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Tufts CS 117 (Fall 2024):
Internet-scale Distributed Systems

Tufts CS 117 Assignment:
Naming
Questions - Part I

Please answer each of the following questions.

  1. Please make a list of issues or design characteristics that one should consider in designing a naming system. List as many as you can (within reason). You should use this as an opportunity to show your mastery of the naming concepts we have been discussing in the class. I'll start you with a couple:
  2. Issues and design characteristics that should be considered when designing a new naming system include:
    • What should be nameable using this naming system?
    • Where will the names be used, and by whom?
    • ...replace this with your answer...
    • ...and another
  3. Choose an existing naming system that interests you. Examples include file naming in Unix/Linux systems, the phone numbers discussed in your reading, etc. Many good examples are related to computer systems, but if you prefer you can choose something else.

    For the system you choose, explain the system you choose in sufficient detail so that someone who had never seen it before would understand the rest of your analysis. Explain where the system is used, and what can be named, what names look like and what the rules for assigning them are, etc. Then briefly explain how the system you choose does or does not deal with the issues you list above. Again, the goal is to show your ability to apply the principles and insights we discussed in class. If your list above is very long, then just choose up to 8 important ones to deal with here. WARNING: Don't assume that you know how a system works. In past years we've had many students give incorrect descriptions of, e.g. what the limitations are on Linux filenames, or what can be named with such names, because students based their answers on personal experience or assumptions rather than on how Linux really works. As in all technical writing, make sure that your explanations are correct! Even for systems you use a lot, you might want to find the specifications.
  4. ...your answer here...