ppxscal/embedding_network huggingface dataset:
Personal distributed computing: the Alto and Ethernet software
Authors: Butler Lampson
Venue: Proceedings of the ACM Conference on The history of personal workstations (1986)

The personal distributed computing system based on the Alto and the Ethernet was a major effort to make computers help people to think and communicate. The paper describes the complex and diverse collection of software that was built to pursue this goal, ranging from operating systems, programming environments, and communications software to printing and file servers, user interfaces, and applications such as editors, illustrators, and mail systems.
Linear probing with a nonuniform address distribution
Authors: Georg Ch. Pflug, Hans W. Kessler
Venue: Journal of the ACM (JACM) (1987)

This paper presents a new approach to the analysis of hashing with linear probing for nonuniformly distributed hashed keys. The use of urn models is avoided. Instead, some facts about empirical processes, which are well known in statistics are used. In particular, an asymptotic formula for the expected probe length for both a successful and an unsuccessful search is obtained. The accuracy of the approximation is confirmed by simulation.
Towards a Theory of Forward Error Recovery
Authors: Ali Mili
Venue: IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering (1985)

When the state of a program in execution is accidentally altered, a recovery action may be needed before the execution can proceed on. Two approaches exist for the design of recovery actions: backward recovery consists of retrieving a previously saved correct state and restarting the computation; forward recovery consists of generating á (sufficiently) correct state from the current (not too) contaminated state. This paper presents a tentative framework for the study of forward error recovery and then discusses some preliminary results and some future research within the proposed framework.
Beyond traditional computer literacy
Authors: V. Arnie Dyck, James P. Black, Shirley L. Fenton
Venue: ACM SIGCSE Bulletin (1987)

A new approach to computer literacy is emerging, an approach that de-emphasizes the traditional overview of hardware and software and minimizes the teaching of traditional programming methodology. This paper describes the design and implementation of a literacy course intended to develop effective users of common applications software, including word processing, spreadsheets, graphics and database management. The paper continues by demonstrating how many academic computer science concepts can be effectively introduced using this approach.
Dynamic quorum adjustment for partitioned data
Authors: Maurice Herlihy
Venue: ACM Transactions on Database Systems (TODS) (1987)

A partition occurs when functioning sites in a distributed system are unable to communicate. This paper introduces a new method for managing replicated data objects in the presence of partitions. Each operation provided by a replicated object has a set. of quorums, which are sets of sites whose cooperation suffices to execute the operation. The method permits an object's quorums to be adjusted dynamically in response to failures and recoveries. A transaction that is unable to progress using one set of quorums may switch to another, more favorable set, and transactions in different. Partitions may progress using different sets. This method has three novel aspects: (1) it supports a wider range of quorums than earlier proposals, (2) it, scales up effectively to large systems because quorum adjustments do not require global reconfiguration, and (3) it, systematically exploits the semantics of typed objects to support more flexible quorum adjustment.
Cache Operations by MRU Change
Authors: Kimming So, Rudolph N. Rechtschaffen
Venue: IEEE Transactions on Computers (1988)

The performance of set associative caches is analyzed. The method used is to group the cache lines into regions according to their positions in the replacement stacks of a cache, and then to observe how the memory access of a CPU is distributed over these regions. Results from the preserved CPU traces show that the memory accesses are heavily concentrated on the most recently used (MRU) region in the cache. The concept of MRU change is introduced; the idea is to use the event that the CPU accesses a non-MRU line to approximate the time the CPU is changing its working set. The concept is shown to be useful in many aspects of cache design and performance evaluation, such as comparison of various replacement algorithms, improvement of prefetch algorithms, and speedup of cache simulation.
Overview of DBMS: a high performance database management system
Authors: N. Roussopoulos
Venue: Proceedings of the 1987 Fall Joint Computer Conference on Exploring technology: today and tomorrow (1987)

This paper presents ADMS, a high performance Relational Database Management System that supports intelligent cache techniques for access paths in the database. ADMS improves the database access performance by building an integrated memory of search paths and short-cuts. This is based on a new concept of incremental learning that allows the system to acquire knowledge about access obtained from previous search. Benchmark results comparing the speeds of conventional DBMSs with ADMS are included.
Transportable natural language processing through simplicity&mdash;the PRE system
Authors: Samuel S. Epstein
Venue: ACM Transactions on Information Systems (TOIS) (1985)

PRE (Purposefully Restricted English) is a restricted English database query language whose implementation has addressed engineering goals, namely, habitability, interapplication transportability, performance, and use with a reliable database management system that supports large numbers of concurrent users and large databases. Habitability has not been demonstrated, but initial indications are encouraging. The other goals have clearly been achieved. The existence of the PRE system demonstrates that an explicitly &ldquo;minimalist&rdquo; approach to natural language processing can facilitate achievement of transportability.
Analysis of a Class of Recovery Procedures
Authors: Israel Koren, Zahava Koren, Stephen Y.H. Su
Venue: IEEE Transactions on Computers (1986)

Recovery procedures involving time redundancy in the form of instruction retries and program rollbacks have proved to be very effective against transient failures in computer systems. A class of such recovery procedures is presented and analyzed here, and the parameters of each procedure are determined so that the system's operation is optimized. These procedures are then compared in order to select the most appropriate one for given system parameters.
A Modula-2 implementation of CSP
Authors: M Collado, R Morales, J J Moreno
Venue: ACM SIGPLAN Notices (1987)

Recently, a series of process communication schemes based on message exchanges have been developed. Hoare's CSP is perhaps the most interesting one and is the base for concurrent features of modern languages (e.g. ADA, Occam, etc.).Several concurrency mechanisms have already been implemented in Modula-2 (signals, COBEGIN..COEND structure, message exchanges, etc.) but they have not completely fulfilled the Hoare's CSP scheme.In this paper a general implementation of CSP in Modula-2 is presented. Low level and modularity facilities of this language have been used to develop a kernel thus allowing the use of comunication primitives and nondeterministic selection.The original CSP scheme has been slightly modified by using port names instead of process names to specify communication.
How to play ANY mental game
Authors: O. Goldreich, S. Micali, A. Wigderson
Venue: Proceedings of the nineteenth annual ACM symposium on Theory of computing (1987)

We present a polynomial-time algorithm that, given as a input the description of a game with incomplete information and any number of players, produces a protocol for playing the game that leaks no partial information, provided the majority of the players is honest. Our algorithm automatically solves all the multi-party protocol problems addressed in complexity-based cryptography during the last 10 years. It actually is a completeness theorem for the class of distributed protocols with honest majority. Such completeness theorem is optimal in the sense that, if the majority of the players is not honest, some protocol problems have no efficient solution [C].
Data compression
Authors: Debra A. Lelewer, Daniel S. Hirschberg
Venue: ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR) (1987)

This paper surveys a variety of data compression methods spanning almost 40 years of research, from the work of Shannon, Fano, and Huffman in the late 1940s to a technique developed in 1986. The aim of data compression is to reduce redundancy in stored or communicated data, thus increasing effective data density. Data compression has important application in the areas of file storage and distributed systems. Concepts from information theory as they relate to the goals and evaluation of data compression methods are discussed briefly. A framework for evaluation and comparison of methods is constructed and applied to the algorithms presented. Comparisons of both theoretical and empirical natures are reported, and possibilities for future research are suggested.
On the structure of structure-oriented editors for different applications
Authors: G Engels, M Nagl, W Schafer
Venue: Proceedings of the second ACM SIGSOFT/SIGPLAN software engineering symposium on Practical software development environments (1987)

The paper describes the experiences we got from the implementation of a series of syntax-directed editors within an incremental and integrated software development environment. The implementation of all editors is based on the same conceptual ideas for specification and realization which is called graph technology. It is specific for the project a part of which we describe here. Using graph technology yields a very similar software architecture for all editors. We explain the development of such a standard architecture and also outline some specific differences resulting from the corresponding application areas.
VAGUE: a user interface to relational databases that permits vague queries
Authors: Amihai Motro
Venue: ACM Transactions on Information Systems (TOIS) (1988)

A specific query establishes a rigid qualification and is concerned only with data that match it precisely. A vague query establishes a target qualification and is concerned also with data that are close to this target. Most conventional database systems cannot handle vague queries directly, forcing their users to retry specific queries repeatedly with minor modifications until they match data that are satisfactory. This article describes a system called VAGUE that can handle vague queries directly. The principal concept behind VAGUE is its extension to the relational data model with data metrics, which are definitions of distances between values of the same domain. A problem with implementing data distances is that different users may have different interpretations for the notion of distance. VAGUE incorporates several features that enable it to adapt itself to the individual views and priorities of its users.
On the storage requirement in the out-of-core multifrontal method for sparse factorization
Authors: Joseph W. H. Liu
Venue: ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software (TOMS) (1986)

Two techniques are introduced to reduce the working storage requirement for the recent multifrontal method of Duff and Reid used in the sparse out-of-core factorization of symmetric matrices. For a given core size, the reduction in working storage allows some large problems to be solved without having to use auxiliary storage for the working arrays. Even if the working arrays exceed the core size, it will reduce the amount of input-output traffic necessary to manipulate the working vectors. Experimental results are provided to demonstrate significant storage reduction on practical problems using the proposed techniques.
Sherlock Holmes: the mystery of the vanishing variable
Authors: Roger Willink
Venue: ACM SIGAPL APL Quote Quad (1987)

Solving errors in other APL systems is frequently a tedious and ultimately an expensive chore. Fortunately APL is able to fully describe its own environment without the need for 'special language query tools'. This paper describes utilities which extract directive knowledge surrounding a program error. Used as a systematic discipline, they can greatly facilitate debugging and prevent potential errors in any system.
Knowledge abstraction
Authors: Russell J. Abbott
Venue: Communications of the ACM (1987)

One of the primary effects of software abstraction has been to further the notion of computer programs as objects rather than moving programming closer to the problem being solved. Knowledge abstraction, however, allows software to take a significant step toward the problem domain.
Parsing Languages by Pattern Matching
Authors: Teodor Rus
Venue: IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering (1988)

The language of universal algebras is used as an alternative approach for programming language specification. BNF rules are employed for specifying the signature of the language algebra instead of the context free syntax. The algorithm for program parsing is inductively defined by the following universal algebraic construction: Any function defined on the generators of a free algebra taking values in the carrier of another similar algebra can he uniquely extended to a homomorphism between the two algebras. Any conventional programming language can be specified by a finite set of BNF rules and its algebra of symbols is generated by a finite set of generator classes. Thus any function defined on the finite set of generators offers an algebraic mechanism for a universal algorithm for source language program parsing. The right-hand side of the BNF rules are the patterns searched by the algorithm in the source text of the program. The essential feature of this algorithm is that it can be used as a driver for code generation and optimization in a translator. This driver recognizes source language constructs in the source text. The code generator evaluates them into the target language regenerating the source language program inductively as a target language program. Therefore this parser is also called a program evaluator.
Programming the Loral LDF 100 dataflow machine
Authors: I Kaplan
Venue: ACM SIGPLAN Notices (1987)

Multiprocess programs date back to the earliest multiuser operating systems. Recently this venerable programming methodology has been adapted to programming computer systems that consist of multiple processors. In this paper we discuss the large grain dataflow programming model and its strengths compared to the process model.Unlike the process model, the dataflow model was developed for parallel processors. Using dataflow it can be shown that a program (e.g., a graph) will be free from race conditions (deterministic). Large grain dataflow gives the programmer a framework that can be used in program design. Large grain dataflow programming is discussed in the context of the LDF 100, a distributed memory parallel processor.
A note on monotonicity of a Rosenbrock method
Authors: W. H. Hundsdorfer
Venue: Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics (1987)

An extractor is a procedure which extracts randomness from a defective random source using a few additional random bits. Explicit extractor constructions have numerous applications and obtaining such constructions is an important derandomization goal. Trevisan recently introduced an elegant extractor construction, but the number of truly random bits required is suboptimal when the input source has low min-entropy. Significant progress toward overcoming this bottleneck has been made, but so far has required complicated recursive techniques that lose the simplicity of Trevisan's construction.We give a clean method for overcoming this bottleneck by constructing {\em loss-less condensers}, which compress the n-bit input source without losing any min-entropy, using O(\log n) additional random bits. Our condensers are built using a simple modification of Trevisan's construction, and yield the best extractor constructions to date.Loss-less condensers also produce unbalanced bipartite expander graphs with small (polylogarithmic) degree D and very strong expansion of (1-\epsilon)D. We give other applications of our construction, including dispersers with entropy loss O(\log n), depth two super-concentrators whose size is within a polylog of optimal, and an improved hardness of approximation result.
An Experimental Study to Determine Task Size for Rollback Recovery Systems
Authors: Shambhu J. Upadhyaya, Kewal K. Saluja
Venue: IEEE Transactions on Computers (1988)

The effects of using a recovery cache to save the variables of a program are studied. A novel optimization model for rollback is formulated to include the effects of a recovery cache in rollback systems. The parameters of the model proposed are the maximum recovery time, the cache size, and the save and load time associated with the task size. The results are also discussed of an experimental study conducted to estimate the parameters of the programs that are critical for arriving at a suitable task size or cache size to minimize the cost of recovery.
Performance Evaluation of Centralized Databases with Static Locking
Authors: Alexander Thomasian
Venue: IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering (1985)

The performance of transaction processing systems is determined by the contention for hardware as well as software resources (database locks), due to the concurrency control mechanism of the database being accessed by transactions. We consider a transaction processing system with a set of dominant transcation classes. Each class needs to acquire a certain subset of the locks in the database before it can be processed, i.e., predeclared lock requests with static locking. Straightforward application of the decomposition method requires the numerical solution of a two-dimensional Markov chain. Equivalently, a hierarchical simulation method, where the computer system is represented by a composite queue with exponential service rates, can be used to analyze the system. We propose an inexpensive analytic solution method, also based on hierarchical decomposition, such that the throughput of the computer system ic characterized by the number of active transactions (regardless of class). Numerical results are provided to show that the new method is adequately accurate compared to the other two rather costly methods. It can be used to determine the effect of granularity of locking on system performance. The solution method is also applicable to multiresource queueing systems with multiple contention points.
Advanced placement-plus in computer science: a summer institute at the University of Tulsa
Authors: Roger L. Wainwright, Dale A. Schoenefeld
Venue: ACM SIGCSE Bulletin (1987)

In this paper we discuss an in-service course designed to give secondary school teachers the background needed to teach an Advanced Placement (AP) course in Computer Science. In order to do this effectively, we argue that additional computer literacy and computer system concepts must be developed as well (PLUS). We present the (AP) course outline and objectives as well as the outline and objectives for some additional computing skills.
Zero knowledge proofs of identity
Authors: U. Fiege, A. Fiat, A. Shamir
Venue: Proceedings of the nineteenth annual ACM symposium on Theory of computing (1987)

In this paper we extend the notion of zero knowledge proofs of membership (which reveal one bit of information) to zero knowledge proofs of knowledge (which reveal no information whatsoever). After formally defining this notion, we show its relevance to identification schemes, in which parties prove their identity by demonstrating their knowledge rather than by proving the validity of assertions. We describe a novel scheme which is provably secure if factoring is difficult and whose practical implementations are about two orders of magnitude faster than RSA-based identification schemes. In the last part of the paper we consider the question of sequential versus parallel executions of zero knowledge protocols, define a new notion of &ldquo;transferable information&rdquo;, and prove that the parallel version of our identification scheme (which is not known to be zero knowledge) is secure since it reveals no transferable information.
Companson and Diagnosis of Large Replicated Files
Authors: W. Kent Fuchs, Kun-Lung Wu Jacob A. Abraham
Venue: IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering (1987)

This paper examines the problem of comparing large replicated files in a context in which communication dominates the cost of comparison. A low-cost checking matrix is proposed for comparison of these replicated files. The checking matrix is composed of check symbols generated by a divide-and-conquer encoding algorithm. The matrix allows for detection and diagnosis of disagreeing pages with very little communication overhead. In contrast to a previous O(N) proposal, the storage requirement for the checking matrix is O(log N), where N is the number of pages in the file. The matrix can be stored in main memory without the need for extra accesses to disk during normal updates of pages.
Information technology: the trillion-dollar opportunity
Authors: H. L. Poppel
Venue: Proceedings of the 1987 Fall Joint Computer Conference on Exploring technology: today and tomorrow (1987)

Most discourses on information technology (IT) start naturally enough with the technology. They depict plummeting price-performance curves, and show photographs of the incredibly shrinking chip. I readily concur that the technological accomplishments of the IT era are indeed daunting. Looking ahead to the 1990s, I anticipate still further advances, chief among them the continued technological migration from electromechanical to electronic and on to optical products and services. Nonetheless, my purpose is to explain how users and providers can deal with this technology avalanche rather than being buried by IT. In addition to technology, the governing forces are complex blends of market, environment, and strategic management. These blends have spawned five distinct, yet interrelated phenomena we call the Information Technology industry. Simply defined, the Information Technology industry produces content and the facilities that deliver content to end users. By content, we mean knowledge, wisdom, data, art and other forms of human and machine-generated information and entertainment. The IT industry then is the fusion of numerous business sectors-entertainment, publishing, office and computer equipment, telecommunications, and consumer electronics, among others-that have been related casually, if at all, until very recently. One notable consequence is that businesses and consumers are spending more and more on IT. Indeed, I estimate that as of 1986 gross world IT consumption had surpassed $1 trillion annually. By 1990, IT will reach $2 trillion, with half of that both consumed and produced in North America. With this surge in demand is an interrelated story of fiercely fought market contests among businesses that develop, produce, and distribute IT. They are the supply siders. Supply siders fall into six categories of IT businesses-each is characterized by groupings of market segments and related products. I call these groupings &ldquo;clusters.&rdquo;