A Web-Based System Programming Learning Environment

This thesis introduces a web application designed for students learning system programming. The tool developed supports compiling and running C programs right inside the browser (made possible by a full-featured Linux-based virtual machine running purely client-side), a full-featured editor designed for beginners writing C programs, ability to search the Linux Man pages, and more. Short video lectures and exercises are also available which introduce learners to the C programming language and system programming concepts. The application has been used successfully by more than 400 students for two semesters at the University of Illinois. In this thesis, the motivation behind developing this application is discussed, along with its features and possible use cases. A thorough walkthrough of the user interface is given, followed by elaborate details of the challenges, design, architecture and implementation of the application. The thesis also briefly analyzes the performance and usage of the application.Ope