For prospective students // 6.033 mechanics // Submitting assignments
Q. I want to take 6.033 this term, but I haven't taken 6.004 yet, and the catalog says that is a prerequisite. Is the prerequisite really needed? I might be able to take 6.004 at the same time. Will that work? My friend started 6.004 but dropped it after the second quiz. Can she take 6.033?
A. 6.004 really is a pre-requisite, not a co-requisite for 6.033. 6.033 builds on material from the last half of 6.004, and it takes off with no review and at a substantially faster pace. If you haven't completed 6.004 in a previous term you are not likely to survive 6.033.
Q. I'm a sophomore. I got an A in 6.004, I've been hacking systems for four summers at Apple and Microsoft, and I want to take 6.033 now. But I have been warned that sophomores have a lot of trouble with 6.033. What's the story?
A. We strongly discourage sophomores from taking 6.033 even if they have already accumulated the nominal prerequisites. 6.033 depends on a lot of unwritten computer street knowledge, of which juniors have accumulated another year's worth in various ways--their UROP assignments, doing other courses on Athena, one more summer job, a few more Computer Science subjects, etc. The success rate of sophomores is far lower than for juniors and seniors--three or four try it every year, and one or two survive to the end. On the other hand, if you really have been hacking systems at Apple and Microsoft for four years, you are welcome to give it a try.
Q. Do you recommend that I take the writing practicum with 6.033?
A. That is mostly a matter of how much help you think you need in technical writing. Everyone needs to know how to do it, but some people have acquired writing experience in other ways--reporters for The Tech (usually) don't need the writing practicum. Perhaps the way to decide is to look at the Phase I and Phase II writing requirements--if you have already sailed through them without extra effort, you are probably not in need of help. If you are still struggling to get Phase I checked off, you almost certainly do need the practicum. More likely you are between those two points, and have to make a judgement call.
Q. It is now {choose one: 1, 2, 3, 4} weeks into the term and I want to add 6.033. I haven't been participating up till now, but I'm willing to work hard to catch up. What are my prospects?
A. It is harder than it looks, for three reasons. First, a lot of the material in the lectures isn't written down anywhere, except perhaps in the notes taken by some of your classmates. Second, much of the learning experience in 6.033 comes from participating in recitation discussions of assigned papers, and the level of the discussions advances rapidly in sophistication as the term progresses. Finally, the reading assignments are long. Many people can barely keep up with the reading even if they started on day one; catching up in addition to keeping up can be really tough. There is a short paper due each week; as of the Nth week you have missed N of those. The cumulative impact of all these considerations suggests that for N > 2 it is probably hopeless.
Q. Is the latest Eta Kappa Nu Underground Guide review of 6.033 on-line anywhere?
A. Yes. The latest evaluation is for Spring term, 1999. Since the teaching staff shuffles around a lot, you may find it useful to look at the Spring term, 1998. and Spring term, 1997. reviews, too.
Q.The grapevine around our dorm says that there is a book by Tanenbaum that every 6.033 student needs, but it isn't in the reading list. Why not?
A.The book in question is Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Modern Operating Systems (Prentice-Hall: 1992).
Before we had much in the way of class notes written, we listed Tanenbaum as a required textbook, and then as we accumulated more class notes we listed it as a non-required but suggested book. The class notes are farther along now, and we started getting reports from students that they didn't get enough use out of the book to be worth the cost. So we aren't recommending it except in some special cases.
6.033 comes with notes, papers, and instructors and teaching assistants who get their kicks by showing off how much they know in answering questions on the most trivial of details. And that is what Tanenbaum's book does. Whether you would find it useful or not depends on how much street knowledge about computer systems and computer jargon you have accumulated. We will be reading a number of professional papers. Some of the authors never dreamed we would be handing their papers to undergraduates, so they didn't bother to define their terms, or remind their readers of the concepts; they just assume you know everything that has gone before. With a little bit of background and a certain amount of nerve, you can deal with this by guessing, asking questions, and diligently reading class handouts and chapters. But if you come to this course feeling somewhat clueless about computer systems in comparison with your classmates, you may find that having a copy of Tanenbaum's book on the shelf is reassuring when you encounter a string of seven concatenated, unfamiliar buzzwords in one of our readings.Q. Can I use an old copy of Tanenbaum's book? Of the Brooks book? How about the class notes that are for sale in the EECS Instrument room?
A. For each item there is a different answer:
Q. I'm on-campus, but I left my copy of the 6.033 class notes at the fraternity. I have an hour between classes and I'd like to do some reading. Is there a set anywhere?
A. We try to keep one current set of the 6.033 class notes in Barker Engineering Library.
Q. I'd really rather be in a different section from the one you are trying to push me into. Why can't I switch to the section I want? Does one more person really matter?
A. One of the main features of 6.033 is discussion in recitations, of the papers we are reading, almost like in a humanities class. A good discussion, involving all the class members, doesn't often happen in a large class. Since the department can't afford an unlimited number of recitation instructors, we therefore have to push for more equally balanced sections than in other EECS subjects.
Q. I'm working for a start-up company that is doing nearly the same thing as the second design project, and my non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with the company will prevent me from doing a good job on the design project. Could you please assign me a different design project?
A. (short answer) No. (longer answer) Honest, in recent years this really has become a frequently-asked question. After much careful thought and debate about priorities and the purposes of education, the conclusion of the teaching staff and the EECS department is that students should be cautious about signing NDA's that relate to things that they may also study in class. In 6.033 we try to come up with assignments, quizzes, and design projects that are both realistic and timely. Those are two of the same criteria that start-ups use to choose business opportunities. So the chance of conflict is actually surprisingly high. We don't want to avoid an interesting project idea, assignment, or quiz question just because a start-up is also working on it, and in the case of design projects, we think that our educational goals are better met by having everyone work on the same topic. So our formal policy is: If any 6.033 assignment conflicts with an NDA, then your choice is to fail the assignment or resolve the conflict with the company with which you have an NDA. (Incidentally, experience suggests that working for a start-up, which requires 150% of your attention, is fundamentally incompatible with getting a good grade in 6.033. You might consider delaying one or the other of these activities so that they don't happen at the same time.)
Q. I have extremely thick glasses, which take a long time for light to propagate through. As a result, the medical department has suggested that I ask instructors for extra time on quizzes. Can you handle that?
A. If you have special needs for taking quizzes (e.g., you need additional time), 6.033 will be happy to accommodate, provided you can supply a letter from either the medical department or an academic dean and you give us enough advance notice.
Q. For the second design project I understand we are supposed to form teams of three people. One of the people I want to work with is in a different recitation section. Is that OK?
A. Probably not. Your recitation instructor assigns your grade, and your friend's recitation instructor assigns his or her grade. If you work together on the same team, then both recitation instructors will have to read your team's design project and agree on a grade for the team. This procedure causes two problems, one for the teaching staff and one for you. The problem for the teaching staff, which, like you, has a finite amount of time, is less reading time per design project. The problem for you is that whenever two instructors read the same design project, they will find two completely different lists of things they don't like. When they get together and compare notes, they will start by merging the lists of things they didn't like into one longer list. So your team is almost certain to get a lower grade than it would have if either instructor had evaluated it alone. We've tried it in the past and found that it simply doesn't work. In addition, we think there is some educational value in occasionally working with someone different.
If your friend is in another section taught by the same recitation instructor, then you can form a team if you clear that plan with that common recitation instructor in advance.
Q. My friend and I are in sections that have the same Teaching Assistant. Does that count?
A.Let's try a different question. You don't seem to want to hear the answer to the previous one.
Q. If we do the second design project in teams, I don't understand how the writeup of that design project can qualify me for phase II of the Writing Program.
A. The reason is that it won't. You are supposed to have passed Phase II with your first design project, if necessary by rewriting it and resubmitting it to the writing program until they accept it.
Q. Can I hand in my weekly one-page assignments by e-mail?
A. For the same reason that we don't make you read the reading assignments on-line, we don't make the graders read your submitted assignment on-line. Please hand in your assignment on paper.
Q. I've been sick this weekend. Can I have an extension on my one-page assignment?
A. The brief answer is no. The long answer is that one of our purposes in making those assignments is to get you to read the paper before the discussion in class. Even if you later do a good job on the writeup, you still have missed one crucial component. However, we offer the following compromise: if you hand it in late we will record it with an "L" rather than a check (your TA will still review it, so you can find out whether or not your writeup was OK). If you turn in only one or two one-pagers late it won't have any noticeable effect on your grade. But if they are systematically late or missing, the effect on your grade grows non-linearly, like most 6.033 graphs.
Q. What's the format for the one-page assignments?
A.
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