Professor: Doeppner Course format: Seminar	Number of respondents: 5 Total Enrollment: 8
Class Composition: Froshs: 0 Sophs: 0 Jrs: 5 Srs: 3 Concs: 5 Non-Concs: 0 Don't Know: 0

Instructor Average: 1.08 Course Average: 1.19

“Operating Systems Laboratory” is a lab class whose goal is to write a complete operating system. This class basically serves to supplement and reinforce the concepts covered in its co requisite, CS167. Its prerequisite is CS32. A student needed a basic understanding of computer architecture as well as a good grasp of the C or C++ programming languages. Familiarity with UNIX was also helpful for some students.

Because this was a lab class meant to be taken with CS167, there was no direct professor. However, there was a lot of praise for competent and knowledgeable TAs. One student commented that the “mentoring system was great.” Deadlines were pretty flexible and the TAs were always available.

There were no assigned readings, but students found the optional reading helpful. The “Hacker’s Guide” and “Simulator Manual” in particular were good readings. This course consisted of one large project broken down into four stages. Reviewers noted that there was some minor disagreements about the grading policy. Most students felt that it was fair, but a few found it was confusing.

Reviewers spent between 10 and 20 hours working on the project for this course outside of class time. Some even spent between 30 and 40 hours a week. Respondents recommend preparing for intense debugging and devoting one’s life to this course. Students found taking this course a helpful supplement to CS167; it was a way for them to get additional experience with the concepts covered in that class. It must be noted, however, that less than half of the students in CS167 actually took CS169 as well.

View CS/0169 in the Brown Online Course Announcement.