Abstract

Software systems research can advance engineering practice, and improve the robustness of the systems we use every day, by developing program structures that are easier to understand. Our recent research breaks data storage systems -- file systems and databases -- into fine-grained, modular components. Though individually simple, the components are naturally combined to build important new functionality. I'll talk about the design choices that made this modularity possible, and about what makes modular systems worthwhile, or not.