Attention: This is an old version of the CS 138 website. Please click here for the current offering.

Latest Announcements

5/8: Sample exam released
Last year's final exam & solutions have been released on the Exams page.
3/24: Raft is out
Enjoy!
1/28: Waitlist
A link to the waitlist for those who have not registered has been added on the homepage.

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Overview

CSCI 1380 is an undergraduate course in distributed computer systems. We will explore the fundamental principles and practice underlying networked information systems. First we will cover basic distributed computing mechanisms (e.g., naming, replication, security, etc.) and enabling middleware technologies. We then discuss how these mechanisms and technologies fit together to realize distributed databases and file systems, web-based and mobile information systems.

Prerequisites: CSCI 0320, CSCI 0330, or consent of the instructor.

  • Lecture time: Tu/Th 10:30-11:50
  • Location: CIT 368

If you are not registered for the class and would like to be put on the waitlist, then please fill out this form.


Course Staff

We'll be using Piazza for almost all course-related communication. You can mark questions as private or public. Private messages are seen by all course staff, see the collaboration policy for guidelines of how to choose. You can also use cs138tas@cs.brown.edu to e-mail the course staff regarding administrative issues.

Instructor

NameEmailOfficeHours
Tom Doeppner CIT 405 Monday 4-5, Wednesday & Friday 3-4
Rodrigo Fonseca CIT 329 TBD

Teaching Assistants

NameEmailOfficeOffice Hours
HTA: Jordan Hendricks CIT 271, (The Fishbowl) Sunday 12-2
TA: Junyang Chen CIT 271, (The Fishbowl) Thursday 4-6
TA: George Sun CIT 271, (The Fishbowl) Thursday 6-8
TA: Vivek Narayanan CIT 271, (The Fishbowl) Tuesday 6-8
TA: Jake Small CIT 271, (The Fishbowl) Tuesday 4-6

Course Policies

Collaboration Policy

The collaboration policy is available as a handout. You must print, read, and sign the collaboration policy before returning it to a TA so that you can receive credit for the assignments.

Incomplete Policy

Incompletes are granted only under exceptional circumstances (e.g. severe illness, death in the family, kidnapping, etc.; too heavy of a course load is not sufficient reason for an incomplete). Getting a dean to certify your reason for requesting an incomplete helps, but is not sufficient.

Late Policy

Students will be allowed a total of three (3) late days to be used on homework and project assignments free of charge. Students will be penalized by a letter grade on the assignment for each day it is late.