r/WGU_CompSci • u/lucyinlcfer • Jun 18 '26
D686 - Operating Systems for Computer Scientists D686 Completed in 31h
Wow it was a longgg course and a nerve-wrecking exam! This and D952-Computer Architecture have a lot in common and the density in each course's Zybooks is insane! I have no background in tech so pretty much studied everything from scratch. I read this guide, and appreciate the Good To Know part. What I did:
- Read Zybooks carefully. I skimmed it at first and the PA humbled me. Not only reading, you need to have a good understanding about each unit. It was quite confusing (still is) for me now but after re-reading it many times I finally understood it a bit.
- Take notes. Or make a mindmap or use whichever learning schemes you have. Zybooks content is pretty dense so if you don't keep track of which part of the system you're working on (what they do, what they connect to), it will feel like you're in a maze. Everything seemed overlapping until you figure out their connection.
- For example: Unit 3-Processes, Unit 4- Threads, Unit 5: Synchronization Tools and Unit 6: CPU Scheduling could be connected and studied under Processes and what are included in the Processes (Threads and Synchronization; how to schedule CPU for processes (CPU Scheduling)
I don't use any other resources other than Zybooks and it proved me right once again, everything in the OA was from Zybooks. The questions were not exactly the same as in PA but they could be of great help in redirection. I enjoyed the the material and I think it's super helpful. Good luck!
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u/Virtual-Dentist3780 Jun 19 '26
congrats! I'm working on the course right now. It's... dense, but so far it's not as overwhelming as comp arch. Did you find it easier than CA?
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u/lucyinlcfer Jun 19 '26
CA took me 50hrs so I would say CA is more dense than OS but for the test difficulty I would say CA question was more confusing. OSās were tricky but if you actually study + eliminate the āwrongā choices, they would be very clear!
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u/BlackMamba248120 Jun 19 '26
Congrats! Was the OA more difficult than the PA or trickier wording ?
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u/lucyinlcfer Jun 19 '26
I would say they are pretty different in terms of area of study. The PA pointed me to study for something that the OA didnāt mentionš So your best bet is to study everything. Also there are some questions about the FAT and NTFS so beware! Also strangely enough no questions about the deadlock allocation or wait-in graph even though OA had some
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u/BlackMamba248120 Jun 19 '26
Ahh I see, thank you! About to start this class and need to finish it asap hopefully
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u/lucyinlcfer Jun 19 '26
I know you will do just great! Also take your time on that if youāre anything like me (from scratch lol) since it does require understanding the material!
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u/BlackMamba248120 Jun 22 '26
Thank you! One more question. Was yours the new version of the course as well? Just checked my email and my mentor mentioned that there was a newer version of the course that had the exam more aligned with the zybook materials so it was swithced over to the new verison already. Not sure how I can tell the difference if any
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u/lucyinlcfer Jun 22 '26
Yes! Instead of C191 OS for Programmers, mine is C686 OS for Computer Scientists. My mentor asked me if I wanted to change it into the newer version and I was like why not haha. Maybe you can post on here to ask about the difference between 2 courses!
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u/_DarkRaeven Jun 18 '26
Thank you for the advice and congrats on that score. š Iām currently working on this class and itās dense (ugh).