The 8 Requirements of Real-Time Stream Processing - Stonebraker et al. 2005 Applications that require real-time processing of high-volume data streams are pushing the limits of data processing infrastructures. Stonebraker et al. make the case in 2005 that stream processing is going to become increasingly important. Not just for the usual finance, fraud, and command-and-control … Continue reading The 8 Requirements of Real-Time Stream Processing
The case for distributed operating systems in the data center
New wine in old skins: the case for distributed operating systems in the data center - Schwarzkopf et al. 2013. I attended the New Directions in Operating Systems one-day event in London last week, and came away with the impression that the beginning of the end of the traditional operating system is in sight. Today's … Continue reading The case for distributed operating systems in the data center
Protocols for Secure Computations
Protocols for Secure Computations - Yao 1982. Alice and Bob both work in retail, but for different retailers. Alice knows how much profit her company made on Black Friday, and Bob knows how much profit his company made. Alice bets Bob her company did better than his. Neither of them can disclose company confidential information … Continue reading Protocols for Secure Computations
The Semantic Elegance of Applicative Languages
The Semantic Elegance of Applicative Languages - Turner '81. Here's a paper you can enjoy simply for its prose! In what does the alleged superiority of applicative languages consist? In what indeed! And while we're at it, what's an applicative language? I looked up a few definitions; if we call it a functional language I … Continue reading The Semantic Elegance of Applicative Languages
SwiftCloud: Fault-tolerant geo-replication integrated all the way to the client
SwiftCloud: Fault-tolerant geo-replication integrated all the way to the client machine - Zawirski et al. 2013 Data is stored in the cloud, presentation is on mobile devices, and application processing is increasingly split between the two. As mobile devices get more and more capable, we would like to exploit more and more of that capability. … Continue reading SwiftCloud: Fault-tolerant geo-replication integrated all the way to the client
The Log-Structured Merge-Tree (LSM Tree)
The Log-Structured Merge-Tree (LSM Tree) - O'Neil et al. '96. Log-Structured Merge is an important technique used in many modern data stores (for example, BigTable, Cassandra, HBase, Riak, ...). Suppose you have a hierarchy of storage options for data - for example, RAM, SSDs, Spinning disks, with different price/performance characteristics. Furthermore, you have a large … Continue reading The Log-Structured Merge-Tree (LSM Tree)
Detecting Discontinuities in Large-Scale Systems
Detecting Discontinuities in Large-Scale Systems - Malik et al 2014. The 7th IEEE/ACM International Conference on Utility and Cloud Computing is coming to London in a couple of weeks time. Many of the papers don't seem to be online yet, but here's one that is. Malik et al. tackle the problem of long-term forecasting for … Continue reading Detecting Discontinuities in Large-Scale Systems
Use of Formal Methods at Amazon Web Services
Use of Formal Methods at Amazon Web Services - Newcombe et al 2014 Leslie Lamport recently gave a talk at the React conference on the specification language TLA. I wasn't there to hear the talk, but I was intrigued enough to dig in and find out a little more. Especially since I have some experience … Continue reading Use of Formal Methods at Amazon Web Services
Church’s Thesis and Functional Programming
Church's Thesis and Functional Programming - Turner 2006 One of a collection of papers celebrating the 70th anniversary of Church's thesis in 2006, as recently recommended by Erik Meijer on twitter. Both the thesis and the lambda calculus have been of seminal influence on the development of Computing Science. There were three independently developed definitions … Continue reading Church’s Thesis and Functional Programming
Life Beyond Distributed Transactions
Life Beyond Distributed Transactions: An Apostate's Opinion - Pat Helland, 2007 It takes real skill to strip something back to its essence and explain it clearly in such a way that the ramifications become apparent. In my view Pat Helland pulls this off admirably in this paper and helps the reader think more deeply about … Continue reading Life Beyond Distributed Transactions
the morning paper 