Overview

A rich yet accessible and synthetic introduction to the design of computers, with a double hardware-software perspective. These concepts are important to understand and to harness modern computing systems, from embedded and consumer electronics to the largest networks. This course takes a top-down approach, from the general goals and principles of an operating system down to the hardware and software layers implementing it. It brings a technological perspective essential to thorough understanding of the INF431 course and of the motivations and technical challenges behind. The course also brushes an overview of concepts covered in the Master courses of computer architecture, operating system, parallel programming, networking and databases.

Lectures: Albert Cohen (INRIA Paris-Rocquencourt and École Polytechnique).

Labs: Albert Cohen, Fabrice Le Fessant (INRIA Saclay and École Polytechnique), Erven Rohou (INRIA Rennes), Frédéric Brault (Kalray). Antoniu Pop (INRIA Paris-Rocquencourt), Guillaume Quintin (École Polytechnique).

Entry in the course directory.

Online Course Material

• Documentation and references.
  • Java 6 online documentation.
  • INF431 chapter on Java programming, by François Morain. [FRANÇAIS]
  • Google Android: tutorial, editing, compiling, running, command line tools, programming, examples online help and forums.
  • UNIX quick reference: Bourne shell, UNIX commands. [FRANÇAIS]
  • BusyBox: the main UNIX commands for embedded systems.
• Frequently Asked Questions: read the FAQ.
• Slides.
  • Handouts (3 slides per page), printed and distributed with the first course.
  • Introduction.
  • Chapter 1.
  • Chapter 2.
  • Chapter 3.
  • Chapter 4.
  • Chapter 5.
  • Chapter 6.
  • Chapter 7.
  • Chapter 8.
  • Chapter 9.
  • Chapter 10.
  • Chapter 11.
  • Chapter 12.
  • Compilation Chapter.
  • Additional Documentation
  • The Beagle Board presentation.

Labs

The labs are in French for now. Based on student feedback, we will consider translating them to English.

The labs take the form of design and implementation projects covering the main aspects of a computing system. Some exercices have to be completed before the next course, uploading the answers on the web page These exercises will be graded, contributing a [-1, ..., +2] bonus/malus added to the grade of the final exam.

Exercise 3 of TD 3 must be uploaded through the dedicated form on the lab's web page. You can upload several times; we will look at the last uploaded version. In case of technical difficulties, you may email the teacher in charge of your group. Your work is due on Thursday December 8th at 23:59.

Direct links to the labs:      Introduction      FAQ   Glossary  

• TD 1 : Installation d'Android et prise en main
• TD 2 : Interface graphique et threads (2 semaines)
• TD 3 : Programmation réseau
• TD 4 : Programmation shell du réseau
• TD 5 : Programmation shell du système de fichiers
• TD 6 : Appels système et modules noyau
• TD 7 : Accès direct au périphérique écran
• TD 8 : Langage d'assemblage, compilation

Suggested Readings

The following books are not required for the course but can provide interesting complements to the printed handouts.

• Textbooks.
  • A. Silberschatz and P. Galvin. Operating System Concepts. Eight Edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2008 (you may download a few online chapters). The Seventh Edition is still very relevant, and comes with a more applied Java-oriented book (algorithm examples in Java, not Java system API).
  • D. P. Bovet and M. Cesati. Understanding the Linux Kernel. Third Edition, O'Reilly, 2005. Detailed and insightful, complementary with classical textbooks about operating systems. Requires an advanced level in the C programming language.
  • T. Noergaard. Embedded Systems Architecture. Elsevier, 2005. An industry and standards-oriented view, a very accessible survey and an entry point to more advanced material.
  • J. A. Fisher. Embedded Computing: A VLIW Approach to Architecture, Compilers and Tools. Elsevier, 2005. From the hardware to the tools, wide view on embedded computing, principles and practice. By one of the pionneers of microprocessor and compilation design.
  • James E. Smith and Ravi Nair: Virtual Machines: Versatile Platforms for Systems and Processes, Elsevier 2005. Covers processor, full system and language/process-level virtualization, with an emphasis on performance issues.
  • P. Ficheux. Linux embarqué. Second Edition, Eyrolles 2005. Case studies, operating-system-oriented, a reference for students and embedded Linux engineering. [FRANÇAIS]
  • C. Blaess. Shells Linux et UNIX par la pratique. Eyrolles, 2008. [FRANÇAIS]
  • C. Blaess. Programmation Système en C sous Linux. Third Edition, Eyrolles, 2005. [FRANÇAIS]
• Android.
  • If you wish to discover all the secrets behind the tools we are using for the labs, and exploring the innards of Android smarphones, Frédéric Brault digested his 2008 INF422 experience in a convenient and inexpensive e-book. Hackez Google Android - Introduction à la programmation système. Eyrolles, e-book edition, 2009. [FRANÇAIS]
  • There are many books on Android development. They are essentially Java-oriented, combining Google's reference information with introductory and context material, as well as case studies. M. L. Murphy wrote The Busy Coder's Guide to Android Development, currently the most appraised book in this category. But the book is very expensive and Google's online documentation is really good already.
• Java.
  • There are many more books on Java. Make sure you do not get one specifically tight to your operating system or development environment (Eclipse, Netbeans...).

Final Exam

The final exam will be bilingual.

All documents are authorized for reference (notes, slides, books, etc.), but not communication-capable computers..

Archives of past exams:

• 2008–2009: Français, English, additional (french).
• 2009–2010: Français, English, additional (french).
• 2010–2011: Français, English,