A beginners guide to Systems

A Foreword

Systems(and most engineering in general) can involve two things :

1. Remove the various layers of abstractions in modern computer science, and study one or more layer(s) of abstraction
2. Create abstractions to manage lower level things and make them simple.
3. Create something completely new to solve problems.

Providing a roadmap for systems is a daunting task. It is mostly driven by enthusiasm (we are Web Enthusiasts' Club after all!) , curiosity, interest and a spirit of learning. Below are some thought processes which demonstrate what we are trying to say.

I wrote a simple GUI application in python --> How does my computer actually draw all those elements?? --> Window managers and computer graphics --> ∞

I program in C --> I use a compiler to compile my code and generate some output file which magically runs --> How to compilers work?? --> ∞

I wrote a simple full stack web application and have deployed it on an AWS instance --> What can the cloud do and how does it work? --> ∞

I program in C --> Compilers convert my code into instructions which are run on my processor --> How does that processor work?? --> ∞

I program in C --> After compiling, all i have to do is run the program and somehow magically it runs alongside hundreds of other programs --> My operating system is managing this --> How do Operating systems work?? (Linux better) --> ∞

I wrote a simple full stack web application and have deployed it on a service like Vercel --> How do such services work?? DevOps?? --> ∞

I wrote a full stack web application and have deployed it on AWS, and now thousands of people want to access it. It has crashed --> How do I scale things?? --> ∞

I wrote a full stack web application and have deployed it on Vercel --> How are computers around the world able to communicate with the server --> Networking concepts?? --> ∞

I wrote a full stack web application but I see all these terms like SSL, TLS, certificates --> Cryptography and its Math --> ∞

I want to create, maintain, package, deploy, run and monitor a big software stack (like IRIS) --> What are the best practices and how do I do this?? --> System design, Distributed systems and DevOps --> ∞

I want to create a decentralised system of giving rent contracts to tenants, where the contract is triggered only if they pay me --> Smart contracts and Blockchain?? --> ∞

I am curious about how hackers exploit systems and write malicious code --> InfoSec --> ∞

All this may seem daunting, but remember, you are NOT dumb, you just lack the prerequisites

Below is our attempt at a roadmap. This will be constantly updated, so definitely bookmark this page!

Operating systems

General advice : Always good to have a solid understanding of operating systems and Linux in particular

Blockchain

Compilers and Compiler Design

Some suggestions:

• (Not strictly required) Would be great to go through a Theory of Computation course before deeply delving into resources (MITOCW has a great course!)
• (Kind of required for better understanding) Would be helpful to have basic knowledge of Abstract Algebra (Groups, Lattices, etc…) before delving into compiler optimizations - Side note: Required in cryptography too!

Parallel Computing

Some prerequisites : Computer architechture and some hands on experience in writing parallel code.

Networking

Cryptography

Wireless Networks

DevOps

The DevOps roadmap is designed to take you from the foundational concepts to advanced topics.

Security

Be on the lookout over this space 👀👀👀

Final thoughts

Do YOU have any good resources you want to share with us? Reach out to the Web Enthusiasts' Club core team, we will consider your suggestion!