Alva L. Couch > Ongoing Research ( couch@eecs.tufts.edu )

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This page does not describe my prior publications or software distributions; just ongoing work prior to any publication. For details on publications or software, use these links:

Ongoing Research

My ongoing research projects include:

Policy-based languages for system and network administration.
Support tools for teaching hands-on computer science.

Policy-based languages for System Administration

My Systems Administration research was born of the necessity to manage and update a large network of UNIX workstations while also balancing a normal load of teaching and research. Due to time pressure, I have the best of reasons to develop tools for system administration that

save time in performing common system administration tasks.
allow safe utilization of untrained and trained student help in maintaining mission-critical systems.
allow efficient and safe centralized network administration.
enable efficient course-related communication between faculty and their students.

This situation has historically led to some of the most interesting of my software releases.

Ongoing projects include:

Using Logic Programming for System Administration.
YoKel: a high-level policy-enforcement language for system and network administration.

Using Logic Programming for System Administration

Along with student Michael Gilfix, I have created a system administration library that allows one to perform system administration tasks in Prolog. This is much more powerful and flexible than using other current tools, and has the advantage that the resulting Prolog programs are much closer to describing actual policies than CFEngine configuration files or PIKT scripts. For a detailed overview of the resulting software, click here.

YoKel: Yet Another Configuration Engine and Language

One of the conclusions of the Prolog project is that system administrators cannot be expected to program in Prolog. Instead, I and student John Hart have created a compiler for a high level configuration language that compiles into Prolog. This language is intended as a "Cobol for System Administrators", bridging the gap between system administrators and management.

It is readable by managers to validate implementation of appropriate policies.
It is only created by experts who understand the full syntax.

Development of this software is in progress.

Support for teaching of Computer Science classes

I have always had an interest in increasing the ease with which Computer Science can be effectively taught. This is the center of a few ongoing projects.

Sandshell

I and several students, notably Huqing Lu and Branko Matijasevic, have been making slow progress on a web-based teaching environment that allows online debugging and submission of assignments through a web based interface. Notable attributes of this approach include :

Instructor access to process as well as product.
Platform independence for students doing assignments.
No need to install customized software on each student computer.
Ability to assign "dangerous" projects without fear of compromising a network.

For more information, see the sandshell project description.

Alva L. Couch > Ongoing Research ( couch@eecs.tufts.edu )

Quick links: Contact Teaching Publications Software Projects Personal Arts