UNIX System Interface Programming (SI-220)

Who Can Benefit

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Prerequisites

• Write correct C programs that use command-line arguments, pointers, and structure
• Create and edit text files using vi or the OpenWindows Text Editor
• Use basic Solaris operating system commands

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Skills Gained

• Define the terms Portable Operating System Interface for Computer Environments (POSIX) and System V Interface Definition (SVID)
• Understand the relationship of the Solaris operating system to POSIX and SVID
• Write applications that perform basic file operations
• Use file and record locking
• Identify the differences between system and library functions
• Query and modify process attributes and resource limits
• Write applications that use memory-management facilities for dynamic memory allocation
• Understand the directory structure and write applications that can read directory hierarchies
• Compose applications that can generate other processes and exercise some control over the new processes
• Write applications that use the signal handling facilities and virtual memory facilities to improve performance and that exchange data through pipes, message queues, and shared memory
• Synchronize processes with the use of semaphores
• Write a simple client-server application using socket functions

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Related Courses

Before:

• C++ and Object Oriented Programming (SL-240)

After:

• Network Programming (SI-240)
• Multi-Threaded Applications Programming (SI-260)
• Writing Device Drivers for Solaris (SI-375)
• High Performance Computing Programming (SL-380)
• Solaris 9 Operating System Internals (SP-365)
• Core Dump Analysis (ST-370)

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Course Content

Module 1 - System Interface Overview

• POSIX and SVID
• Programming environments available in the SunOS 5.x operating system
• Differences between system calls and library calls, and how to find information on them
• How to handle error returns
• Standard I/O and memory functions

Module 2 - Spawning New Tasks

• The need for creating processes
• Creating a process
• Running a new program
• Terminating the current process
• Waiting for a process to terminate

Module 3 - System and Process Information

• How to gain access to the system name and identification number
• How to gain access to information about files and system limits
• Fields in a password entry
• How the Solaris operating system keeps time, and the routines used to translate between various forms of time
• Definition of a process and a process virtual address space
• How to use arguments and environment variables
• Dynamically allocate memory
• Attributes of a process
• The difference between real and effective user IDs
• Retrieving the time resource usage information about a process and its children

Module 4 - Files

• Describing a Solaris operating system file
• Listing the information the system keeps about a file
• How to read and write to regular files
• The difference between open ( ) and dup ( )
• Some advanced standard I/O calls, and why they should not be mixed with system I/O calls
• Creating temporary files
• Performing simple file control
• Use anonymous pipes

Module 5 - Directories

• The format of a directory
• Reading the contents of a directory
• How to create and remove a directory
• The difference between hard and symbolic links
• Renaming files

Module 6 - Signals

• The uses of signals
• Sending signals
• Signal sets
• The difference between blocking and catching a signal
• Writing a signal handler
• The different timers that are available

Module 7 - Programming with Threads

• Describe the importance of a lightweight process in thread programming
• Explain the advantages of multiple threads and LWPs for a process
• Write code to create threads and communicate with other threads

Module 8 - Overview of IPC

• Describe the characteristics of inter-process communications
• Describe IPC methods
• Explain how to list and remove IPC objects from the command line

Module 9 - Short Messages

• Using named pipes
• Use message queues for inter-process communication

Module 10 - Shared Memory

• Use mmap() to map files into memory
• Explain the need to synchronize memory with backing store
• Share a memory region using System V shared memory region

Module 11 - Synchronization

• Understand why locking and synchronization are necessary
• Understand test-and-set
• Understand the available locking types, their applications and their differences
• Understand the application the different kinds of locks to inter-process and intra-process threads accessing shared data

Module 12 - Sockets

• The socket client-server model
• Differences between stream and datagram sockets
• Differences between UNIX and Internet sockets
• The need for network byte-order functions
• Translating a host name to an Internet protocol (IP) address
• How to connect the client and server
• How to send and receive data
• Doing simple asynchronous I/O
• How to use select ( ) on sockets

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