/Teaching/System Level Programming/Exercises and Assessment
System Level Programming — Exercises and Assessment
This page contains the authoritative information on exercises, assessment, and organisation.
Assessment at a glance
| Component | Points | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| A1: Entry Test | Mandatory | Repeatable Teilleistung with two attempts. Participation brings a grade. |
| Lecture Exam | 35 | 13 January; second-chance exam on 20 January. |
| Practicals Exam | 65 | Live coding. A8 is on 18 January; A9 is on 22 January. The A9 score replaces the A8 score. |
| A2–A7 | Up to 20 bonus | Regular assignments provide bonus points only. |
Grading
The base score is the lecture exam plus the practicals exam, for a maximum of 100 points. Bonus points from A2–A7 can improve a positive grade by up to 20 points, but cannot turn a negative grade into a positive grade.
| Final score | Grade |
|---|---|
| 87.5 or more | 1 |
| 75 or more | 2 |
| 62.5 or more | 3 |
| 50 or more | 4 |
Assignments and recommended time frames
All regular assignments are available throughout the semester. The following time frames are recommendations, not deadlines. For equal scores, the student who achieves a score first ranks higher.
| Assignment | Recommended time frame | Question hour |
|---|---|---|
| A1: Entry Test | First attempt: Friday, 2 October; second attempt: Monday, 5 October. | — |
| A2: Multithreading | 8–21 October | A2 and A3: 4 November |
| A3: Thread Synchronization | 22 October–5 November | |
| A4: Interprocess Communication | 6–19 November | A4 and A5: 2 December |
| A5: Memory Layout and Demand Paging | 20 November–3 December | |
| A6: Dynamic Memory Implementation | 4–17 December | A6 and A7: 16 December |
| A7: Calling Conventions and Inline Assembly | 7–28 January | |
| A8 + A9: Practicals Exam | 18 and 22 January | — |
The first lecture is Thursday, 1 October. The Christmas break is 21 December–6 January.
Entry Test (A1)
A1 uses the same live-coding format as the practicals exam. It covers basic C programming, pointer arithmetic, ISP material, and basic Git usage, including creating a commit.
Practicals Exam (A8 + A9)
- The practicals exam determines the exercise points.
- An additional screen is allowed; desktop computers are not allowed.
- Snacks and drinks may be available in the break room.
Exercise Interview
Students are selected randomly. Students who push changes after the practicals exam have an increased probability of being selected. Changes after the practicals exam can be used to improve assignment bonus points.
Repository and submissions
Each participant receives a Git repository. Do not change its name or path, and do not add other people to it. Use the upstream repository at https://extgit.isec.tugraz.at/slp/upstream. Submit work by tagging it with the assignment name. Use gcc/g++ 13.x or later on Linux and implement according to POSIX.
Communication
Use Discord for course questions and information.
Pitfalls
Review the pitfalls before submitting work.