A simulator supporting lectures on operating systems

A common problem faced by teachers and computer science students is the difficulty in attaining a proper understanding of the real dynamic nature of the computing events involved. No matter how solid the knowledge and the communication ability of the instructor might be as well as the concentration and close attention paid by the students, the proper understanding of the concepts presented is impaired by the implicit static nature of the class or lecture presentation. In the specific case of operating systems, after many years lecturing on the subject, we started looking for a way to improve the approach in which the concepts and techniques were presented. This paper is the outcome of this research. It implements a simulator (SOsim) with visual facilities to serve as an effective tool for the better teaching and learning of concepts and techniques in modern operating systems, serving as a way to render the whole process more efficient.