Computer Science 230 - Computer Systems Principles
Spring
2026
99LR
F 1:25PM 2:15PM
UMass Amherst
85462
Ag. Engineering Bldg rm 119
Large-scale software systems like Google - deployed over a world-wide network of hundreds of thousands of computers - have become a part of our lives. These are systems success stories - they are reliable, available ("up" nearly all the time), handle an unbelievable amount of load from users around the world, yet provide virtually instantaneous results. On the other hand, many computer systems don't perform nearly as well as Google - hence the now-cliche "the system is down." In this class, we study the scientific principles behind the construction of high-performance, scalable systems. The course begins with a discussion of data representation, and moves up the stack from there to the features of modern architectures, assembly languages, and operating system services such as I/O, process, and synchronization.
Open to Computer Science majors only. COMPSCI 187/CICS 210 w/C, 198C
Multiple required components--lab and/or discussion section. To register, submit requests for all components simultaneously.