Class Introduction

COP4610 Recitation
8/27/2010
 A lot to go over today
TAs
Survey
Recitation and blackboard websites
Syllabus
History of Linux
Project 1
C and /proc
Useful tools
 The TAs
Sarah Diesburg
Lead TA, lecturer, grader
Office hours W 12:30-1:30pm, F 3:30-4:30pm
Office location LOV 105-A
Alejandro Cabrera
Grader
Office hours M W 9:00am-10:00am
Office location LOV 105-E
Email us at cop4610t@cs.fsu.edu
 Experience Survey
Please fill out and turn in today or Monday
Ill better know how to assist you
 Websites
http://www.cs.fsu.edu/~cop4610t/
Also linked off the main class website
Blackboard website on http://campus.fsu.edu
Discussion board
Syllabus Review
 Projects: Partners
Projects will be completed in pairs
Choose a partner and send me an email
(cop4610t@cs.fsu.edu) with
The name and email address of your partner
Your FSU card # and made up 4 digit pin (for door
access to OS computer lab)
You need only submit one project per group
 Projects: Deliverables
Source code (*.c, *.h files)
README
Makefile
Project Report
 Projects: Grading
70% coding, 30% documentation
Even if you can't get a project to compile, be
sure to provide good documentation. You can
still get 30% of the points!
 Projects: Error Policy
Document known errors/bugs.
There's a bigger penalty if I find an error in your
program that you did not.
Document what you did not complete in a
program, if a required feature is missing.
It'll be easier to grade.
 Projects: Slack Policy
Each student has three days to use to extend
project deadlines.
Example: A project is due Monday. You turn it in
Wednesday. Two slack days are used, no penalty is
incurred. On the next project, it's due on a Tuesday,
you turn it in Wednesday- you're now out of slack
days.
Once you're out of slack days, you lose 10 points
per day a project is late.
A project that is more than three days late gets a
0.
 A Note on Projects
Start projects when they're assigned.
They're often trickier than they look.
Might be a bonus for turning a project in early!
Ask questions early.
If you're asking questions, be it to yourself or to others,
you're thinking about the project. This will make it easier
to complete them correctly and on time.
Write small programs to test your program or C
language features you don't understand.
What does execv(ls, -l) do?
 Good Coding Style
You'll often have to go back to your program, read through
your logic, and update it to fix errors.
This is MUCH easier if you incorporate good coding style
and practices from the start of a project.
Compare:

int check(char *p) int isNull(const char *ptr)

{ {
if(p == NULL) if(ptr == NULL){
return TRUE; return TRUE;
return FALSE; }
} return FALSE;
}
History of Linux
 The Beginning: Unix
First implemented in AT&T Bell Labs, 1969.
AT&T had to make a choice between using third
party OS or developing their own.
Chose to implement own OS.
Born from ideas and work performed on MULTICS
OS.
As a result of work on Unix (first implemented in
the assembly language), C was born.
 Time Line of Feature Introduction
B-compiler, UNIX v1 1971
cat, chdir, chmod, chgrp, ed, mkdir, mkfs, mv,
rm...
C-compiler, Pipes, UNIX v3 1973.
UNIX v5, open-sourced 1974.
sh, System V v1, UNIX v7. - 1979
UNIX v10 (last edition) - 1989
Somewhere between 1979 and 1989...
NFS, TCP/IP, STREAMS...
 Standardizing UNIX IEEE and
POSIX
POSIX Portable Operating System Interface for
Computing Environments
What does this mean?
You can count on any modern operating system to
adhere to this standard.
As long as you develop your programs by using
functions available in the POSIX standard,
unistd.h, your program will be portable to
POSIX-compliant systems.
 What's Included in the Standard?
1003.1 System calls, library routines
1003.2 Shell, basic UNIX (command-line)
utilities
1003.3 Test methods to demonstrate
conformance
1003.4 Real-time interfaces
 Linux Humble Beginnings
Shortly after the final version of UNIX was produced,
Linus appeared and published the first version of Linux.
No OS at the time supported the Intel 80386 32-bit
processors Linus wanted to use his PC with that
processor.
It supported only his hardware AT hard disks, Intel
80386.
Since he was working on MINIX, some of the design was
based off of MINIX.
Started by porting bash(1.08) and gcc(1.40).
For more details, refer to wikipedia or the book: Just for
Fun.
 Linux Today
Current kernel version 2.6.35.4 (as of todays
lecture)
Supports pretty much any platform and
device the average user will interact with.
Released to users as distributions, of which
there are more than a hundred.
 Distributions
Ubuntu, Fedora, Slackware, SUSE, Red Hat, Debian, Gentoo
all of these are distributions.
Differences between distributions:
Package manager: aptitude, yum, portage, etc.
Used to install programs, libraries,
documentation.
Kernel version: most are behind a few cycles
Ubuntu 9.04: kernel 2.6.28.15
Windowing Interface: Gnome, KDE, etc.
Target audience: power-user, newbie, enterprise, etc.
Community
Which Distribution (Distro) to Use?
The best advice I can give here is to use what you
feel most comfortable using.
If you haven't installed Linux on your computer
before, maybe this class is the best time to give it a
try!
Other reasoning to choose one distribution over
another:
Local standard - Colleagues/coworkers all use
same distribution.
 Additional References
http://www.lwn.net/
Linux news site. Covers distros, conferences,
and recent kernel development. Includes
many links to free books, documentation, and
the like.
http://www.kernel.org/
Here's where you can obtain the latest Linux
kernel, if you want to get your hands dirty.
 Project 1

Implementing a Shell
 Project 1
Implement a shell interface that behaves like
the shell bash.
Due in 3 weeks
September 17, 2010, 11:59:59pm
Project specification is on website, as well as
test suite and grading sheet
 Shell: What is it?
The Shell is an interpreter for a simple
programming language.
If you type a command it recognizes, it performs
that command.
How does a Shell recognize a command?
A Shell may also be run via a file.
If the Shell can understand this file, a Shell
script, it will execute all the commands in that
file.
 Shells You May Have Seen Before
sh The first Shell produced. Came with the
first Unix.
csh The C-shell,
ksh The Korn shell
tcsh The Tenex C-shell. (used on linprog)
bash The Bourne Again Shell (most Linux)
DOS/cmd The Windows Shell.
 Shell Preparation
Ill help prepare you first by reviewing basic C
functions and coding tools
Get very familiar with these, pick a partner, set up
project environment, try to start project
Next week I will go over shell basics, step-by-
step
 Programming with the C Standard
Library
Standardized ways to:
Open/close files
Read input
Write output
Manipulate/compare strings
Convert strings into numbers and vice-versa
Allocate/deallocate memory
Sort input (quickly) using a predicate function
Search through input (quickly) using a predicate
function
Much, much more...
 Opening and Closing Files
FILE *fopen(const char *file_name, const char *flags)
void fclose(FILE *file)

By using FILE pointers, you can access the contents of a file.

Flags may be:
r - Read. It's an error if the file doesn't exist.
w - Write. Replaces existing file or creates a new
file.
a - Append. Adds data to existing file or creates it.
w+ - Equivalent to r and w.
a+ - Appending and reading.
 Format Specifiers:
Nearly all input/output functions in the C
Standard Library use format specifiers and flags.
Common specifiers:
%d integer value
%u unsigned integer value
%f float value
%x hexadecimal value
%s string
For a complete reference, refer to:
http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/clibrary/cstdio/printf/
 Null-terminated String
All printing functions in the C standard depend on the
presence of a null-character to indicate the end of a
string.
This is why appending a '\0' is so important.

void To illustrate, an implementation
printf(const char *format, of printf
) looks roughly
{
like this:
while (format != '\0'){

++format;
}
}
 Reading Input
int scanf(const char *format, )
int sscanf(const char *buffer, const char *format,
)
int fscanf(FILE *stream, const char *format, )
int fgets(char *buffer, int num, FILE* stream)

The scanf family uses format specifiers to parse the input.

Returns number of items read.
fgets reads into the buffer from the file a given number of
characters.
Very useful for ignoring lines of text or reading an
entire (small) file into memory!
Returns number of characters read.
 Writing Output
int printf(const char *format, )
int sprintf(const char *buffer, const char
*format, )
int fprintf(FILE *stream, const char *format, )
int fputs(char *str, FILE* stream)

The printf family uses format specifiers to format

the output.
fputs places the string str into the file.
All return the number of characters written. In the
case of sprintf, an implied null-character is written
to the string. This character is not counted.
 Comparing Strings
int strncmp(const char *str1, const char *str2,
size_t num)
int strcmp(const char *str1, const char *str2)

Never compare two char* like this:

if(str1 == str2)
This is a pointer comparison not what you intend!
Use str[n]cmp.
Returns +# if first non-matching character is bigger in
str1.
Returns -# if first non-matching character is bigger in
str2.
Returns 0 if strings are equal.
 Copying Strings
char *strncpy(char *dest, const char *src, size_t
num)
char *strcpy(char *dest, const char *src)

Both versions copy the source string into the

destination.
Advice:
Be sure you have enough space in dest to handle src!
Same advice given for strcmp applies here.
Can also create a safe_strcpy function.
Returns pointer to dest string.
 Searching Strings
char *strstr(const char *pattern, const char *string)
char *strchr(const char character, const char *string)

strstr() searches for the first occurrence of pattern

in string.
strchr() searches for first occurrence of character in
string.
Both return start address of target item in string.
In both cases, if target is not found, null pointer is
returned.
 Memory Allocation
void *malloc(const size_t num_bytes)
void *calloc(const size_t num_objs, const size_t obj_size)
void free(void *obj)

Dynamic memory allocation is necessary when you

don't know the size ahead of time of something in
your program.
How many characters does str1 need to be able to store to safely
perform strcpy(str1, str2)?
malloc returns a void* that you can cast to the type
you need.
calloc returns a 0-initialized void*.
Be sure to call free on any memory you dynamically
allocate!
 Dangling References, Memory
Leaks
Memory Leak: Forgetting to free allocated memory.
void leak(int size)
{
/* Never freed! */
int *leak = (int *) malloc (10 * sizeof(int));
}

void dang_ref(int size)

{ Dangling Reference: Trying to use freed or
uninitialized
int *ref = (int *) malloc memory.
(10 * sizeof(int));
free(ref);

/* Already freed! Cannot be accessed! */

printf(%d\n, ref[0]);
}
 Auxiliary Functions
void perror(const char *str)
void qsort(void *base, size_t num, size_t size,
int (*comparator) (const void *, const void *))
void bsearch(void *base, size_t size, int
(*comparator) (const void*, const void*))

Examples of using above functions are provided on the web

site.
perror Reads global error variable and prints useful
information.
qsort Uses quick sort to sort a group of objects.
bsearch Uses binary search to find an object in a
group.
 Linux /proc File System
Contains information about nearly every aspect of the
system:
CPU(s): model, make, number, features...
Memory: How much? Page faults, etc.
Hard disks and storage
Processes running: parents, children, etc.
Easy way to access it:
$> cat /proc/cpuinfo
Looking up details:
$> man proc
Useful Tools
 manpages
Extensive documentation that come with almost all
Unix-like systems
For documentation on C functions or packages
Examples
$> man bash
$> man strncpy
Sometimes multiple definitions, so use man section
numbers
man 1 printf shows bash printf
man 3 printf shows C printf
For more information on sections, see man man
 tar: Tape ARchiver
tar: general purpose archive utility (not just
for tapes)
Usage: tar [options] [files]
Originally designed for maintaining an archive of files on a magnetic
tape.
Now often used for packaging files for distribution
If any files are subdirectories, tar acts on the entire subtree.
 tar
To archive a project
$> tar cvf <tarfile-name.tar> <directory holding
things to tar>
To extract a tarball
$> tar xvf <tarfile-name.tar>
To extract a gzipped tarball
$> tar xvfz <tarfile-name.tar.gz>
 Editors -- Vim
The vi editor was created by Bill Joy, the
founder of Sun Microsystems when he was
a graduate student
The vim editor, vi improved, is the Linux
version of the vi editor
multiple windows, highlighting text, and
command history
http://www.vim.org/
 Editors -- Emacs
GNU Emacs is an extensible, customizable text
editor
Content-sensitive editing modes, including syntax
coloring, for a variety of file types including plain
text, source code, and HTML
http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/
 Editors -- Others
Nano and/or pico are also available on most
Linux systems
Extremely basic
 Make
make: A program for building and maintaining
computer programs
developed at Bell Labs around 1978 by S. Feldman
(now at Google)
Instructions stored in a special format file
called a makefile.
Look at makefile example on website
 Debuggers
Debuggers let you examine the internal workings
of your code while the program runs.
Debuggers allow you to set breakpoints to stop the
program's execution at a particular point of interest
and examine variables.
To work with a debugger, you first have to recompile
the program with the proper debugging options.
Use the -g command line parameter to cc, gcc, or g++
Example: gcc -g -c foo.c
 GDB, the GNU Debugger
Text-based, invoked with:
gdb [<programfile> <corefile>|<pid>]]
Issue man gdb for more info
 GDB Quick-Start
$> ./my.x
$> Segmentation fault
$> gdb ./my.x
(gdb) run
Segmentation fault
0x08048384 in main() at my.c:4
4 *s = 'H';
(gdb) bt
#0 0x08048384 in main() at my.c:4
GNU DDD