Updated Buffer Lab

We've updated the Buffer Lab on the CS:APP site to be more portable, more robust to infinite loops in student exploits, and more random during the nitro phase. Thanks to Prof. Godmar Back from Virginia Tech for identifying the issues and helping us with the solution.

CS:APP Visits Africa

I am on a visit to Nairobi, Kenya as part of a project to create a test that we hope will be used worldwide to determine whether someone is qualified to be an entry-level programmer. You can read more about that from our CMU Press Release.

Shortly after arriving, we visited Strathmore University, where I gave a presentation about CS:APP.  There were students and faculty members from several area universities.  The talk went very well, with interesting and insightful questions from the audience.  Perhaps the most striking response occurred when I showed our  map of schools using CS:APP as a text book as of Jan. 1, 2012:

 What stood out on this map, especially for Kenyans, was that we don't have a single adoption on the African continent!  There was a lot of discussion about why that could be.  I wish or knew!  Better yet, I hope that schools in Africa will see the value in teaching about computer systems from a programmer's perspective.