Areas of Specialization

1. Scheduling
a. Time-based scheduling
b. Classical results for single processor scheduling algorithms
c. Multiprocessor scheduling
d. Scheduling with energy concerns

The rest of the course coverage will be filled in after a vote of the class. The following are all possibilities.

2. Real-Time Operating Systems – we can look at TinyOS, details of its implementation and some applications.
3. Fault Tolerance Techniques
4. State-Space Control Theory and Real-Time Implementation
5. Specification of Real-Time Systems (examine in detail one framework – UML, Timed Petri Nets, etc.)
6. Individual Student Presentations – allows you to explore and present a topic of your choice.

This course is an introduction to the control of discrete-event systems (DES), asynchronous systems discrete in space and time (e.g. manufacturing systems, communication systems, etc.). The course will provide a solid foundation for research in this area, focusing on architectural issues such as modular, decentralized, and hierarchical control. The course will also discuss timed DES, as well as current topics of interest.

Nowadays, unstructured data such as multimedia data account for around 80% of Internet traffic. Meanwhile, more than 80% of potentially usable business information exists in unstructured formats (e.g., audio/video information, social network relations, users’ purchasing habits, environmental data). Much of the unstructured data remains unused because the algorithms available for analyzing and understanding unstructured data usually do not scale up to handle the amount of data being generated. This course will discuss and explore the computer system design to deal with large scale unstructured data.

Measures of performance, instruction set architecture, computer arithmetic, datapath and control, pipelining, the memory hierarchy, I/O systems, multiprocessor systems, multimedia extensions and graphic processors.

Data modelling, integrity constraints, principles and design of relational databases, relational algebra, SQL, query processing, transactions, concurrency control, recovery, security and data storage.

Mathematical foundations, the graphics pipeline, geometrical transformations, 3D visualization, clipping, illumination and shading models and the impact of graphics on society.

Processes and threads, synchronization and communication; scheduling, memory management; file systems; resource protection; structure of operating systems.

Advanced topics in database systems technology and design. Topics include: query processing; query optimization; data storage; indexing; crash recovery; physical database design; introductory data mining techniques.

Software architecture concepts; architectural styles; design patterns, components, libraries, configurations; modelling languages; software re-engineering.

Use of queuing models and simulation to predict computer system performance and find bottlenecks in a system. Types of models, distributions. Markov models. Modelling storage and network behaviour, locks, critical sections, concurrency. Introduction to analytical system reliability.

Parallel architectures, design and analysis of parallel algorithms; distributed-memory, shared-memory and GPU computing; communication cost, scalability; MPI, OpenMP and OpenACC; tuning parallel programs for performance.

Design of user interfaces. Principles of good interface design. Human input. Displaying complex data using graphics and virtual reality. Modes and mode awareness problem. Health issues, information overload. Special purpose graphics hardware. Interface design tools; on-line help systems.

World wide web as networks: protocols, clients/servers and social issues; programming systems: markups, scripts, styles; platform technologies; WWW services: standard systems, browser-based, security issues, examples.

Use of queuing models and simulation to predict computer system performance and find bottlenecks in a system. Types of models, distributions. Markov models. Modelling storage and network behaviour, locks, critical sections, concurrency. Introduction to analytical system reliability.

Parallel architectures, design and analysis of parallel algorithms; distributed-memory, shared-memory and GPU computing; communication cost, scalability; MPI, OpenMP and OpenACC; tuning parallel programs for performance.

World wide web as networks: protocols, clients/servers and social issues; programming systems: markups, scripts, styles; platform technologies; WWW services: standard systems, browser-based, security issues, examples.

Interfacing to digital and analog systems, sensors and actuators. Signals and conditioning: data acquisition, active and passive filtering, optical and analog isolation, PWM, de/ multiplexing. Architecture of micro-controllers and DSP. Embedded system design and documentation.

Hard and soft real-time systems. Safety classification. Fail-safe design, hazard analysis. Discrete event systems. Modes. Requirements and design specifications. Tasks and scheduling. Clock synchronization. Data acquisition. Applications in real-time control.

Memory, binary arithmetic, hierarchical design. Hardware/software co-design and application specific processors. Interfacing to I/O devices.

Instruction-set architecture, computer arithmetic, datapath and control, pipelining, memory hierarchies, I/O systems, multiprocessor systems, graphic processors, measures of performance.

Data modeling, integrity constraints, principles and design of relational databases, relational algebra, SQL, query processing, transactions, concurrency control, recovery, security and data storage.

Mathematical foundations, the graphics pipeline, geometrical transformations, 3D visualization, clipping, illumination and shading models and the impact of graphics on society.

Processes and threads, synchronization and communication; scheduling, memory management; file systems; resource protection; structure of operating systems.

Hard and soft real-time systems. Safety classification. Fail-safe design, hazard analysis. Discrete event systems. Modes. Requirements and design specifications. Tasks and scheduling. Clock synchronization. Data acquisition. Applications in real-time control.

Advanced topics in database systems technology and design. Topics include: query processing; query optimization; data storage; indexing; crash recovery; physical database design; introductory data mining techniques.

Use of queuing models and simulation to predict computer system performance and find bottlenecks in a system. Types of models, distributions. Markov models. Modelling storage and network behaviour, locks, critical sections, concurrency. Introduction to analytical system reliability.

Parallel architectures, design and analysis of parallel algorithms; distributed-memory, shared-memory and GPU computing; communication cost, scalability; MPI, OpenMP and OpenACC; tuning parallel programs for performance.

Human sensory perception, learning and cognition. Game aesthetics. Precise control and feedback mechanisms. Use of music and sounds. Critical analysis of existing interfaces. Alternate input devices.

Design of user interfaces. Principles of good interface design. Human input. Displaying complex data using graphics and virtual reality. Modes and mode awareness problem. Health issues, information overload. Special purpose graphics hardware. Interface design tools; on-line help systems.

Fundamental communications concepts: information, entropy, channel capacity, codes, data compression, adaptive channel equalizers, modulation/demodulation of signals, tracking, Kalman filtering, use of specialized signal processing hardware. Software in communication systems.

Hard and soft real-time systems. Safety classification. Fail-safe design, hazard analysis. Discrete event systems. Modes. Requirements and design specifications. Tasks and scheduling. Clock synchronization. Date acquisition. Applications in real-time networking, quality of service and multimedia.

Human sensory perception, learning and cognition. Game aesthetics. Precise control and feedback mechanisms. Use of music and sounds. Critical analysis of existing interfaces. Alternate input devices.

A study of the principles of good interface design. Information overload problems and accommodating user mental models. Human input and technology insertion methods. Information and data visualization techniques. Modes and the mode awareness problem. Human factors and health issues, ergonomics. Interface design tools and Performance Support Systems.