Modeling of the control processes in conventional and high-speed data communication networks. Develops and utilizes elementary concepts from queueing theory, algorithms, linear and nonlinear programming to study the problems of line and network protocols, distributed algorithms, quasi-static and dynamic routing, congestion control, deadlock prevention. Treats local and wide-area networks, and high-speed electronic and optical networks. Focuses on the fundamentals of data communication networks. One goal is to give some insight into the rationale of why networks are structured the way they are today and to understand the issues facing the designers of next-generation data networks. Much of the course focuses on network algorithms and their performance. Students are expected to have a strong mathematical background and an understanding of probability theory. Topics discussed include: layered network architecture, Link Layer protocols, high-speed packet switching, queueing theory, Local Area Networks, and Wide Area Networking issues, including routing and flow control.

This unit will help you to understand the forms of data that are handled by software and look at the various processes that can be applied to the data. These ideas are demonstrated through the use of a supermarket till and illustrate how simple data sets can be manipulated.

Database Design - 2nd Edition covers database systems and database design concepts. New to this edition are SQL info, additional examples, key terms and review exercises at the end of each chapter.

No idea how relational database systems are constructed? Did you know that they underpin the majority of the managed data storage in computer systems? This unit has been designed to give you an overview of the developmental lifecycle for a database system, explaining the importance of data analysis and highlighting how database development differs from traditional software development.

Survey of information technology covering database modeling, design, and implementation with an emphasis on relational databases and SQL. Internet technologies: http, html, XML, SOAP, security. Brief introduction to components and middleware. Introduction to design and implementation of multi-tier architectures, benchmarks, and performance. Data networking protocols and technologies. Students complete project that covers requirements/design, data model, database implementation, web site, and system architecture. This course is an intensive review of information technology. It covers topics in software development methods, data modeling and databases, application development, Web standards and development, system integration, security, and data communications. Most of the homework sets lead the class through a project in which a database and Web application are designed and constructed, using good software process and addressing security, network and other issues. The project, which is done in two-person teams, provides hands-on experience to complement the lectures and readings. Recitations discuss readings and provide more detailed information on the software tools used. The course goal is to cover the key concepts in the major areas of information technology, to enable students to successfully understand, work with and manage IT efforts as part of supply chain, transportation or civil engineering projects.

This course is designed to introduce graduate students to the foundations of database systems, focusing on basics such as the relational algebra and data model, query optimization, query processing, and transactions. This is not a course on database design or SQL programming (though we will discuss these issues briefly). It is designed for students who have taken 6.033 (or equivalent); no prior database experience is assumed though students who have taken an undergraduate course in databases are encouraged to attend.

Why is the way something looks important? Text, color, images, moving images and sound all interact to produce a user friendly environment within a user interface. This unit will help you understand the effect each software component has on the user and explain how a consistent and thoughtful application of these components can have a significant impact on the 'look' of final product.

This course takes a 'back to the beginning' view that aims to better understand the end result. What might be the developmental processes that lead to the organization of 'booming, buzzing confusions' into coherent visual objects? This course examines key experimental results and computational proposals pertinent to the discovery of objects in complex visual inputs. The structure of the course is designed to get students to learn and to focus on the genre of study as a whole; to get a feel for how science is done in this field.

Note: This book was written in 1999 and last updated in 2003. Since then technologies have changed so the non-conceptual and more technical parts of the book may be out of date.Why Yet Another Textbook (WYAT)?There are many excellent introductory information systems (IS) texts on the market. Why then produce our own text? Interestingly enough, when we sat down to critically review the first year Information Systems curriculum, the very last thing that we wanted was to get involved in writing yet another text. But after we had set the broad educational goals, the curriculum content and educational approach, we found that no textbook fitted our objectives or approach. Briefly, the following considerations forced us to fire up our word processor and compile the text you find in front of you.Technology Bias. A frequent criticism of the introductory information systems curricula is that many have a very strong technological bias: many courses are an in-depth treatment of hardware and software concepts with an avalanche of buzzwords, often reflecting some computer science origins. Although a sound understanding of the technology that underlies information systems is critical, this technology is subject to significant change and seems to receive a disproportionately large amount of attention. This is particularly prevalent in many of the American textbooks that we considered for this course: they all seem to be an "Introduction to Computers" rather than an "Introduction to Information Systems". We wondered where the broader scientific contexts are in these, admittedly very well illustrated but quickly out-dated, documentaries of computer technologies. This is in sharp contrast to a number of European and Australasian texts, some of which relegate all the technology concepts to a single chapter or even a mere appendix at the end of the book! We needed something of a balance between these two extremes. We hope that the three roughly equal sections (scientific, technological and organisational contexts) in this will provide a sufficiently balanced approach to the study of information systems. We wish to provide students with a sound technical understanding but also let them take into account the more philosophical, scientific and organisational aspects of information systems.Depth of Treatment. We needed a text where the conceptual or theoretical component would be equivalent to roughly half of a one-semester course. Most textbooks on the market are intended for full or half-year courses. A frequent comment, even of the newer "trimmed-down editions", is that there is just too much material. Students with little or no previous exposure to computer jargon especially despair when confronted with the many new terms and acronyms. In addition, many of these technologies may be outdated by the time the students have completed their studies. By limiting ourselves to twelve chapters and setting strict limits to the length of each chapter, we hope to stem the "information overload" without compromising the academic standard. We carefully considered "need to know" versus "nice to know". A good example of the latter are the typical detailed historical notes on historical devices such as the abacus, Babbage or ENIAC.Educational Approach. Contrary to our expectations, past student evaluations showed that the textbook previously use, a well-written American one with excellent colour photographs and illustrations, was not well received and lectures based on the textbook were judged to be "boring". It is clear that a different educational approach was needed, perhaps due to our unique South African circumstances. Based on our experiences, we hope that a participatory learning approach will make the "theoretical" section come more alive and replace the rote learning with genuine understanding. The integral part of this text is therefore in the supporting materials: readings, case studies, class assignments and group exercises.Cost. Although not a decisive factor, we also considered the fact that many students face financial constraints. By producing a local textbook, we hope to beat the exchange rate fluctuations.This text consist of twelve chapters, which can be grouped roughly into the following three sections.The scientific context: a review of the fundamental scientific concepts on which IS builds: what is information, what is a system and what are information systems.The technological context: an overview of relevant technology: hardware, software and communications technology.The organisational context: the development and deployment of information systems as well as some wider societal concerns.It is important that this text not be seen separate from the practical worksheets, case studies, videos and group work, which will be provided in the lectures. The intention of these additional materials is to enhance the educational process through participatory learning units: you learn best when doing.It is also our conviction that university students need to be introduced from the first year to academic pluralism: too often undergraduate students get the impression that there is a single correct approach or, even worse, that most problems have only one correct solution or answer. This text is therefor supplemented with additional readings, culled from the world-wide web, in which we hope to expose students to different views of the material presented in the concepts part.

This course describes discrete mathematics, which involves processes that consist of sequences of individual steps (as compared to calculus, which describes processes that change in a continuous manner). The principal topics presented in this course are logic and proof, induction and recursion, discrete probability, and finite state machines. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: Create compound statements, expressed in mathematical symbols or in English, to determine the truth or falseness of compound statements and to use the rules of inference to prove a conclusion statement from hypothesis statements by applying the rules of propositional and predicate calculus logic; Prove mathematical statements involving numbers by applying various proof methods, which are based on the rules of inference from logic; Prove the validity of sequences and series and the correctness or repeated processes by applying mathematical induction; Define and identify the terms, rules, and properties of set theory and use these as tools to support problem solving and reasoning in applications of logic, functions, number theory, sequences, counting, probability, trees and graphs, and automata; Calculate probabilities and apply counting rules; Solve recursive problems by applying knowledge of recursive sequences; Create graphs and trees to represent and help prove or disprove statements, make decisions or select from alternative choices to calculate probabilities, to document derivation steps, or to solve problems; Construct and analyze finite state automata, formal languages, and regular expressions. (Computer Science 202)

Design and analysis of concurrent algorithms, emphasizing those suitable for use in distributed networks. Process synchronization, allocation of computational resources, distributed consensus, distributed graph algorithms, election of a leader in a network, distributed termination, deadlock detection, concurrency control, communication, and clock synchronization. Special consideration given to issues of efficiency and fault tolerance. Formal models and proof methods for distributed computation. Course Description 6.852J / 18.437J intends to: (1) provide a rigorous introduction to the most important research results in the area of distributed algorithms, and (2) prepare interested students to carry out independent research in distributed algorithms. Topics covered include: design and analysis of concurrent algorithms, emphasizing those suitable for use in distributed networks, process synchronization, allocation of computational resources, distributed consensus, distributed graph algorithms, election of a leader in a network, distributed termination, deadlock detection, concurrency control, communication, and clock synchronization. Special consideration is given to issues of efficiency and fault tolerance. Formal models and proof methods for distributed computation are also discussed.

This course intends to provide a rigorous introduction to the most important research results in the area of distributed algorithms, and prepare interested students to carry out independent research in distributed algorithms. Topics covered include: design and analysis of concurrent algorithms, emphasizing those suitable for use in distributed networks, process synchronization, allocation of computational resources, distributed consensus, distributed graph algorithms, election of a leader in a network, distributed termination, deadlock detection, concurrency control, communication, and clock synchronization. Special consideration is given to issues of efficiency and fault tolerance. Formal models and proof methods for distributed computation are also discussed.

This unit looks at some of the architectural and programming paradigms used in distributed system development. You will learn about synchronous and asynchronous message passing, distributed objects technology and event-based bus architecture, before finally moving on to tuple architecture.

The course addresses dynamic systems, i.e., systems that evolve with time. Typically these systems have inputs and outputs; it is of interest to understand how the input affects the output (or, vice-versa, what inputs should be given to generate a desired output). In particular, we will concentrate on systems that can be modeled by Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs), and that satisfy certain linearity and time-invariance conditions. We will analyze the response of these systems to inputs and initial conditions. It is of particular interest to analyze systems obtained as interconnections (e.g., feedback) of two or more other systems. We will learn how to design (control) systems that ensure desirable properties (e.g., stability, performance) of the interconnection with a given dynamic system.

Treatment of electromechanical transducers, rotating and linear electric machines. Lumped-parameter electromechanics of interaction. Development of device characteristics: energy conversion density, efficiency; and of system interaction characteristics: regulation, stability, controllability, and response. Use of electric machines in drive systems. Problems taken from current research. This course explores concepts in electromechanics, using electric machinery as examples. It teaches an understanding of principles and analysis of electromechanical systems. By the end of the course, students are capable of doing electromechanical design of the major classes of rotating and linear electric machines and have an understanding of the principles of the energy conversion parts of Mechatronics. In addition to design, students learn how to estimate the dynamic parameters of electric machines and understand what the implications of those parameters are on the performance of systems incorporating those machines.

6.641 examines electric and magnetic quasistatic forms of Maxwell's equations applied to dielectric, conduction, and magnetization boundary value problems. Topics covered include: electromagnetic forces, force densities, and stress tensors, including magnetization and polarization; thermodynamics of electromagnetic fields, equations of motion, and energy conservation; applications to synchronous, induction, and commutator machines; sensors and transducers; microelectromechanical systems; propagation and stability of electromechanical waves; and charge transport phenomena.

"Published in 1989 by Prentice-Hall, this book is a useful resource for educators and self-learners alike. The text is aimed at those who have seen Maxwell's equations in integral and differential form and who have been exposed to some integral theorems and differential operators. A hypertext version of this textbook can be found here. An accompanying set of video demonstrations is available below. These video demonstrations convey electromagnetism concepts. The demonstrations are related to topics covered in the textbook. They were prepared by Markus Zahn, James R. Melcher, and Manuel L. Silva and were produced by the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The purpose of these demonstrations is to make mathematical analysis of electromagnetism take on physical meaning. Based on relatively simple configurations and arrangements of equipment, they make a direct connection between what has been analytically derived and what is observed. They permit the student to observe physically what has been described symbolically. Often presented with a plot of theoretical predictions that are compared to measured data, these demonstrations give the opportunity to test the range of validity of the theory and present a quantitative approach to dealing with the physical world. The short form of these videos contains the demonstrations only. The long form also presents theory, diagrams, and calculations in support of the demonstrations. These videos are used in the courses 6.013J/ESD.013J and 6.641. Technical Requirements:Special software is required to use some of the files in this course: .mp4, .rm."

Subject on electromagnetic wave theory, emphasizing mathematical approaches, problem solving, and physical interpretation. Topics include: equivalence principle, duality and complementarity, Huygens' principle, Fresnel and Fraunhofer diffraction, dyadic Green's functions, Lorentz transformation, and Maxwell-Minkowski theory. Examples deal with limiting cases of Maxwell's theory and diffraction and scattering of electromagnetic waves.

Feedback control is an important technique that is used in many modern electronic and electromechanical systems. The successful inclusion of this technique improves performance, reliability, and cost effectiveness of many designs. In this series of lectures we introduce the analytical concepts that underlie classical feedback system design. The application of these concepts is illustrated by a variety of experiments and demonstration systems. The diversity of the demonstration systems reinforces the value of the analytic methods.

In this course, the student will learn the theoretical and practical aspects of algorithms and Data Structures. The student will also learn to implement Data Structures and algorithms in C/C++, analyze those algorithms, and consider both their worst-case complexity and practical efficiency. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: Identify elementary Data Structures using C/C++ programming languages; Analyze the importance and use of Abstract Data Types (ADTs); Design and implement elementary Data Structures such as arrays, trees, Stacks, Queues, and Hash Tables; Explain best, average, and worst-cases of an algorithm using Big-O notation; Describe the differences between the use of sequential and binary search algorithms. (Computer Science 201)