LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course is aimed at providing the bases of inter-process communication (IPC) under an Unix operating system: the main system calls for controling the processes and the socket application programming interfaces (APIs) will be covered. The goal is to give the students an adequate knowledge needed to write client-server applications which are at the base of almost all Internet appliances.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The lectures are designed as a coordinated mix of theoretical and practical elements on operating systems, processes, and socket programming. The coordination of these concepts aims at providing the students with the necessary skills to understand how to develop simple network applications, for instance Cloud Computing and/or Internet of Things.

Attendance, active participation to lectures, and individual study will allow students

- to appreciate the advantages/opportunities deriving from the use of Inter-process communication (IPC)

- to understand the main techniques for exploiting the IPC;

- to write code to implement Client/Server applications;

- to know the principal client/server tools provided by the Internet Suite.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures in attendance (except for specific restrictions due to the Covid-19 emergency).

Lectures include also laboratory/programming trials.

Further information will be available on the AulaWeb page devoted to the course.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

- Hints on the general structure of a Unix Operating System.

- Main techniques of Inter-process communication: signals, semaphores, shared memory, sockets.

- Sockets for UDP and TCP data exchange.

- Examples  of "C" and/or Pyton code exploiting IPC and network sockets.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Handouts provided by the lecturers.

Reference books:

- W. Richard Stevens, "UNIX Network Programming, Volume 2, Second Edition: Interprocess Communications", Prentice Hall, 1999, ISBN 0-13-081081-9.

- Marc J. Rochkind, "Advanced Unix Programming", Addison-Wesley Professional, 2004, ISBN-10  0131411543.