Distributed Data
(CIS 700/1, Spring 2002)

Logistics

Basics

We meet on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 3 to 4:30, in Towne 313.

The course web page is http://www.cis.upenn.edu/ bcpierce/courses/dd.

Participation

The bulk of the work in the class will be reading, discussing, and presenting papers.

The ``admission ticket'' to each class session will be a one-page summary of the assigned reading(s) for that day, including two or three questions for discussion. These summaries do not need to be carefully polished prose, but they should reflect a thorough reading and some thought about the paper's main points.

(Participants that do not wish to register for course credit are welcome, but will be expected to prepare one-page summaries and questions and to lead discussions in rotation with everybody else.)

Presentations

Each student will make several presentations in class. These will involve Exactly how many papers each participant presents will depend on how many participants we have when the dust settles.

Some advice on presentations can be found here.

Course Projects

The other major portion of the work for the course will be a major project. These projects can involve further reading in some area, design work, hacking, or combinations of the above. They should take roughly 20-30 hours from start to finish. (Warning: aim low!)

We will discuss projects in more detail in a few weeks.

Grading

For those taking the course for credit, grades will be assigned as follows: