Western Kentucky University / G / James Gary

Dr. G really means well, and will give you a great class, if you want to be there. I was in the class that was the first time he had ever taught CS175, so I don't know if he ever will again, since he had difficulty teaching this type of class; Dr. G usually handles graduate-level CS classes like Datastructures, etc. He's a great guy that doesn't take life too seriously and REALLY knows his stuff, so take him! Seriously the easiest course I've ever taken, but only because I would do the few things he asked us to do; don't do them, and you WILL fail!

Dr. Gary is a great teacher, even if he can get a bit moody at times. You cannot finish this class without learning something - he is most well-versed in UNIX of all of WKU's CS professors. He's been using it since he was a student, and most other professors that teach this course just read a book and play around with linux the semester previous to teaching it. If you've had no previous UNIX experience, the class can be difficult, the key is to practice: use your hera account or a linux machine at home to actually use what you learn in class - memorization won't cut it as he often has somewhat tricky problems on his tests.

Dr. Gary was a great professor and made this class very interesting. The assignments were difficult but gave great insight and experience into OpSys programming.

Dr. Gary really knows his stuff. He does a real good job explaining everything in detail, and he can answer any additional questions you have.

The course, however, is pretty difficult. It covers a lot of intricate concepts that msot people don't have any experience with at this point in their college career.

The exams are hard... but I don't really know how helpful the textbook is--I never used mine, and he never mentioned it at all... I'd recommend skipping on it, especially if you're a good note-taker.

Exams were pretty standard for the CS department at WKU: 2 normal exams and a cumulative final, all of which consist mainly of short answer and problem-solving questions. There were about three assignments where you have to implement OS concepts using Nachos (it's an emulator and simple-OS of the MIPS architecture)... this involved things like multithreading, system calls (like file system services), and multiprogramming. The assignments are pretty tough, so don't wait until the last minute and feel free to go to Dr. Gary's office for help.

Fun class, good teacher, does a great job at explaining material. Felt free to ask questions anytime.

He likes teaching this course, therefore, he is quite good at explaining things well. He answer question thoroughly. He makes it fun and interesting to go to class. I highly recommend taking this class.

As always, any class taught by Dr. Gary is excellent. The material is relevant, class is fun, and the professor does an excellent job explaining complex material.