Homework Assignments

Below is a tentative list of homework assignment topics. The list will be finalized as the semester progresses.

Topic	Due at 3:30 pm on
Lots of tools and a simple program	Tue Sept 2
Ultimate low-level: Boot loader splash screen	Tue Sept 9
A kernel-level screen saver	Tue Sept 16
mmap(): eager and lazy	Tue Sept 23
Paging and page replacement	Tue Oct 7
midterm exam	Tue Oct 14
Kernel support for multi-threaded processes	Tue Oct 28
Basic mutual exclusion implementations	Tue Nov 4
/dev/random and /proc file system	Tue Nov 18
authentication and protection subsystems	Tue Dec 2
final exam	Fri Dec 12

Below are tentative homework concepts, random order. I will also entertain requests.

VFS - mounting file systems dynamically
File system implementation - ext2 or FAT?
Sound card device driver
User Space Access to Graphics
Kernel module system
Signals + Real-Time Clock Access
A Fair Process Scheduler
Multi-TTY implementation

The due date is typically firm - individual extensions are not possible as we tend to discuss the solution in class right after the due date.

Bonus Projects

Topic	Due Date
Port xv6 to x86-64 architecture	last day of class
Port tcc (tiny c compiler) to xv6	last day of class
Basic USB character or block device driver	last day of class
Network stack (ethernet driver, basic IP and TCP implementations)	last day of class

Credit for bonus projects is not pre-determined - will be judged on a case by case basis. Ranging from no credit to full class credit depending on presentation, demonstrated depth of understanding, and project difficulty.

Also, if you do well here, I will enthusiastically assist you in your job search or graduate school application process.