Dear students,
Next week we will study naming, the third systems technique for mastering complexity, after modularity and abstraction. The assigned paper is Butler Lampson's GNS. This is an excellent treatise on naming, but it is also deep and dense. So, breaking a bit the usual POCS rhythm, Prof. Argyraki will pull in this paper already during the lecture on Tuesday, and then discuss it in further depth on Friday. This way, we'll be able to peel away one layer at a time as the paper sinks in.
It is therefore essential that you read the paper before Tuesday's lecture. You don't have to read it at the "ready to take a quiz" level, but you should nevertheless read it not just skim or LLM-summarize it. You will then get a chance to re-read it for Friday, as well as the optional Chord paper.
Cheers,
George
