6.824 - Fall 2007

General Information

Structure // Grading policy // Class meetings // Staff // Office Hours // Useful Books


Structure

6.824 is a core graduate subject with lectures, labs, quizzes, and a final project. 6.824 is 12 units. 6 EDPs.

Lectures are Tue/Thu 11:00am to 12:30pm in 32-144. Most class meetings will be one half lecture and one half paper discussion. You should read the paper before coming to class, and be prepared to discuss it. You can find out what paper to read for each meeting in the schedule.

We will post a question about each paper 24 hours before we discuss the paper. Please bring your answer to class on a sheet of paper and hand it in. Your answer need only be long enough to demonstrate that you understand the paper; a paragraph or two will usually be enough. We won't hand back the questions, but we will glance at them to make sure your answer makes sense, and they will count for part of the paper discussion grade.

6.824 will have two quizzes -- one in the middle of the term giving during class, and one during finals week.

There are programming labs due every week or two throughout the term.

At the end of the term you'll undertake a small project extending the lab programming assignments in a manner of your choice in small teams of at most 2 people. Each team will design and implement an extension of its choice. Each team will also write a research paper about its project and present a demo.


Grading

Grade for this class will be based on:
The late policy for programming assignments is as follows. You can hand assignments in late, but the total amount of lateness summed over all the assignments must not exceed 72 hours. If you hand in an assignment late, and your total late time (include the late time for that assignment) exceeds 72 hours, we will give that assignment a grade of D. Note that a D is better than the grade you'd get if you handed in nothing. You can divide up your 72 hours among the assignments however you like; you don't have to ask or tell us. If you want an exception to this rule, please bring us a letter from a dean.

Collaboration policy

You must write all the code you hand in for the programming assignments, except for code that we give you as part of the assigment. You are not allowed to look at anyone else's solution (and you're not allowed to look at solutions from previous years). You may discuss the assignments with other students, but you may not look at or use each other's code.

You may discuss the questions for each discussion paper with other students, but you may not look at other student's answers. You must write your answer yourself.


Class meetings

6.824 meets TR 11am-12:30pm in 32-144.


Staff

Please use the mailing list (6.824-staff@pdos.csail.mit.edu) to send questions or comments about the course to the staff.

Lecturer
Frans Kaashoek
32-G992 3-7149 kaashoek@csail.mit.edu
 
Teaching assistant
Jeremy Stribling
32-G980 3-5261 strib@mit.edu
 
Course secretary
Neena Lyall
32-G970A 3-6019 lyall@csail.mit.edu


Office hours

Office hours are on Wednesdays from 4-5pm or by appointment. They will be held in the lounge on the 9th floor lounge of the Gates Tower in the Stata Center (32-G9 Lounge). If no one is there, please check the TA's office.


Useful Books

The following books may help provide background for 6.824 or help with lab programming. None of them are required. They are listed in rough order of usefulness.

Questions or comments regarding 6.824? Send e-mail to 6.824-staff@pdos.csail.mit.edu.

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