Systems Programming (PG)

Postgraduate | 2026

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Area/Catalogue
COMP 5078
Course ID icon
Course ID
205843
Level of study
Level of study
Postgraduate
Unit value icon
Unit value
6
Course level icon
Course level
5
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Inbound study abroad and exchange
Inbound study abroad and exchange
The fee you pay will depend on the number and type of courses you study.
Yes
University-wide elective icon
University-wide elective course
Yes
Single course enrollment
Single course enrolment
Yes
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Note:
Course data is interim and subject to change

Course overview

Introduction to C for C++ programmers. UNIX tools; design philosophy, command line options, combining programs using pipes and I/O redirection. File systems and memory. Profiling tools, binary tools, debugging tools. Basic shell scripting. Build tools. Signal and handling, synchronous and asynchronous I/O. Introduction to threads and concurrency. Timers and their uses.

Course learning outcomes

  • Write and debug programs in C
  • Write and debug scripts in Bash
  • Understand how C programs and Unix-based operating systems interface at a low level
  • Understand low level programming constructs such as pipes, threads, interrupts and sockets
  • Understand how the Unix command shell processes commands
  • Understand how the Unix file systems stores information
  • Apply the above to solving programming problems.

Prerequisite(s)

N/A

Corequisite(s)

N/A

Antirequisite(s)

N/A