CS 270 (Fall 2025)
Systems Programming

Course Information

Instructor: Yang Xiao (contact: xiaoy[AT]uky.edu)
Meeting Times: M/W/F 2:00-2:50 PM (Section 001), 3:00-3:50 PM (Section 002)
Office Hour: Hardymon Rm 233, Thu 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
TA: TBD (contact: TBD), Office Hour: TBD

Course Description

This course provides an introduction to computer systems and explores computer architecture, operating systems, and networks from a programmer's perspective. The course also introduces advanced programming and debugging tools. Topics include hardware instruction sets, machine language and C language program representations, linking/loading, operating systems (process management, scheduling, memory management, interprocess communication, and file systems), network programming (socket programming and web protocols), and common security attacks and solutions.

Textbooks and Materials

Course Schedule (Tentative)

Week	Agenda ([R] Required Reading, [S] Suggested Reading)	Notes
1	08/25: Lec01: Course introduction. 08/27: 08/39:
2	09/01: Labor Day - no class 09/03: 09/05:
3	09/08: 09/10: 09/12:
4	09/15: 09/17: 09/29:
5	09/22: 09/24: 09/26:
6	09/29: 10/01: 10/03:
7	10/06: 10/08: 10/10:
8	10/13: 10/15: 10/17:
9	10/20: 10/22: 10/24:
10	10/27: Fall Break - no class 10/29: 10/31:
11	11/03: 11/05: 11/07:
12	11/10: 11/12: 11/14:
13	11/17: 11/19: 11/21:
14	11/24: 11/26: Thanksgiving Break - no class 11/28: Thanksgiving Break - no class
15	12/01: 12/03: 12/05:
16	12/08: (Prep Days) Homework Problems Review 12/10: (Prep Days) Final Exam Review 12/12: No class
17	Final exam: Final exam (Section 001), TBD, in classroom Final exam (Section 002), TBD, in classroom

Learning/Research Resources

UK Libraries, Free Tutoring and Coaching at UK, Google Scholar, ACM Digital Library, IEEE Xplore.