Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Computers

Journaling Motivation and Necessity

File System Check (FSck) ensures metadata consistency after crashes but is slow and requires deep file system knowledge. Recovery time should ideally depend on the number of recent writes.

File System Transactions and ACID Properties

Transactions provide ACID guarantees:

• Atomicity
• Consistency
• Isolation
• Durability

These are used to treat file system operations (like file creation) as transactions. Recovery ensures committed transactions are applied and uncommitted ones are discarded.

ext3 Journaling File System

ext3 is a journaling file system using physical redo logging, adding journaling to existing ext2 structures.

Redo Logging Mechanism in ext3

The process involves writing updates to a journal first, then committing... Continue reading "File System Journaling: Mechanisms, ext3, and NTFS Recovery" »

Expressions and Operators Fundamentals

Expressions Defined

What constitutes a valid expression in programming?

Understanding Operators

Operator Definition and Types

An operator is a symbol that represents a computation. What are the three primary types of operators?

• Unary: Operates on one operand (e.g., -x).
• Binary: Operates on two operands (e.g., x + y).
• Ternary: Operates on three operands (e.g., (a > b) ? a : b).

Order of Operation and Precedence

How is the order of operation determined? What mechanisms can be used to change the default order of operation?

Order is typically governed by Operator Precedence Rules and Associativity Rules (e.g., left-to-right). Parentheses can be used to override the default order.

Conditional Expressions

What is a conditional... Continue reading "Programming Language Concepts: Expressions, Control Flow, and Subprograms" »

Digital Logic Circuits

Flip-Flops

Clocked RS Flip-Flop Drawbacks

Clocked RS flip-flops have some drawbacks, such as susceptibility to race conditions, where the output can become unpredictable if the inputs change too close to the clock edge. They also require careful handling of the inputs to avoid metastability issues, which can lead to incorrect output states. Additionally, they can have higher power consumption compared to other flip-flop types due to the need for a clock signal.

JK Flip-Flop Operation

Content about JK Flip-Flop operation, characteristic table, characteristics equation, circuit diagram, and timing diagram would be added here.

Magnitude Comparator

What is a Magnitude Comparator?

A magnitude comparator is a digital circuit that compares... Continue reading "Digital Logic Circuits: Flip-Flops, Comparators, Decoders, and Registers" »

ABAP Fundamentals: Key Concepts and Technical Q&A

Review essential knowledge points covering ABAP syntax, data structures, system fields, and event processing.

1. Client Dependency in ABAP Dictionary Tables

   If a table does not have MANDT as part of the primary key, it is:

   Client-independent

2. Invalid ABAP CALL Statement

   In regard to CALL, which of the following is NOT a valid statement?

   CALL PROGRAM

3. Characteristics of Transparent Tables

   Name the type of ABAP Dictionary table that has these characteristics:

   • Same number of fields as the database table
   • Same name as the database table
   • Maps 1:1 to the database table

   Transparent Table

4. ABAP Event Structure

   An event starts with an event keyword and ends with:

   Another event keyword

5. System Field for Current Date

   What is

Lecture 2: Dynamic Dispatch and Interfaces

• Dynamic Dispatch: The process of selecting which implementation of a polymorphic operation to call at runtime.
• Interface: Calling a method that is not in the interface will cause a compilation error.

Lecture 3: N/A

Lecture 4: Method Contracts, Exceptions, and Unit Testing

• Method Contract: Should define pre/post conditions and exceptional behavior. The client is to blame if the precondition is not met, and the service is to blame if the postcondition is not met. Exceptional behavior specifies what the code will do if a precondition is violated.
• Exception: Runtime exception (unchecked) and IO exception (checked). The IO exception must be caught; otherwise, the code won't compile.
• Unit Test: Test boundary

C++ Priority Queue Implementation

This document provides a C++ implementation of a priority queue using a heap data structure. The code includes the class definition, member functions, and supporting utilities.

Priority Queue Class Definition

#ifndef priority_queue_h_
#define priority_queue_h_

#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
#include <cassert>

template <class T>
class priority_queue {
private:
    std::vector<T> m_heap;

public:
    priority_queue() {}

    priority_queue(std::vector<T> const& values)
    {
        m_heap = values;
        for (int i = 0; i < m_heap.size(); i++){
            percolate_down(i);
            for (int j = i; j < m_heap.size(); j++){
                percolate_down(

This document provides practical SQL Data Definition Language (DDL) examples for creating and modifying database schemas across various common applications. Each section details the necessary tables and their relationships, offering a clear foundation for building robust relational databases.

Library Management System Database

The following SQL DDL statements define the core tables for a library management system, enabling the tracking of books, members, and loan transactions.

Table Creation

CREATE TABLE Books (
    BookID INT PRIMARY KEY,
    Title VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
    Author VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
    ISBN VARCHAR(20) UNIQUE,
    PublishedYear INT CHECK (PublishedYear >= 1500 AND PublishedYear <= 2025)
);

CREATE TABLE Members (

Compile and Go Loaders

In this type of loader, the linker and loader instructions are read line by line, their machine code is obtained, and it is directly placed in the main memory at some known address. This means the assembler runs in one part of memory, and the assembled machine instructions and data are directly put into their assigned memory locations. After completion of the assembly process, the loader contains the instruction using which the location counter is set to the start of the newly assembled program. A typical example is WATFOR-77, a FORTRAN compiler which uses such a "load-and-go" scheme. This loading scheme is also called "assemble-and-go".

Advantages

• Simplicity
• Quick Testing
• No Separate Linking
• Immediate Feedback
• Low Resource

What is an Exception?

Answer: An exception in Python is an error that occurs during program execution, disrupting the normal flow of instructions. Instead of crashing, the program can "catch" the exception and handle it gracefully using try and except blocks. Common exceptions include ZeroDivisionError, IndexError, and FileNotFoundError. You can also define custom exceptions. The finally block can be used for cleanup actions, ensuring certain code runs regardless of whether an exception was raised.

Different Modes of Opening a File

Answer: Different Modes of Opening a File

1. Read Mode ('r')

• Purpose: Opens a file for reading.
• Behavior:
  • The file pointer is placed at the beginning of the file.
  • If the file does not exist, a FileNotFoundError is raised.