Week 8: CST334

 One of my main goals after completing this class is to apply the knowledge I’ve gained to become a more effective engineer throughout my career. Having a stronger understanding of operating systems has already helped me make sense of many confusing error messages I encountered in the past when writing code. In particular, this course has shown me how problems can originate from layers deeper than the high-level abstractions developers typically interact with. Before, I would sometimes fix an error without fully understanding its cause. Now, after working through the material in this class, I feel much more prepared to dig deeper when diagnosing bugs and, hopefully, prevent some of them altogether. I also believe that with this foundation, reading and understanding documentation will be far less intimidating. Knowing what’s happening under the surface of a program gives me more confidence as a programmer and allows me to approach problems with a broader perspective, rather than relying only on surface-level knowledge.

The Research Paper Project also significantly reinforced my understanding of the material we covered, especially from the first two modules on Processes and Process Management. Both the modules and the research paper emphasized the critical role of managing resources within a system. Through the research project, I learned real-world examples of how major companies like Meta and Microsoft are constantly seeking ways to improve resource management and allocation. It was motivating to see that the concepts we’re studying aren’t just academic; they are fundamental to the success of major organizations. Resource management is clearly a challenge that affects many different teams across industries.

Some topics I want to explore are operating systems as used by companies with very large data centers. Also I want to learn more about cybersecurity and hopefully the topics in this course can help with that as well.


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