DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
Monday 4:30 – 7:10 PM
Innovation Hall Room 206
Description:
With the growing emphasis on timing guarantees, Real-Time technologies are
increasingly marking the design and operation of various computer and
communication systems, in the areas of embedded systems, avionics,
command-and-control, multimedia networking, e-commerce, sensor networks, mobile
computing, to name a few. Recent initiatives to incorporate Real-Time
extensions to general purpose operating systems (Windows, Linux, Solaris) justify and strengthen its status as a
major enabling technology. In addition, Embedded
Computers are part of larger and special-purpose systems that interact with
the environment in real-time
(e.g., sensor networks). As such, they typically involve
control and monitoring of critical functions, with real-time operation
requirements.
This
course is intended to provide the background and skills needed to design,
analyze, and develop real-time applications. Real-time scheduling theory and
its implications for design of real-time applications will receive special
emphasis. Through the paper presentations and discussions, the students will be
exposed to the latest research trends in the area. As such, the course is
particularly suitable for Ph.D. students and advanced M.S. students.
Topics:
Prerequisites: Graduate-level Operating Systems
(CS 571) and at least undergraduate-level Data Structures/Algorithms Courses.
On the Operating Systems side, the students should be familiar with basic
concepts such as processes, scheduling, semaphores, interrupts, memory
management. If in doubt, please contact the instructor.
Grading:
Course Format: During the first part of the
course, the instructor will present the fundamentals of Real-Time Embedded
computing and main research problems in the area. The written examination will be given at the end of the first
part (there is no final exam). In the second part, the students will present
articles from recent conference/workshop proceedings and journals. A list of
suggested papers will be provided; however, the student suggestions are
welcome. The (in-class) paper presentations will include a critical evaluation
and discussion of the paper. The students will be required to read, and submit
a brief summary/evaluation of the papers presented in class.
Term
Project: Each student is expected to complete a term project and submit a
research paper/report by the end of the term. A list of potential projects will
be provided; but the students may define their own project as long as the
project has sufficient scope/complexity and the instructor's approval is
obtained. PhD students are encouraged to discuss with the instructor the
possibility to choose a term project topic related their research interests. A
term project may be in any of the following forms:
Book: Real-Time Systems, Jane W. S. Liu. Prentice-Hall,
2000, 624 pp., ISBN 0-13-099651-3.
This is the main textbook; in addition, articles from recent issues of journals
and conference proceedings will be made available in class.
Hard Real-Time
Computing Systems (by G. Buttazzo, Springer, 2005) and Soft Real-Time Systems (by G. Buttazzo
et al., Springer, 2005) are recommended (optional) books that provide in-depth
coverage of some of the topics that will be discussed in class.
Office
Hours: Monday 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM, Thursday 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM, and by
appointment.
Violations
of GMU Honor Code will result in an F.