Introduction

This is the home page for CS681. This course covers a series of design principles and implementation techniques for object-oriented concurrent and distributed systems. Students will design and implement several representative concurrent distributed systems such as web browsers, web servers, instant messaging systems, peer-to-peer overlay systems and distributed event notification systems.

Course Topics

• Object-oriented concurrent systems
  • Processes and threads
  • Scheduling algorithms
  • Java threads
  • Threads and memory management
  • Java bytecode and user stack management
  • Race condition and deadlock
  • Concurrency principles and techniques
    • Mutex, semaphore, barrier, spin lock, double-checked locking, thread pooling, etc.
  • Programming idioms and design patterns for threading
    • Concurrent and distributed variations of regular design patterns such as singleton, observer and command
    • Thread-specific storage, active object and content caching, resource exchanger, etc.

• Object-oriented distributed systems
  • TCP and UDP
  • Socket interface
  • Java sockets
  • Programming idioms and design patterns for socket handling
    • Acceptor/connector, Thread-per-connection, server-side scripting, content caching, half sync/half asynch, asynch completion token
  • Java I/O and NIO
  • Programming idioms and design patterns for I/O handling
    • Reactor, proactor, connection pooling, staged event-driven architecture (SEDA), etc.
  • Distributed event monitoring/notification
  • Middleware for distributed object programming
  • Middleware for mobile code (agents)
  • Middleware for web services

Paper Readings

1. S. Haldar and D. K. Subramanian, "Fairness in Processor Scheduling in Time Sharing Systems," In ACM SIGOPS Operating Systems Review Vol. 25, Issue 1, January 1991.

Projects

Office Hours

S-3-168
T Th 4:00pm - 5:30pm

Grading

The grades for CS681 will be based on quizzes/excercises (10%), homework (40%) and project deliverables (50%).

Accommodations

Section 504 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 offers guidelines for curriculum modifications and adaptations for students with documented disabilities. If applicable, students may obtain adaptation recommendations from the Ross Center for Disability Services, M-1-401, (617-287-7430). The student must present these recommendations and discuss them with each professor within a reasonable period, preferably by the end of Drop/Add period.

Student Conduct

Students are required to adhere to the University Policy on Academic Standards and Cheating, to the University Statement on Plagiarism and the Documentation of Written Work, and to the Code of Student Conduct as delineated in the catalog of Undergraduate Programs, pp. 44-45, and 48-52. The Code is available online at http://www.umb.edu/student_services/student_rights/code_conduct.html.