Overview
This course concentrates on the aspects of UNIX that are most needed by a program developer or UNIX programmer: the theory of the UNIX operating system as it informs the system administration. Students are required to install any UNIX/Linux of their choice onto their personal computers.
Outline
Part I: User's View
- Unit 1: UNIX Shell
- Unit 2: File Security
- Unit 3: Basic Shell Programming
Part II: System Administrator's View
- Unit 4: Processes
- Unit 5: The Network Models
- Unit 6: Useful Utilities and Files
- Unit 7: File System Backup
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to
- install a Linux operating system on a partition on a computer or dedicated hardware.
- explain UNIX operating system concepts.
- detail the process of booting and shutting down.
- use different utilities and commands in the UNIX operating system.
- write UNIX shell scripts and use complex regular expressions.
- carry out administrator duties such as backing up the file systems, managing accounts, controlling processes, specifying security, and managing networks.
Evaluation
To receive credit for COMP 325, you must achieve a course composite grade of at least D (50 percent), an average grade of 50 percent on Assignments 1–3, and at least 50 percent on the final examination. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:
| Activity | Weight |
| Assignment 1 | 20% |
| Assignment 2 | 15% |
| Assignment 3 | 15% |
| Final Examination | 50% |
| Total | 100% |
The final examination for this course must be requested in advance and written under the supervision of an AU-approved exam invigilator. Invigilators include either ProctorU or an approved in-person invigilation centre that can accommodate online exams. Students are responsible for payment of any invigilation fees. Information on exam request deadlines, invigilators, and other exam-related questions, can be found at the Exams and grades section of the Calendar.
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
This course either does not have a course package or the textbooks are open-source material and available to students at no cost. This course has a Course Administration and Technology Fee, but students are not charged the Course Materials Fee.
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Sarwar, S. M., & Koretsky, R. M. (2016). UNIX: The textbook (3rd ed.). CRC Press.