COS 460 Foundations of Computer Systems

This course provides a top-to-bottom look at how computing systems work by exploring their hierarchical elements through systems programming. Students will gain an understanding of the interfaces between the different layers of computer hardware and software through system call interfaces and system-level I/O. Emphasis is placed on developing skills for systems-level programming, portability, robustness, optimizing program performance, and managing the computational resources of a modern system. Domains include real-time systems, parallel processing, and distributed systems. This course requires a student laptop - see Department Laptop Policy .  Prerequisite(s): COS 326  and COS 450  or permission of the instructor. 3 hour(s).