COMP2310

NOTE: this course was last run by Uwe Zimmer who has since left the ANU. Many aspects of the course may change in 2022 semester 2.

So far you’ve been writing self-contained programs, which solve a problem one step at a time. That’s cute, but if you want to interact with other programs running on different computers, use multiple cores to (safely!) improve performance, or write programs that interact with the physical world, you’ll have to start thinking differently.

2310 throws everyone in the deep end when it comes to this paradigm shift. The lectures are fast-paced and interactive, and the labs require a deep understanding of the content. Both are crucial for keeping on top of things and asking questions to the lecturer and the tutors - so skip either at your peril. Make sure to ask questions, or ask for help or clarification, as soon as you notice something doesn’t make sense.

Like 2300, this course has an oral hurdle in the week 4 labs. This follows the same structure as in 2300 - the tutors sit down with each student for a few minutes and ask questions about the content so far. Anyone who seems to be struggling is sent to the lecturer for a second interview.

Otherwise, there are two assignments, and a midsem and final exam. Both assignments focus on managing distributed systems (in different ways). Usually a framework is provided in several languages for the second assignment.