Material Detail

This lesson plan, created by members of the computer science department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), provides a nice look at deadlock in computer operating systems. The resource begins with an overview of different definitions of operating systems. The authors remind users that: "one definition of an operating system is simply a resource allocator." This allocation process sometimes becomes congested. At this point, it experiences deadlock. The lesson plan uses the analogy of a traffic jam to convey this point. The authors discuss causes, solutions, and prevention methods to help alleviate this bothersome issue. The coverage is thorough, but it never bogs visitors down due to overly complex or unnecessary jargon. Overall, this is certainly a useful resource for anyone in computer science education.

Disciplines:

• Mathematics and Statistics  / Mathematics