1. Course Introduction
Course objectives
Development environment
Linux programming fundamentals
Overview of system programming
2. Fundamental Concepts
Learn the core concepts behind Linux system programming, including:
System calls
Standard library functions
Error handling techniques
System data types
Reading and understanding example code
3. File Input and Output
Understand how Linux applications interact with files through system calls.
Topics include:
File descriptors
Opening and closing files
Reading and writing data
Basic file I/O operations
4. File I/O Buffering
Explore how buffering affects application performance.
Topics include:
Kernel buffering
Standard I/O buffering
Buffer management
Performance considerations
5. Advanced File I/O
Learn advanced file handling techniques.
Topics include:
File offsets
Random access using seek operations
Atomic file operations
File descriptor duplication
File status flags
Advanced file I/O interfaces
6. Working with Files
Understand how Linux stores and manages files.
Topics include:
Inodes
File metadata
File permissions
File modes
umask
Modifying file attributes
7. Directories and Links (Optional)
Learn how Linux organizes files.
Topics include:
Directory structure
Hard links
Symbolic links
Working directories
Directory-relative operations
Directory scanning
8. Processes
Understand process management in Linux.
Topics include:
Process IDs
Process memory layout
Command-line arguments
Environment variables
User credentials
Process groups
Sessions
The /proc filesystem
9. Signals
Learn how processes communicate through signals.
Topics include:
Signal fundamentals
Signal handling
Signal masks
Pending signals
Writing reliable signal handlers
10. Advanced Signal Handling
Explore advanced signal management.
Topics include:
Async-signal-safe functions
Interrupted system calls
SA_SIGINFO handlers
Signal trampolines
11. Process Creation and Termination
Learn how Linux creates and manages processes.
Topics include:
fork()
Process termination
Parent and child processes
Zombie processes
Orphan processes
SIGCHLD
PID file descriptors
12. Executing Programs
Understand how new programs are launched.
Topics include:
execve()
exec() family
Process replacement
File descriptors during execution
Process attributes
13. System Call Tracing (Optional)
Debug Linux applications using strace.
Topics include:
Monitoring system calls
Tracing child processes
Filtering trace output
14. Multithreading Fundamentals
Learn POSIX thread programming.
Topics include:
Thread lifecycle
Thread creation
Thread termination
Thread IDs
Joining and detaching threads
Thread attributes
Signals in multithreaded programs
15. Thread Synchronization
Prevent race conditions and synchronize shared resources.
Topics include:
Critical sections
Mutexes
Condition variables
Synchronization techniques
Dynamic synchronization objects
16. Inter-Process Communication (Optional)
Introduction to IPC mechanisms.
Topics include:
IPC overview
Choosing the appropriate IPC method
17. Pipes and FIFOs
Exchange data between processes.
Topics include:
Anonymous pipes
Named pipes (FIFOs)
Building process pipelines
18. Socket Programming Fundamentals
Build network applications using sockets.
Topics include:
Socket types
Address families
Socket creation
Binding
Listening
Accepting connections
Stream sockets
Datagram sockets
19. Internet Domain Sockets
Develop TCP/IP applications.
Topics include:
IPv4 and IPv6 sockets
Address structures
Loopback interfaces
Wildcard addresses
Client/server examples
20. Address Resolution
Convert hostnames and service names.
Topics include:
Host resolution
Port numbers
getaddrinfo()
Modern socket programming techniques
21. Advanced Socket Programming
Improve network application performance.
Topics include:
Socket options
shutdown()
TCP TIME-WAIT
SO_REUSEADDR
Performance tuning
22. UNIX Domain Sockets
Communicate efficiently between local processes.
Topics include:
Stream sockets
Datagram sockets
Local IPC techniques
23. Alternative I/O Models
Develop scalable event-driven applications.
Topics include:
Non-blocking I/O
Signal-driven I/O
poll()
Event loops
24. epoll Programming
Build highly scalable Linux servers.
Topics include:
epoll architecture
epoll_create()
epoll_ctl()
epoll_wait()
Event notifications
Edge-triggered mode
Performance optimization
25. POSIX Semaphores
Coordinate concurrent processes and threads.
Topics include:
Named semaphores
Unnamed semaphores
Semaphore operations
26. POSIX Shared Memory
Share memory between processes for maximum performance.
Topics include:
Shared memory objects
mmap()
Memory mapping
Shared memory synchronization
High-performance IPC
