COMP 250-01 Run-Time Systems

Programming-language run-time systems have grown increasingly capable, to a point where a modern run-time system performs many of the same tasks as a 1970s operating system, and can even be used as the basis for an operating system. COMP 250RTS is intended to help us understand the current states of art and practice in the design and implementation of run-time systems.

The course is structured as a reading course: participants will meet each week to discuss a paper. Each discussion will be guided by questions to be disseminated in advance. Students will take turns helping to prepare the questions. At the end of term, each student will have the option of delivering either a professional review of one paper or of writing a short position paper (2 to 4 pages) identifying an interesting problem to be worked on in the future. Reviews must be individual work; position papers may have multiple authors. There are no homeworks, projects, or exams.

Enrollment is by permission of instructor. To enroll, a student must be able to read research papers of the sort found in PLDI, OOPSLA, ICFP, ISMM, ESOP, Compiler Construction, and the like. Graduate standing is encouraged.