There are two parts to the submission of this coursework

Part A: Log Book Assignment

Weighting: 70% of total coursework assessment. Submission date 18-December-2009
This assessment covers the following learning outcomes:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of system software issues in the application lifecycle; 2. Build a small application using one or more system tools; 3. Show an appreciation of the range of operating system resource management techniques; An especially important aspect of programming is documenting your program techniques and results. Equally important is the ability to document your thoughts. For this reason, you are required to keep an ongoing logbook, in which you shall record notes about weekly tasks and your findings. By doing this you are able to periodically look back at the logbook and have a sense of what you have accomplished. With respect to an assignment the logbook will provide a source of Ideas. What I want you to do is keep a running log as you go through this module. Since I am not giving you a final exam, on a purely pragmatic level, I am using the log book to ensure that you do the required readings: keep any notes or comments on the articles you read in your log. These notes can be a brief synopsis of the articles, ideas that the articles prompt you to have, or thoughts about how the readings relate to the experiments that go with them. Additionally, I hope that you will find the log book useful as you begin to work in industry. You may wish to use your logbook to record thoughts, theoretical issues, concerns, and the like, for this module. As well, you might want to treat your logbook as a more conventional diary, keeping track of your progress on various exercises. Any ideas you have developed can also go into your logbook if you feel they are relevant to the study of system software. Summary What is the purpose of a logbook? 1. To keep an up-to-date assignment record 2. To keep all class work in one place...notes, hand-outs, labs, returned quizzes, and homework 3. To teach students an organizational method that reduces the loss of papers. 4. To provide a record of learning. 5. To allow students to review their progress

How do you organize a logbook? 1. Number all pages in the book, front and back. Never remove a page! 2. Set aside the first 6-8 pages of the book. These pages are used for the table of contents, course information, and grading data. 3. Start each week with a new page and log of exercises attempted and their outcomes Summary: Week 1 ~ Unix Lab exercise Week 2 ~ C-shell Lab exercise Week 3 ~ Sed Lab exercise Week 4 ~ Awk Lab exercise Week 5 ~ No lab Week 6 ~ Lex and Yacc Lab exercise Week 7-Programming exercise using Lex and Yacc: Calculator

Part B: Poster Assignment

Learning Objectives: students completing this assignment should be: 1. Aware of the various compilers available today and how they differ 2. Gain an understanding of different approaches to the architecture of a compiler 3. Know how to select an appropriate compiler infrastructure for a particular implementation task and experimental evaluation. 4. Able to create a high quality poster presentation as a form of scientific communication.

Weighting: 30% of total coursework assessment. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - Illustrate in a poster form your understanding of the Compiler. A poster is due on Monday, 8th of January. On January 9th , we will have in-class presentation of the posters. See poster format, below, for directions on poster content. The depth of the technical aspects should only be deep enough to give an overview of the technology in simple terms. Any sources used to gain information should be quoted or referenced correctly (using Harvard.) If you wish to quote or use information that someone else has written, ensure that you clearly identify it as being such. Failing to do so may result in it being mistaken as your own work and hence resulting in plagiarism. If you are really stuck for an idea, you could choose:
Design and Implementation of Compiler

The poster should provide an introduction to compiler construction: scanning, parsing, symbol-table handling, code generation, and code optimization. The goal of the assignment is to have students understand and appreciate principled engineering of compilers through a focus on fundamental rather than advanced compilation techniques in class in combination with creative freedom in class projects.

Note: A simple rehashing of material from the lectures is not acceptable. If your topic covers one of the areas presented in class, then you must substantially add your own research to it.

Much of the material you need can be found on the Web by performing a search on key words. Other sources include computer magazines and journals. In general, only recent (2000 onwards) text books are suitable sources for information. Older texts may be useful for background material or historical details. Poster format Size: ~ 3 x 5, all on one poster board, if possible Title - large lettering, readable from 6 feet away. Names of group members Abstract - ~200 word overview that summarizes the context, questions, results and major conclusions of the whole poster. Type must be readable from 6 feet away. Introduction - a short paragraph setting out the context of the poster. This should act as a funnel, starting out with the big context and gradually focusing in towards the specific questions that you will be addressing. Type must be readable from 6 feet away. Questions/hypotheses - What are the 2 or 3 specific questions or hypotheses that you are addressing in the poster? These should be bulleted and in large font so that they are easily readable. Type must be readable from 6 feet away. Posters will be displayed in public!

Preparing the Poster

The topic for your poster MUST be approved by Stish Sarna before starting work. Suggested project titles must reach him by: 5th November. Your poster should cover the KEY POINTS of your research. It should NOT attempt to include all the details; you can describe them to those that are interested. Do NOT post the pages of your researched articles. The ideal poster is designed to (1) attract attention; (2) provide a brief overview of your work; and (3) initiate discussion. The poster board area for each presentation is Millimetres Inches Points Height Width Height Width Height Width A0 1189 841 46.81 33.11 3370 2384 Push tacks and/or velcro will be available to tack your poster to the board. The title of your poster should appear at the TOP in CAPITAL letters about 20mm high. At the right hand corner, put the group members names. The flow of your poster should be downwards in columns, starting at the TOP LEFT and ending at the BOTTOM RIGHT. Whenever necessary, and for the sake of a better understanding, use arrows to lead your viewer through the poster. Use colour for highlighting and to make poster more attractive. Be CREATIVE. Use text sparingly. Try to state your main result in six (6) lines or less, in lettering about 15mm high. This size is needed to ensure people can read your poster from a distance.

People do not read a lot of text, and certainly wont read typewriter text. The smallest text on your poster should be at least 7mm high, and the important points (main results, conclusions) should be in a larger size. If possible use a sans serif font or the Helvetica postscript font. It will be easier for people to read from a distance. Make your poster as self-explanatory as possible. This will save your efforts for discussions.