Hints For Computer System Design

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/blampson/33-Hints/WebPage.html, by ButlerLampson.

Some of the hints are described on this Wiki:

• Make actions atomic: http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?search=transaction
• Use procedure arguments: HigherOrderFunction, FunctionalProgramming
• PlanToThrowOneAway
• DivideAndConquer
• EndToEndPrinciple
• DynamicCompilation
• CacheCalculations, MemoizationStrategy
• Don't generalize: YouArentGonnaNeedIt

Hints (using the slogans in the paper) for which I couldn't immediately find an appropriate page:

• Separate normal and worst case
• Do one thing well
• Get it right
• Don't hide power
• Leave it to the client
• Keep basic interfaces stable
• Keep a place to stand
• Keep secrets
• Use a good idea again
• Shed load
• Safety first
• Use hints
• Use brute force
• Compute in background
• Batch processing
• Log updates

Read the paper for the meanings of the slogans; some are not obvious.

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