word 'percent' refers to PER each CENT
238
-(100). We are dealing not with 100s, but 104s.
239
-
240
-Also: with the possible exception of the project component, any
241
-accumulated point excesses will be capped at the allocation per that
242
-grading unit.
243
-
244
-## Letter Grades
245
-
246
-Letter grades are pegged to the following numeric values:
247
-
248
-* **A** (99.00+)
249
-* **A-** (93.00-98.99)
250
-* **B+** (87.00-92.99)
251
-* **B** (81.00-86.99)
252
-* **B-** (75.00-80.99)
253
-* **C+** (69.00-74.99)
254
-* **C** (63.00-68.99)
255
-* **D** (57.00-62.99)
256
-* **F** ( 0.00-56.99)
257
-
258
-Any calculated values in excess of two decimal places that may impact the
259
-result is at the sole evaluatory discretion of the instructor (for
260
-example, getting a 92.997; if you've been a pleasant, decent human being,
261
-I may do you a favor. Just sayin'). Application of any 'rounding' or
262
-other result processing is also at the sole discretion of the instructor.
263
-
264
-Bonus points, if given/available, are applied to a particular grade
265
-component (for example, a project bonus point will only pad the projects
266
-component of the grade), and then only up to a maximum of that grade
267
-component's total value (ie, one cannot use bonus points to exceed the 13
268
-possible overall points on the journal, or participation, for example).
269
-
270
-In addition, some further constraints pertaining to bonus point
271
-eligibility:
272
-
273
-Bonus projects that are due the same week as a for-credit project will
274
-only be considered if the for-credit project was actually turned in.
275
-
276
-Bonus projects that are due the same week as a for-credit project will
277
-only be considered if the for-credit project had a final evaluated result
278
-of greater than or equal to 52%.
279
-
280
-Bonus points from early submission of a for-credit project will only be
281
-applied if the for-credit project had a final evaluated result of greater
282
-than or equal to 52%.
283
-
284
-**NOTE**: bonus projects or other extra credit items are **not** eligible
285
-for early submission bonuses.
286
-
287
-## Course Notes
288
-
289
-Accomplishing the assigned tasks represents only part of the educational
290
-experience. A vital part of learning involve understanding and thinking.
291
-Writing is perhaps the best tool we have of capturing thought.
292
-
293
-In each course, as appropriate, there will be an on-going, weekly
294
-class-collaborative documentation, in the form of coursenotes or some
295
-related endeavour where the aim will be to assemble a coherent,
296
-informative document providing insight what went on in class / improved
297
-presentation of some class resource.
298
-
299
-While collaborative in nature, each individual will be evaluated based on
300
-number of commits and quantity of content contributed. While class or
301
-resource topics may vary from week to week, look to contribute at least
302
-256 words of informative, relevant content for consideration of full
303
-credit in this category.
304
-
305
-## Projects
306
-
307
-Projects constitute the portion of your grade involving activities you
308
-perform in the name of experiencing and demonstrating knowledge in this
309
-class- the means by which I will be assessing your understanding of the
310
-material through directed explorations of various topics. Such projects
311
-may be comprehensive to one another.
312
-
313
-In some cases, depending on the situations involved, a project may be
314
-conducive for group-based collaboration. This is not the default case,
315
-but is specified on a case-by-case basis. In such scenarios, all involved
316
-group members should be identified prior to starting on the project.
317
-Additionally, ALL group members in a collaborative situation must perform
318
-fairly equivalent work output into the completion of the project.
319
-Deficient members may experience reduced success.
320
-
321
-In accordance with the late policy, projects past their deadline will see
322
-a late penalty of 33% levied per day. This is to mitigate procrastination
323
-and encourage better time management, and also to ensure progress
324
-continues- once we hit the third day, a past due project is no longer
325
-worth any credit, so it behooves everyone to stay on top of assigned work
326
-and to complete it by its respective deadline. To clarify, if a project
327
-is due by the end of Wednesday, it would be 33% late Thursday (1 day
328
-late), 66% late Friday (2 days late), 100% late once it becomes Saturday
329
-(3+ days late).
330
-
331
-## Participation
332
-
333
-Maintaining an ever present effort in your journey with respect to being
334
-present for class gatherings and making such effort known is an important
335
-aspect to academic interactions.
336
-
337
-For class (no matter the setting), you are to show your effort through
338
-demonstrating regular interactive activity on lab46 and related class
339
-resources (discord, repository). Emphasis will be on communications
340
-taking place with the entire class (the class discord chat).
341
-
342
-Participating in class interactions is of significant importance.
343
-Participation is like the "I care" component of your grade. If you care
344
-enough to learn and help enhance the experience, you will have no trouble
345
-here. If you are disruptive or are not putting forth effort, however,
346
-then it will be duly reflected.
347
-
348
-Weekly participation may link directly to overall credit received on
349
-weekly projects! Do not be silent and in the shadows- ask questions and
350
-be interactive with the class!
351
-
352
-Each week, you have the ability to earn participation credit by
353
-performing various activities (for some amount of points per week, likely
354
-reflective of week and progression of semester). The particular **wcp#**
355
-projects will detail the specific attributes and points available (and
356
-needed) for a particular week.
357
-
358
-I would encourage you to vary your participation activities from week to
359
-week, especially as no one single activity will eventually be enough to
360
-cover the entirety of your weekly participation requirements.
361
-
362
-If you anticipate missing a class, please notify me in advance. While you
363
-may still lose applicable participation credit, the advance notice will
364
-be taken into positive consideration.
365
-
366
-## EoCE
367
-
368
-As the semester starts wrapping up, the End of Course Experience (EoCE)
369
-will be released.
370
-
371
-Intended as a sort of comprehensive project(s), its aim is to evaluate
372
-your knowledge gained from the class this semester. Unlike other classes
373
-which have a "Final Exam", the EoCE is meant to be an EXPERIENCE, and as
374
-such celebrated across the land. If you're new to my classes, you'll see
375
-those with prior experience jump for joy at the thought of an EoCE (the
376
-twitching / convulsing is merely ecstatic joy that is difficult for the
377
-corporeal body to manifest).
378
-
379
-## Submission Guidelines
380
-
381
-The following are some guidelines to keep in mind when preparing your
382
-work for submission. Not all may always be applicable, to each class, or
383
-even each submission.
384
-
385
-### Digital is best
386
-
387
-Technology is a wonderful thing. It facilitates many of the tasks we'd
388
-otherwise have to do manually by hand.
389
-
390
-The intent here is to make things easy on both you and me.
391
-
392
-So use the technology, and don't just it for the sake of using it-- use
393
-it to make the task at hand easier (ie use the technology available and
394
-sanctioned for the course).
395
-
396
-With that said, some additional aspects to keep in mind:
397
-
398
-* e-mails were designed to be plain text; don't make them into web pages
399
-* e-mails should always have an informative subject line
400
-* if you've got non-text files to include in an e-mail, just attach them
401
-* you've got many attachments? archive/compress them, attach the archive
402
-* plain ASCII text (UTF-8) is preferable over any enriched text format
403
-
404
-If appropriate, I also will accept submissions via singing telegram,
405
-airplane banner, crop circles, creative dance, three part rock aria, etc.
406
-so long that I get to witness such creativity, and receive something
407
-which lets me look back on it later (photos, video, transcription on
408
-paper, etc.). Chances are such unique submissions will gain you favorable
409
-considerations.
410
-
411
-### Identification
412
-
413
-Where applicable, be sure to include the following information on any
414
-submission:
415
-
416
-* Name,
417
-* Course and Section,
418
-* Due Date,
419
-* Assignment # and description,
420
-* Short abstract describing the purpose of your program / assignment.
421
-
422
-Presentation of this information in a clear and organized fashion will
423
-make your assignment all the easier to read. You may come up with your
424
-own format for the display of this information.
425
-
426
-Any e-mail submissions should have an appropriate subject line. Please
427
-use subjects on all e-mails. This is also very important.
428
-
429
-Leaving off the subject line is like sending a letter without putting a
430
-stamp on it-- it causes someone extra work. And that someone would be me.
431
-So don't do it. Please please please use informative subject lines!
432
-
433
-### Paraphrasing
434
-
435
-For any provided questions, keywords, etc.: identify each question or
436
-selection you are answering by listing or paraphrasing the original
437
-question.
438
-
439
-Do not just give me an answer.
440
-
441
-This is important. I mean it. You don't know how frustrating it is to get
442
-an assignment that just has the answers on it. It takes so much longer to
443
-evaluate.
444
-
445
-I reserve the right to deduct points if you don't do this.
446
-
447
-### Organization
448
-
449
-Keep your programs and assignments organized and easy to read.
450
-
451
-Use a uniform writing style. Messy or unorganized submissions will have
452
-points deducted. Think to yourself: does it look good? Would **you** want
453
-to read this? Take pride in your work.
454
-
455
-These assignments are not just for me to read and grade- you may wish to
456
-incorporate them into a portfolio for use in the future. Making an
457
-investment now could pay off later!
458
-
459
-### Timeliness
460
-
461
-Turn in submissions on time.
462
-
463
-Late submissions will be subject to an appropriate penalty. Circumstances
464
-vary, see the Late Policy for details.
465
-
466
-In many cases, where possible, I do accept resubmissions.
467
-
468
-### Errors
469
-
470
-If you encounter an error while performing some task (and the directions
471
-do not indicate you should be receiving an error), chances are you made a
472
-typo. Consult the class chat, ask someone, or contact me.
473
-
474
-**NOTE**: Submissions containing answers based on user error will be
475
-considered incorrect.
476
-
477
-### Backups
478
-
479
-Be sure to keep a backup copy of all assignments submitted in the event
480
-something is lost in transmission.
481
-
482
-**It is your responsibility to be able to send another copy of your
483
-submission should the original be lost.**
484
-
485
-### Common Sense
486
-
487
-Use your own judgment. The world today is increasingly filled with rules
488
-and policies dictating what you can and cannot do. I am not about to
489
-go and list all the specifics and restrictions regarding assignment
490
-submission.
491
-
492
-You are here to learn and to grow, and I want to allow you a certain
493
-amount of flexibility in that process. Spending all your time formatting
494
-an assignment to my specifications isn't my idea of learning. Incorporate
495
-these guidelines into your general style, if you miss the mark I'll let
496
-you know. But focus more on learning and understanding than worrying
497
-about dotting every 'i' or crossing every 't'. There's enough of that
498
-elsewhere in the world.
499
-
500
-## Late Policy
501
-
502
-Sometimes, even though we try our hardest to get everything in on time,
503
-the spurious Murphy's Law will make an appearance. Your dog ate your
504
-network cable, a burst of cosmic rays damaged your RAM precisely where
505
-your work was located... the list goes on.
506
-
507
-If something is not submitted by its respective due date (or, heaven
508
-forbid, the late window), and no advance attempt has been made to
509
-communicate with me, the assignment will be invalidated of any value.
510
-
511
-Bottom line.. if something is going to be late: let me know. It happens,
512
-just don't make a habit of it. Communication is key.
513
-
514
-Unless otherwise specified, past due assignments will lose 33% credit per
515
-day, rendering them worthless credit-wise after 3 days.
516
-
517
-Please do remember most projects are released **at least** one week in
518
-advance. If you wait until the finals days before the deadline, and
519
-struggle due to lack of time, that isn't grounds for reconsideration of
520
-any deadlines or late penalties. Take the whole time, work away slowly at
521
-it over time, and that will likely lead to far fewer deadline rushes.
522
-
523
-### Attendance
524
-
525
-Attendance plays an important part in one's educational journey each
526
-semester. Missing class deprives you of essential knowledge and hinders
527
-understanding towards your eventual mastering of a topic.
528
-
529
-Because we are all here to learn (and if learning isn't a priority, I
530
-highly suggest you think about making it such), and believe it or not-
531
-learning isn't just about one person, but the entire group. So it is
532
-important to be present in order to positively contribute to the learning
533
-experience.
534
-
535
-I also reserve the right to report absent, or highly tardy students in
536
-the course. In some cases, that could result in being dropped from the
537
-course. On the same token, I reserve the right NOT to report or do
538
-anything to such students. Sometimes failure can be the best teacher.
539
-
540
-### Behaviour
541
-
542
-Should your behaviour in the class be notably and consistently unruly,
543
-off-topic, or alarming, I have the ability to remove you from the class.
544
-
545
-I will likely issue a warning or report (although not necessarily to the
546
-individual- sometimes an administrative reporting is in order to have
547
-them resolve the issue) indicating a desire to have you cease the
548
-particular behaviour, but through continued transgressions, may actually
549
-elevate to forced removal from the class.
550
-
551
-The priority is to the well-being of the class community. I cannot have
552
-individuals derailing that for their own personal gain or purposes.
553
-
554
-## Collaboration
555
-
556
-Because this course is open resource (ie book, computer, note, etc.) I
557
-would like it generally to remain **closed person** and **closed
558
-intelligence** (the thinking done should be your own, not outsourcing it
559
-to some artificial entity). The reason for this is that the amount of
560
-resources available to you are vast, and the goal here is to discover and
561
-learn the material through individual initiative.
562
-
563
-It IS possible to help others without giving away answers.
564
-
565
-Respond to questions with a question, give pointers to where information
566
-might be located in legitimate sources, remind them of the usefulness of
567
-manuals, and the availability of search engines.
568
-
569
-Individuals are allowed and expected, to assist others through the class
570
-chat **WITHOUT GIVING EXPLICIT ANSWERS**, so long as it does not
571
-interfere with any other existing circumstance. If group work is required
572
-on anything, that attribute will be specifically stated.
573
-
574
-Explicit copying on or of any class work is forbidden. If any evidence or
575
-suggestion of non-authentic work is discovered (and I can tell you some
576
-stories) in your particular direction, you risk both my wrath as well as
577
-the possibility of disciplinary action by the school. Academic dishonesty
578
-and plagiarism may be prosecuted under the purview as laid out in the
579
-school's Academic Honesty Policy, as listed under the Code of Student
580
-Conduct: Academic Honesty section in the CCC Course Catalog.
581
-
582
-So just play it safe and make sure your work is your own, and borrowed
583
-information is appropriately cited or referenced.
584
-
585
-## Pet Peeves
586
-
587
-Everyone has their buttons that can be pushed the wrong way. Here are a
588
-few of mine, that I would prefer not encountering:
589
-
590
-The eager, often surface-only desire to destroy things (especially with
591
-no desire to understand the why behind it all).
592
-
593
-The notion that 'old', 'unpopular', 'uncomfortable', or 'different',
594
-especially in terms of technology or experiences, is somehow bad (there
595
-are plenty of useful things to learn, for the patterns will often
596
-remanifest in future technologies down the road)
597
-
598
-Apologizing: "sorry I had to ask a question", "sorry I misunderstood",
599
-"sorry I failed to do that action"; I WANT people to ask questions.
600
-Questions are based on not fully understanding something. And if your
601
-actions come up short, apologies only serve to highlight the deficiency.
602
-The best solution: to fix it and not keep repeating the same mistake.
603
-There may be things worthy of apologizing for. For most incidents of
604
-apology I encounter related to classes, such is irrelevant. If you feel
605
-you are in the wrong for asking a question, you're doing this whole
606
-learning thing wrong.
607
-
608
-Overhelping "the weakest link"; a somewhat modern trend, where I see
609
-woefully unprepared/unready individuals overly assisted through the
610
-course (where the intent is to save them from failing). This is but a
611
-short-term perspective, contributing to their long-term failure.
612
-
613
-Opting out of things that seem overwhelming, yet somehow expecting things
614
-will get better as time goes on.
615
-
616
-The desire to impress me-- impressing comes by being impressive, not
617
-selling an act to me (in short, don't try to impress me, just do your
618
-best work, and have me be impressed by how impressive it naturally is).
619
-
620
-Avoiding the developing/strengthening your own memory and recall, and
621
-relying on others (including the instructor) to be your memory.
622
-
623
-The obsession over and recitation of hardware specs-- this has nothing to
624
-do with computing, yet many mistakenly believe it to be such (a small
625
-aspect of IT and an occasionally fun hobby? sure.)
626
-
627
-The compensation for lack of knowledge by clinging tightly to (perceived)
628
-known knowledge-- I expect everyone not to know things; knowing we don't
629
-know enables us to learn.
630
-
631
-The avoiding of questions out of fear they may not be worthy of asking--
632
-how else can I know where you are if you don't ask?
633
-
634
-The asking for the answer as if it were a question, to avoid thinking or
635
-doing the work yourself. Questions are the a result of your thinking, not
636
-"I don't know, so tell me?", or the worst (literally): "What do I need to
637
-do in order to get an A/full credit?"
638
-
639
-The absolute belief that if I say something then it is the truth (same
640
-for the inverse, converse, contrapositive, etc.)-- being open-minded and
641
-questioning is one of the greatest abilities we can have. Society trains
642
-you to be compliant with external authority at the expense of your own;
643
-to be educated and intelligent, in part, means you have cultivated your
644
-own self-authority so you can make your own decisions.
645
-
646
-The impression that if something is said frequently or confidently
647
-enough, then it must be true, and that makes someone an "expert" who
648
-should be believed, followed, and unquestioned.
649
-
650
-The tendency to brute force through something instead of trying to think
651
-or learn new approaches-- memorizing and regurgitation will often not
652
-work out in your favour here (or greatly annoy me).
653
-
654
-Being tangibly obsessed with knowing your exact grade, while being
655
-uninformed about the process of calculating it yourself from available
656
-information.
657
-
658
-Complaining upstream about me/my class without actually bringing issues
659
-to me first to address.
660
-
661
-Destroying context in asynchronous communications (ie deleting Discord
662
-messages after making a post, asking a question, and getting some sort of
663
-resolution): this makes it entirely unhelpful for others to also benefit,
664
-and leaves gaping holes in the existing conversation. Please do not
665
-delete your Discord messages after getting a response.
666
-
667
-Using AI, and failing to distinguish between your own skills and
668
-knowledge, and what AI is able to produce, treating them as one and the
669
-same. As I've said elsewhere, at this level, you should be avoiding
670
-flagrant AI use, as it can become a fatal crutch, stagnating your
671
-abilities.
672
-
673
-## Rules for Success
674
-
675
-For maximum success in the class, please adhere to the following rules:
676
-
677
-* start on activities early
678
-* observe/study, read/intuit, and comprehend the subject matter
679
-* play/tinker/experiment with the subject matter (external to projects)
680
-* ask well-informed and copious questions
681
-
682
-Struggle and problems in the course almost immediately arise when one
683
-fails to follow one or more of these guidelines.
684
-
685
-## Documentation
686
-
687
-The following criteria should be kept in mind when contributing content
688
-to collaborative documentation, the course notes, and any pertinent
689
-class-related communications:
690
-
691
-* Never use a form of a word in its own definition
692
-* Use external hyperlinks only as citations
693
-* Content first, then formatting
694
-* There is only one empire- ours
695
-* Contribute only original content
696
-* Paraphrase and cite existing information
697
-* Do NOT blatantly copy existing information
698
-* A healthy resource is an active resource
699
-* Do not focus on just your contributions
700
-* Mistakes are opportunities for future contributions
701
-
702
-## Topics
703
-
704
-The following is a list of the major topics being covered in this course:
705
-
706
-* UNIX Systems Programming
707
-* User space
708
-* Kernel, Kernel space
709
-* Users, Files, and the Manual
710
-* File Access (open, read, write, lseek, close)
711
-* File descriptors
712
-* Buffering
713
-* System Calls
714
-* Directories and File Properties
715
-* File Types and File Properties
716
-* Bit Sets and Bit Masks
717
-* User IDs, Group IDs
718
-* Focus on File Systems
719
-* Filesystem Structure; inodes and data blocks
720
-* Directories
721
-* Links
722
-* Connection Control
723
-* Device files
724
-* Race conditions
725
-* Atomic Operations
726
-* Streams
727
-* Terminal Control and Signals
728
-* Blocking vs. Non-Blocking
729
-* Signals
730
-* Event-Driven Programming
731
-* Alarms, Interval Timers
732
-* Reentrant code, critical sections
733
-* Asynchronous input
734
-* Processes and Programs
735
-* UNIX process model, processes
736
-* Parent/Child processes
737
-* Shell Variables and the Environment
738
-* I/O Redirection and Pipes
739
-* I/O Redirection
740
-* Pipes
741
-* Servers and Sockets
742
-* Client/Server model
743
-* Coroutines
744
-* Connections and Protocols
745
-* Server sockets
746
-* Client sockets
747
-* Zombies
748
-* Programming with Datagrams
749
-* TCP vs. UDP
750
-* Distributed Systems
751
-* UNIX domain sockets
752
-* Threads
753
-* Multithreading
754
-* Creating/destroying threads
755
-* Sharing data between threads
756
-* Synchronizing data
757
-* Inter Process Communication
758
-* Named pipes
759
-* Shared memory
760
-* File locks
761
-* Semaphores
762
-
763
-## Student Understanding and Agreement of Syllabus Terms
764
-
765
-By reading through this document, participating in the class chat,
766
-utilizing class resources, and performing the various class activities
767
-and projects, you understand and consent:
768
-
769
-* to the rules, policies governing your status as a student at SUNY CCC.
770
-* to the structure, policies, and nature of the course as laid out here.
771
-* to having an adequate understanding of course prerequisite knowledge.
772
-* to maintain a respectful, inquisitive, well-behaved, and learning-oriented focus as you participate and go through the course.
773
-* to practice (and further cultivate, as needed) the fundamental aspects of a student taking this course, which includes being able and willing:
774
-* to read, comprehend and work with the material and information inherent to the course.
775
-* to write and express your thoughts in coherent, descriptive sentences.
776
-* willing to analyze, problem solve, debug, troubleshoot, ideate, creatively, and logically/rationally think.
777
-* willing to compute and transact in number concepts (literal, symbolic or abstract) and any related units in their various processes.
778
-* to, upon facing uncertainty, confusion, or lack of understanding, will ask copious, well-informed, and well-intending questions to clarify your state of understanding.
779
-* if cause for issue rises, you will bring it to my attention so that it may be best addressed as locally and pertinently as possible to the course and its educational environment.
780
-* participate in the course with a focus on curiosity, discovering, exploring, learning, and understanding.
781
-* starting early on deliverables so that ample time is available for discovering, exploring, learning, and asking any questions as needed.
782
-* that, as a student, a genuine learning experience necessarily involves some level of unfamiliarity, which may invoke discomfort.
783
-* that your learning and the nature of the course is an inherently asynchronous thing. It is your responsibility to manage your time, so that you can have adequate time to ask questions and accomplish your own tasks.