What Is Programming? And How To Get Started
January 28, 2025
Article
Instructors: Patrick Ester
19,428 already enrolled
Included with
(195 reviews)
Recommended experience
Beginner level
Prior programming experience. Familiarity with C or similar language would be beneficial but not mandatory.
(195 reviews)
Recommended experience
Beginner level
Prior programming experience. Familiarity with C or similar language would be beneficial but not mandatory.
Comprehensive understanding of the building blocks of operating systems, from program execution to data storage.
Hands-on expertise in designing and implementing key OS components, ensuring optimized program performance.
Add to your LinkedIn profile
Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV
Share it on social media and in your performance review
This specialization is intended for people with some programming experience who seek an approachable introduction to how operating systems work on a fundamental level. This course will equip learners with foundational knowledge of operating systems suitable for any developer roles. In these four courses, you will cover everything from the basics of a C program to distributed systems. These topics will help prepare you to optimize the performance of the programs you write.
Applied Learning Project
This specialization covers introductory level operating system ideas, techniques, and implementations. The specialization is divided into four parts: (1) Virtualization; and (2) Memory Management. (3) Concurrency, (4) Persistence. Examples of practical applications include implementing a command line interpreter, and multi-threaded operating system tools.
Foundational principles of virtualization within operating systems, particularly with respect to processes and memory management.
Expertise in the C language and its significance in operating system design and functionality.
Foundational techniques and nuances of memory management within operating systems, including segmentation and paging.
Practical strategies for implementing and optimizing virtual memory and swapping in diverse computing environments.
Advanced techniques in managing and optimizing concurrency within operating systems.
The practical application and understanding of threads, locks, and multi-CPU scheduling.
The foundational architecture and principles behind operating systems, ensuring optimized performance.
Techniques to maintain data integrity and protection within diverse operating environments.
Unlimited access to 10,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs - all included in your subscription
Earn a degree from world-class universities - 100% online
Upskill your employees to excel in the digital economy
The full specialization takes about 40 hours to complete.
Comfort using the computer and elementary mathematics -- however no coding or programming experience is necessary.
Yes, follow the courses in order: Virtualization, Memory Management, Concurrency, and Persistence.
No.
This course is completely online, so there’s no need to show up to a classroom in person. You can access your lectures, readings and assignments anytime and anywhere via the web or your mobile device.
If you subscribed, you get a 7-day free trial during which you can cancel at no penalty. After that, we don’t give refunds, but you can cancel your subscription at any time. See our full refund policy.
Yes! To get started, click the course card that interests you and enroll. You can enroll and complete the course to earn a shareable certificate, or you can audit it to view the course materials for free. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. Visit your learner dashboard to track your progress.
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free. If you cannot afford the fee, you can apply for financial aid.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.