IITM BS Linux Systems Laboratory (CS1902): Syllabus and Tips

Linux Systems Laboratory (CS1902) is a 1 credit foundation lab in the IITM BS in Electronic Systems. Over 10 weeks you practise Linux by hand: commands, files and processes, regular expressions, Bash scripts, scheduled jobs, sed, awk and git. The Linux course (CS1102) is its corequisite, and you complete the lab with a visit to IIT Madras.

The syllabus names Prof. Gandham Phanikumar of the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, IIT Madras, as faculty.

What you need before the Linux lab

The handbook tables list no prerequisite and CS1102 as a corequisite. The May 2026 lab policy also calls the Linux course a corequisite. But a note in the same policy says you must complete ESTC, C Programming and Linux before you can register for their labs. All three suggested study plans put the Linux course and this lab in the same term. Because the policy disagrees with itself, confirm with support before you take both together. The course is covered in Introduction to the Linux Shell (CS1102).

What you learn in the Linux lab

• Weeks 1 to 3: getting set up. A Linux virtual machine, basic commands and the folder layout of Linux. Then terminal text editors, network commands and SSH, joining commands together, redirecting output, installing packages and managing processes.
• Weeks 4 and 5: patterns and shell basics. Regular expressions with grep, shell variables, indexed and associative arrays, and storing a command's output in a variable.
• Weeks 6 to 8: scripting and automation. find, make and archive tools, then Bash scripts with if, loops and case. After that, automation scripts, scheduled jobs with crontab, and editing text streams with sed.
• Weeks 9 and 10: awk and git. awk for text processing and as a small language. Then git branching, merging, pull requests and issues, plus hardware and storage management and customising your prompt.

The lab names tools like sed, awk and crontab that the course syllabus does not list by name. So the lab goes beyond the lectures in places.

Campus visit and lab rules

• Option A: the Linux lab is in your first visit, with the C Programming Lab and the ESTC Lab.
• Option B: it moves to your second visit, with the Electronics Lab and the Embedded C Programming Lab.
• You cannot register for only one lab in a term. See the single lab rule.

The full rules are in ES lab registration rules and ES campus visits. The syllabus does not describe how the lab is graded.

Who finds it hard and how to prepare

Regular expressions, awk and Bash syntax are the usual problem areas. Bash is strict about spaces, so a line that looks right can fail.

• Set up your virtual machine in week 1 and save a snapshot. If you break something, you can go back.
• Write scripts in files and run them again after every change. Do not rely only on typing at the prompt.
• Test each regular expression on a few lines of sample text before using it on a real file.
• Practise git branching and merging on a small test project with a friend. Merge conflicts make sense only after you cause one.
• Keep your own examples of sed and awk commands. You will reuse them.

What to take before and after

Take CS1102 before or with this lab. If you follow Option A, plan it with the C Programming Laboratory (CS1901) and the ESTC Lab.

Common questions

Should I take the Linux lab in my first or second visit?

If your Linux course is done by your first lab term, Option A puts it in the first visit. If not, Option B lets you leave it for the second visit. The handbook's later summary mentions only the Option A pattern, so ask support before you choose Option B.

Does any other lab need the Linux lab first?

No. The lab policy names two lab prerequisites: the ESTC Lab for the Electronics Lab, and the C Programming Lab for the Embedded C Lab. The Linux lab is not a prerequisite for any lab.

Do I need the lab kit for the Linux lab?

The handbook does not say. Every syllabus topic is done on a Linux computer, so a working Linux setup on your laptop is what you need for sure.