Java visualization of student-implemented OS algorithms: demonstration
Adam Fischbach · Journal of computing sciences in colleges · 2011
In an operating systems course, students have the opportunity to learn a variety of different algorithms designed to solve problems such as process scheduling and page replacement. Students can learn these algorithms on a conceptual level, but they gain a stronger understanding of the algorithms by implementing them and seeing them work. For students who lack a strong background in C, studying and modifying the code of an actual operating system such as Linux may not be feasible in an undergraduate operating systems course. Furthermore, with the variety of topics than can be covered in such a course, it may not be desirable to assign major month-long programming projects. As an alternative, a simple simulation has been developed for the undergraduate operating systems course at Widener University that allows students to implement and test their algorithms in Java, the language that they are most familiar with.