overview.txt

Computer systems programming involves developing software to connect the
low-level computer hardware to high-level, user-facing application
software and usually requires careful consideration of performance and
resource constraints. Examples of computer systems software include
compilers, operating systems, databases, numerical libraries, and
embedded controllers.

This course aims to provide a strong foundation in computer systems
programming using C and C++, the languages of choice for system-level
programmers. The course is structured into three parts. In the first
part, students will learn basic C programming (e.g., static typing,
functions, control flow, arrays, strings, pointers, dynamic memory
management); students will then apply their knowledge of C to explore
basic algorithmic techniques (e.g., recursion, divide-and-conquer,
dynamic programming), basic algorithms (e.g., sorting), and basic data
structures (e.g., lists, stacks, queues, sets, maps). In the second part,
students will learn more advanced C++ programming (e.g., objects,
inheritance, polymorphism, templates); students will then apply their
knowledge of C++ to explore more advanced algorithms and data structures
(e.g., binary search trees, priority queues, hash tables, graphs,
spanning trees). In the third part, students will explore systems
programming in the UNIX environment using POSIX I/O, processes, and
threads.

The course includes a strong emphasis on both theoretical and practical
design trade-offs. A series of programming assignments enable students to
apply what they have learned to interesting real-world problems and to
gain experience with version control, continuous integration, debugging,
profiling, and code optimization. In the final two programming
assignments, students will work in pairs to implement a simple in-memory
caching database and a high-performance financial trading system.