Timothy Roscoe: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2017

Award: The Golden Owl
Name Prof. Dr. Timothy Roscoe
FieldInformatik
Address
Institut für Computing Platforms
ETH Zürich, STF H 314
Stampfenbachstrasse 114
8092 Zürich
SWITZERLAND
Telephone+41 44 632 88 40
E-mailtroscoe@inf.ethz.ch
URLhttp://people.inf.ethz.ch/troscoe/
DepartmentComputer Science
RelationshipFull Professor

NumberTitleECTSHoursLecturers
252-0061-00LSystems Programming and Computer Architecture Information
Remark: Students, who already took the course 252-0066-00 Systems Programming and Computer Architecture (8KP) are not allowed to register for 252-0061-00 Systems Programming and Computer Architecture (7 KP).
7 credits4V + 2UT. Roscoe
AbstractIntroduction to systems programming. C and assembly language,
floating point arithmetic, basic translation of C into assembler,
compiler optimizations, manual optimizations. How hardware features
like superscalar architecture, exceptions and interrupts, caches,
virtual memory, multicore processors, devices, and memory systems
function and affect correctness, performance, and optimization.
ObjectiveThe course objectives are for students to:

1. Develop a deep understanding of, and intuition about, the execution
of all the layers (compiler, runtime, OS, etc.) between programs in
high-level languages and the underlying hardware: the impact of
compiler decisions, the role of the operating system, the effects
of hardware on code performance and scalability, etc.

2. Be able to write correct, efficient programs on modern hardware,
not only in C but high-level languages as well.

3. Understand Systems Programming as a complement to other disciplines
within Computer Science and other forms of software development.

This course does not cover how to design or build a processor or
computer.
ContentThis course provides an overview of "computers" as a
platform for the execution of (compiled) computer programs. This
course provides a programmer's view of how computer systems execute
programs, store information, and communicate. The course introduces
the major computer architecture structures that have direct influence
on the execution of programs (processors with registers, caches, other
levels of the memory hierarchy, supervisor/kernel mode, and I/O
structures) and covers implementation and representation issues only
to the extend that they are necessary to understand the structure and
operation of a computer system.

The course attempts to expose students to the practical issues that
affect performance, portability, security, robustness, and
extensibility. This course provides a foundation for subsequent
courses on operating systems, networks, compilers and many other
courses that require an understanding of the system-level
issues. Topics covered include: machine-level code and its generation
by optimizing compilers, address translation, input and output,
trap/event handlers, performance evaluation and optimization (with a
focus on the practical aspects of data collection and analysis).
Lecture notes- C programmnig
- Integers
- Pointers and dynamic memory allocation
- Basic computer architecture
- Compiling C control flow and data structures
- Code vulnerabilities
- Implementing memory allocation
- Linking
- Floating point
- Optimizing compilers
- Architecture and optimization
- Caches
- Exceptions
- Virtual memory
- Multicore
- Devices
LiteratureThe course is based in part on "Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective" (3rd Edition) by R. Bryant and D. O'Hallaron, with additional material.
Prerequisites / Notice252-0029-00L Parallel Programming
252-0028-00L Design of Digital Circuits
252-0066-00LSystems Programming and Computer Architecture Information
Only for Computer Science BSc, Programme Regulations 2008.

This course unit will be offered for the last time in HS17.
8 credits4V + 2U + 1AT. Roscoe
AbstractIntroduction to systems programming. C and assembly language,
floating point arithmetic, basic translation of C into assembler,
compiler optimizations, manual optimizations. How hardware features
like superscalar architecture, exceptions and interrupts, caches,
virtual memory, multicore processors, devices, and memory systems
function and affect correctness, performance, and optimization.
ObjectiveThe course objectives are for students to:

1. Develop a deep understanding of, and intuition about, the execution
of all the layers (compiler, runtime, OS, etc.) between programs in
high-level languages and the underlying hardware: the impact of
compiler decisions, the role of the operating system, the effects
of hardware on code performance and scalability, etc.

2. Be able to write correct, efficient programs on modern hardware,
not only in C but high-level languages as well.

3. Understand Systems Programming as a complement to other disciplines
within Computer Science and other forms of software development.

This course does not cover how to design or build a processor or
computer.
ContentThis course provides an overview of "computers" as a
platform for the execution of (compiled) computer programs. This
course provides a programmer's view of how computer systems execute
programs, store information, and communicate. The course introduces
the major computer architecture structures that have direct influence
on the execution of programs (processors with registers, caches, other
levels of the memory hierarchy, supervisor/kernel mode, and I/O
structures) and covers implementation and representation issues only
to the extend that they are necessary to understand the structure and
operation of a computer system.

The course attempts to expose students to the practical issues that
affect performance, portability, security, robustness, and
extensibility. This course provides a foundation for subsequent
courses on operating systems, networks, compilers and many other
courses that require an understanding of the system-level
issues. Topics covered include: machine-level code and its generation
by optimizing compilers, address translation, input and output,
trap/event handlers, performance evaluation and optimization (with a
focus on the practical aspects of data collection and analysis).
Lecture notes- C programmnig
- Integers
- Pointers and dynamic memory allocation
- Basic computer architecture
- Compiling C control flow and data structures
- Code vulnerabilities
- Implementing memory allocation
- Linking
- Floating point
- Optimizing compilers
- Architecture and optimization
- Caches
- Exceptions
- Virtual memory
- Multicore
- Devices
LiteratureThe course is based in part on "Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective" (3rd Edition) by R. Bryant and D. O'Hallaron, with additional material.
Prerequisites / Notice252-0029-00L Parallel Programming
252-0028-00L Design of Digital Circuits
252-0817-00LDistributed Systems Laboratory Information
In the Master Programme max.10 credits can be accounted by Labs on top of the Interfocus Courses. These Labs will only count towards the Master Programme. Additional Labs will be listed on the Addendum.
10 credits9PG. Alonso, T. Hoefler, F. Mattern, T. Roscoe, A. Singla, R. Wattenhofer, C. Zhang
AbstractThis course involves the participation in a substantial development and/or evaluation project involving distributed systems technology. There are projects available in a wide range of areas: from web services to ubiquitous computing including wireless networks, ad-hoc networks, RFID, and distributed applications on smartphones.
ObjectiveGain hands-on-experience with real products and the latest technology in distributed systems.
ContentThis course involves the participation in a substantial development and/or evaluation project involving distributed systems technology. There are projects available in a wide range of areas: from web services to ubiquitous computing including as well wireless networks, ad-hoc networks, and distributed application on smartphones. The goal of the project is for the students to gain hands-on-experience with real products and the latest technology in distributed systems. There is no lecture associated to the course.
For information of the course or projects available, see https://www.dsl.inf.ethz.ch/ or contact Prof. Mattern, Prof. Wattenhofer, Prof. Roscoe or Prof. G. Alonso.
263-3800-00LAdvanced Operating Systems Information 6 credits2V + 2U + 1AT. Roscoe
AbstractThis course is intended to give students a thorough understanding of design and implementation issues for modern operating systems, with a particular emphasis on the challenges of modern hardware features. We will cover key design issues in implementing an operating system, such as memory management, scheduling, protection, inter-process communication, device drivers, and file systems.
ObjectiveThe goals of the course are, firstly, to give students:

1. A broader perspective on OS design than that provided by knowledge of Unix or Windows, building on the material in a standard undergraduate operating systems class

2. Practical experience in dealing directly with the concurrency, resource management, and abstraction problems confronting OS designers and implementers

3. A glimpse into future directions for the evolution of OS and computer hardware design
ContentThe course is based on practical implementation work, in C and assembly language, and requires solid knowledge of both. The work is mostly carried out in teams of 3-4, using real hardware, and is a mixture of team milestones and individual projects which fit together into a complete system at the end. Emphasis is also placed on a final report which details the complete finished artifact, evaluates its performance, and discusses the choices the team made while building it.
Prerequisites / NoticeThe course is based around a milestone-oriented project, where students work in small groups to implement major components of a microkernel-based operating system. The final assessment will be a combination grades awarded for milestones during the course of the project, a final written report on the work, and a set of test cases run on the final code.