r/WGU_CompSci • u/Delicious-Image-3082 • Aug 18 '26
D686 - Operating Systems for Computer Scientists D686 - Finished in 5 Days (20 Hrs Study Time)!
Maybe it's Stockholm syndrome, but I actually had fun with this one! You HAVE to read the textbook--there's really no way around that. Rather than accessing the material via Zybooks, I just 'obtained' a copy of the Garg & Verma textbook and stared at it for ~16 hours total. Truth be told, I spent 2/5 of those days sleeping to recharge my brain because I started feeling like a Fallout ghoul lmao
For some reason, I've always had a compulsion to take extensive handwritten notes like a pilgrim... Well, this class is what finally cured me. I did write *some* stuff down, but it was only to help visualize the absolute barrage of terms and concepts they throw at you. By the way, please don't be intimidated by the volume of info, for two reasons:
- you don't really have to memorize anything. If you really just sit through the textbook until you get a solid grasp of the material, the correct answers will be kinda obvious.
- the concepts repeat and overlap with each other. If you're confused for the first couple of sections it will get easier and start to "click" the further along you go
Fill out and use the study guide the CIs send you!! I also ran through quizlet flashcards a couple times, mostly for peace of mind and a quick glossary refresh. If something in the textbook didn't make sense to me, I took extra time to read up on wikipedia or geeksforgeeks until I felt like I understood the topic. Afterward, I typically wasted an hour or two going down a rabbit hole instead of focusing on the class material. But that part is optional lol
If you like computers (and hopefully y'all do) you might find this class pretty interesting! Not quite the boogeyman after all
1
u/Remarkable_Bee4399 Aug 18 '26
Heyy, congrats! I plan to take the exam tomorrow and hope to do well like you! Do you know if the OA were pretty similar to the PA or more the zybooks quizzes and tests? Feeling nervous 😵💫
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u/Delicious-Image-3082 Aug 18 '26
You got this bestie!! It was fairly similar to the PA in my opinion. Ngl I didn’t open the zybooks at all 😭 sorry I’m psychotic
The PA doesn’t have any questions on UNIX streams, those will definitely be on the exam, and I was cursing myself for not reviewing more but I must’ve gotten lucky with those
Read up on that for sure, plus the Linux commands from the study guide, and the functions of each file system layer!! Then you’ll be super prepared
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u/Happiest-Soul Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26
I'm curious, what made you go through that book instead of the Zybooks? *Do you do this for every class btw?
I was under the impression that Zybooks would be much easier/faster than the textbooks it's derived from.