Week 1

Unix shell and commands

• Choose your tools well (page 20) by Giovanni Asproni
• Learn to use a real editor (page 117 – click the top left menu at this link to go to page 117) by Diomidis Spinellis
• Philosophy (15 pages), which is chapter 1 of The Art of Unix Programming, by Eric S. Raymond.
• The Strange Birth and Long Life of Unix, by Warren Toomey – IEEE Spectrum 2011
• Interview with Doug McIlroy, by Rik Farrow – ;login 2016

Optional

• MINIX retrospective, by Andrew Tanenbaum, a professor who created MINIX, and whose student Linus Torvalds created Linux.

Week 2

shell and C programming

the following are all chapters in the book “97 Things Every Programmer Should Know”

• The Unix tools are your friends (page 176) by Diomidis Spinellis
• The professional programmer (page 134) by Uncle Bob
• Know how to use command line tools (page 86) by Carroll Robinson
• Comment only what the code cannot say (page 34) by Kevlin Henney
• and any “lecture extras” associated with this week’s lectures.

Week 3

C programming and stdio

the second, third, and fourth readings are all chapters in the book “97 Things Every Programmer Should Know”

• Linux Kernel Coding Style, primarily chapters 1-4, 6-8, 16 (they’re all short).
• Don’t Just Learn the Language, Understand its Culture (page 54), by Anders Norås
• Comments on Comments (page 32), Cal Evans
• Take Advantage of Code Analysis Tools (page 158), by Sarah Mount
• and any “lecture extras” associated with this week’s lectures.

Week 4

Web searching

• Skim Searching the Web, by Arasu, et.al. This paper provides foundation for the TinySearchEngine assignments (Labs 4-6).
• Prevent errors, by Giles Colborne. (page 132 in “97 Things Every Programmer Should Know”)
• Use the right algorithm and data structure, by J.C. van Winkel. (page 178 in “97 Things Every Programmer Should Know”)
• Write small functions using examples, by Keith Braithwaite. (page 188 in “97 Things Every Programmer Should Know”)
• The Linker Is not a Magical Program, by Walter Bright. (page 106 in “97 Things Every Programmer Should Know”)
• and any “lecture extras” associated with this week’s lectures.

Week 5

Software design

the first two readings are in the book “97 Things Every Programmer Should Know”

• Code in the Language of the Domain (page 22), by Dan North.
• Don’t Be Afraid to Break Things (page 48), by Mike Lewis.
• No Silver Bullet, by Fred Brooks.
• Finish skimming Searching the Web, by Arasu, et al.

Week 6

Coding and debugging

the first three readings are in the book “97 Things Every Programmer Should Know”

• Verbose Logging Will Disturb Your Sleep (page 180), by Johannes Brodwall
• Code Layout Matters (page 26), by Steve Freeman.
• Only the Code Tells the Truth (page 124), by Peter Sommerlad.
• Fighting Bugs: Remove, Retry, Replicate, and Rejuvenate, by Grottke and Trivedi.

Week 7

Testing and Documentation

both readings are in the book “97 Things Every Programmer Should Know”

• Don’t ignore that error (page 52), by Pete Goodliffe.
• Keep the build clean (page 84), by Johannes Brodwall.