Implementacao de um simulador modular para o ensino de sistemas operacionais

Abstract

The Computer Science undergraduate program provides students with exposure to both emerging and consolidated technologies. Its curriculum includes topics such as resource management, software systems development, and aspects of the business environment. Although practical activities are encouraged from the early stages of the program, many curricula offer limited time for hands-on learning. Several courses present dense theoretical content that must be covered within a short timeframe. In the context of the Operating Systems course, the role of practical activities is particularly significant. This work presents the development of a simulator designed to support the teaching of process scheduling. The tool provides a basic implementation of a simulated operating system, allowing students to implement and test different scheduling algorithms, thereby reinforcing classroom concepts. To support this process, a framework was developed to define a standard model for implementing scheduling policies. These policies are implemented through specific callbacks, which are triggered at predefined points in the simulator. This abstraction enables students to focus on conceptual understanding while avoiding the complexities of internal mechanisms. The resulting tool is of intermediate complexity and offers a visual representation of the performance of different scheduling algorithms within the simulated environment. This approach aims to enhance student engagement by providing a more accessible and meaningful learning experience, bridging the gap between low-level implementation complexity and the superficial treatment found in simpler simulators.