Computer Systems Principles and Programming (CSSE7231)

Course overview

CSSE7231 is an introduction to UNIX (Linux), the principles of computer systems (networks and operating systems) and systems programming in C.

You will learn about the basics of operating systems (processes, threads, virtual memory, file systems, etc.) in the context of the Linux operating system; and the basics of networking in the context of important Internet protocols (TCP, IP, etc.). You will learn how the operating system provides these services to user programs by way of system calls and you will write C programs that use these services - including programs that create and manage multiple processes/threads that communicate with each other - even across a network.

You will also become familiar with a Linux command line environment (shell) and be able to write common commands and simple shell scripts.

Course requirements

Assumed background

Students are assumed to have successfully completed an introductory programming course such as CSSE7030, CSSE1001 orﾠENGG1001. Strong programming skills (in any language) will be an advantage. It is also helpful if students have some basic knowledge of computer systemsﾠand some prior exposure to the C programming language (e.g. from CSSE7201 or CSSE2010).

Prerequisites

You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:

CSSE7030

Recommended prerequisites

We recommend completing the following courses before enrolling in this one:

CSSE7201

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

COMP2303 or COMP7306 or CSSE2310

Jointly taught details

This course is jointly-taught with:

• CSSE2310

All learning activities are jointly taught. CSSE7231 students will have additional functionality to implement in assignments 3 and 4.

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

Students should signup to one (2 hour) PRA session. Note these sessions start in Week 1.

Aims and outcomes

The main goal of this course is to produce students who are competent C systems programmers who have a good understanding of how the underlying operating systems and networks work.

Assessment

Assessment summary

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.

Assessment details

Assignment One - Introductory C Programming

• Hurdle

Mode

Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia, Written

Category

Computer Code

Weight

15%

Due date

29/08/2025 3:00 pm

Learning outcomes

L02, L03, L04

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Programs must be submitted electronically as detailed in the assignment specification.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Late submission

Assignment submissions received after the due time (or any approved extended deadline) will be subject to a 100% late penalty. A one-hour grace period applies to the due time after which time (4:00:00pm) the 100% late penalty will be imposed. This grace period is designed to deal with issues that might arise during submission (e.g. delays with Blackboard or Gradescope) and should not be considered a shift of the due time.

Assignment Two - Debugging

• Hurdle

Mode

Activity/ Performance

Category

Computer Code, Quiz

Weight

10%

Due date

12/09/2025 3:00 pm

Learning outcomes

L02

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Student attempts are recorded automatically by the assignment software.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Assignment Three - Processes and Pipes

• Hurdle

Mode

Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia, Written

Category

Computer Code

Weight

15%

Due date

10/10/2025 3:00 pm

Learning outcomes

L02, L03, L04, L05, L06

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Programs must be submitted electronically as detailed in the assignment specification.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Late submission

Assignment submissions received after the due time (or any approved extended deadline) will be subject to a 100% late penalty. A one-hour grace period applies to the due time after which time (4:00:00pm) the 100% late penalty will be imposed. This grace period is designed to deal with issues that might arise during submission (e.g. delays with Blackboard or Gradescope) and should not be considered a shift of the due time.

Assignment Four - Threads and Network Programming

• Hurdle

Mode

Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia, Written

Category

Computer Code

Weight

15%

Due date

31/10/2025 3:00 pm

Learning outcomes

L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L08, L10

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Programs must be submitted electronically as detailed in the assignment specification.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Late submission

Assignment submissions received after the due time (or any approved extended deadline) will be subject to a 100% late penalty. A one-hour grace period applies to the due time after which time (4:00:00pm) the 100% late penalty will be imposed. This grace period is designed to deal with issues that might arise during submission (e.g. delays with Blackboard or Gradescope) and should not be considered a shift of the due time.

Final Exam

• Hurdle
• Identity Verified

Mode

Written

Category

Examination

Weight

45%

Due date

End of Semester Exam Period

8/11/2025 - 22/11/2025

Other conditions

Time limited, Secure.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07, L08, L09, L10

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

Your overall assignment mark will be the weighted sum of your four assignment marks (i.e. weighted as per above). Passing this course requires demonstration of both theoretical and practical learning outcomes. You therefore must achieve at least 40% (22 out of 55) on your overall assignment mark to achieve a grade of 4 or higher. You must also achieve at least 40% on the final exam to achieve a grade of 4 or higher. Your overall course mark will be rounded to the nearest whole number prior to applying the grade cutoffs above. Examination and overall assignment marks are NOT rounded prior to checking the 40% hurdle.ﾠ

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Supplementary assessment for this course may take the form of a written supplementary exam, a programming task, an oral exam, or any combination of these. The exact form will depend on the reason you did not achieve a passing grade and will assess those learning outcomes for which you have not achieved a passing result. To pass the course after supplementary assessment you must achieve at least a passing level (50%) on the supplementary assessment to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes.

Additional assessment information

Note that all assignments are to be worked on individually and must be your own work except where the use of code written or provided by other entities (teaching staff, Linux man pages, AI tools, etc.) is explicitly permitted by the assignment specification. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) tools are permitted to be used in the programming assignments in this course, but they are not required to be used and not recommended to be used as they may inhibit learning and introduce bugs into your code. You must always follow the referencing requirements set out in the assignment specification and documents referenced from the assignment specification. Failure to appropriately reference the resources (tools and information sources) used in your work may result in misconduct allegations against you. You are encouraged to discuss the concepts behind the assignments but under no circumstances should you show your code to, or allow your code to be seen by, another student. You should not look at the code of any other student. You must sufficiently protect all electronic and paper copies of your code. All submitted code will be subject to electronic plagiarism and collusion detection. Assignments with no academic merit will be awarded a mark of zero. You may have to verbally answer questions about your submission as part of the assignment marking process.ﾠ

Programming Assignment Interviews

For the programming assignments (one, three and four) the teaching staff will conduct interviews with students about their submissions for the purpose of establishing genuine authorship. For assignments one and three, all students will be interviewed in their allocated practical session following their submission deadline (or extended deadline if appropriate). For programming assignment four, a subset of students will be interviewed. If you write your own code, you have nothing to fear from this process. If you legitimately use permitted code from other sources (following the usage/referencing requirements in the assignment specification), then you are expected to understand that code. If you are not able to adequately explain the design of your solution and/or adequately explain your submitted code (and/or earlier versions in your repository) and/or be able to make simple modifications to your solution as requested at the interview, then your assignment mark will be scaled down based on the level of understanding you are able to demonstrate and/or your submission may be subject to a misconduct investigation where your interview responses form part of the evidence. Interview invitations for assignment four will be issued by email to your student email account at any time up until the end of week one of the exam period. Failure to respond to an assignment four interview invitation by the deadline stated in the invitation (which will be at least one week after the invitation is sent) or failure to attend a scheduled interview for any programming assignment will result in zero marks for the assignment unless exceptional circumstances can be demonstrated with supporting evidence.

Having Troubles?

If you are having difficulties with any aspect of the course material, you should seek help. Speak to the course teaching staff.

If external circumstances are affecting your ability to work on the course, you should seek help as soon as possible. The University and UQ Union have organisations and staff who are able to help, for example, UQ Student Services are able to help with study and exam skills, tertiary learning skills, writing skills, financial assistance, personal issues, and disability services (among other things).

Complaints and criticisms should be directed in the first instance to the course coordinator. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you may bring the matter to the attention of the School of EECS Director of Teaching and Learning.

Other

In accordance with the Assessment Procedure, marks may be moderated, and grade cutoffs may be lowered if academically justified.

The EAIT Associate Dean (Academic) has approved the use of five assessment tasks in this course based on sound pedagogical reasons.

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments for Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.

School guidelines

Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course:

• EECS School Guidelines for Students