M.I.T. DEPARTMENT OF EECS

6.033 - Computer System Engineering Handout 28 - Issued April 26, 2003

Assignment 10: May 5 to May 22


Note: this handout covers two weeks and the final.

For Lecture: Monday, May 5

In this lecture we again look at coordination, but this time coordination among threads running in multiple sites. Please read chapter 8-E of the course notes.

Recitation, Tuesday, May 6

Today we continue our discussion of system R.In addition, read two short papers. Read "Chocolate" by Plauger (Reading #18) and "Engineering: History and Failure" by Petroski (Reading #17).

Please also do Hands-on #8.This hands-on assignment will give you some experience using a transaction system.

Lecture, Wednesday, May 7

This lecture is about consistency. Review all of chapter 8, this time reading appendices 8-A and 8-B.

Recitation, Thursday, May 8

Design Project 2 is due today. The late policy is simple: there are absolutely no extensions.

There is no reading or hands-on assignment for today.

Lecture, Monday, May 12

This lecture will be given by Prof. Daniel Jackson.

For lecture read chapters 1, 2, and 4 of Brooks' "The Mythical Man-Month." This book is a classic that all systems people should have on their bookshelf. Although slightly old, it contains a unique perspective and advice on building complex systems. You will probably re-read this book several times during the next couple of decades. We all do.

Recitation, Tuesday, May 13

Every team should prepare a 5-minute presentation on their Design Project 2 paper. You will give this presentation during section today. Please see Handout 29 for details on the presentation.

Lecture, Wednesday, May 14

In this lecture, Prof. Jerry Saltzer will revisit the topic of complexity in the light of things we have learned in 6.033.

For lecture read chapters 5, 8, and 11 of Brooks' "The Mythical Man-Month."

Recitation, Thursday, May 15

For this recitation, read Butler Lampson's "Hints for Computer System Design" (reading #23). If you have misplaced your copy, an online version is available. Try to think about good examples (from 6.033 or elsewhere) for some of the slogans in Lampson's paper. Try to establish connections between this paper and what we have discussed so far in 6.033. Think about the failed systems that we studied in the class and identify the main reason they failed. Did they violate any of Lampson's hints?

There may be one or two project presentations left over from Tuesday. These teams will present today.

In this recitation, we will also be gathering feedback. Bring your criticisms, complaints, comments, and accolades about 6.033.

Finally, after wrapping up the discussion, we will hand out our record of quiz, design project, and one-pager grades. If you discover a mistake in our records, please bring the original paper showing your grade to your teaching assistant as soon as possible, but no later than the end of the quiz on Thursday, May 22.

Quiz 3, Thursday, May 22 (covers L18 through R26)

Quiz 3 will be held in Johnson from 1:30pm to 2.30 pm on Thursday, May 22, 2003. It will focus on material from L18 up to and including the May 15th recitation (R26). Of course, some of the questions may still require thinking about earlier topics, so you may also want to spend some time reviewing older material as well.

The quiz will be open book. That means you can bring along any printed or written materials that you think might be useful. Calculators are allowed, though not necessary. The quiz will be mostly multiple choice, similar to quizzes 1 and 2.

The quiz is being held during finals period. The date was announced earlier in the term, so you should not have problems with scheduling conflicts. If, nevertheless, you have managed to create a conflict, contact Prof. Kaashoek at kaashoek@mit.edu as soon as possible to resolve the problem.

Check WebSIS for grades in late May/early June.

System aphorism of the week:

Il semble que la perfection soit atteinte non quand il n'y a plus rien à ajouter, mais quand il n'y a plus rien à retrancher.
(It seems that perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to take away.)
-- Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Terre des Hommes (Wind, Sand and Stars, 1939, Chapter 3 "The Tool")

Meta-aphorisms of the week:

An aphorism is not an aphorism unless you know what it means.
-- Winston Churchill

I hate quotations.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson



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