CSc59926 Introduction to UNIX

Instructor: Di Yao, Ph.D. (email: yao@cs.ccny.cuny.edu)

Time/Day: 5:00-6:15 Tuesday and Thursday

Description: An introduction to the UNIX operating system including: shell commands, text editors, electronic mail, network communication, development tools and special topics. In this course, you will gain a working knowledge of UNIX and the most commonly used tools for programmers. You will experience the flexibility and extensibility that UNIX offers.

Prerequisites: The course prerequisite is a programming course (CSc102) or approved from CS department

Credits: 3

Text: Unix: The Textbook, 2/E

Syed Mansoor Sarwar, Lahore University of Management Sciences

Robert Koretsky, University of Portland

Syed Aqeel Sarwar, GE Capital IT Solutions

ISBN: 0-321-22731-X (Publisher: Addison-Wesley, Copyright: 2005)

UNIX in a Nutshell, A. Robbins, O’Reilly, 1999. A good reference for UNIX in general.

Course Objectives:

1. Learn a subset of UNIX commands and how to combine them to perform complex tasks.

2. Learn how to effectively use the UNIX text editors (Pico, vi and emacs).

3. Learn how to customize the csh and tcsh shells and use them efficiently and effectively.

4. Learn UNIX file system management.

5. Learn how to use UNIX as a programming environment with a basic knowledge of UNIX and experience programming in at least one language.

6. Learn advanced shell scripts (sh, ksh, csh), Makefiles, programming and debugging tools for C and other languages, and more modern scripting languages such as Perl.

Attendance and active participation in class are required. There is no penalty for the first two absences; for every unexcused absence over the first two, your class participation/attendance grade will be reduced by five percentage points. Being late for class, lack of attention, not taking notes, etc. will also reduce your grade. If you miss class, you are still responsible for all material that is covered and all announcements that are made. Make-up exams are normally only given if the absence is beyond the student’s control. You must notify me in advance if you will miss an exam.

Grades are based on your performance on the following and are weighted as noted:

Attendance/Participation (10%)

Quizzes (10%)

Labs/HW (30%)

Exam (50%)