5 HN users recommended this lecture5 months2021–2025score 6
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
HN regularly recommends the series as a free, accessible, theory-oriented course on distributed computing that complements his book Designing Data-Intensive Applications.
The first lecture in Martin Kleppmann's 8-lecture distributed systems series from the University of Cambridge undergraduate course. It introduces the subject, and accompanying lecture notes are available.
“the distributed system audio course on youtube is extremely accessible” (HN, 2021)
i see quite a bit of overlap between the book and his lecture series on distributed systems [this video] These lectures give a more theory based approach, while the book is more based on discussing practical systems; now both are covering distributed systems as such. Now the distributed system audio course on youtube is extremely accessible (i listened to them while taking walks with our dog) The book is also great, Kleppmann is writing in a very accessible style.
Theory-oriented lecture series complementing the DDIA book
Martin's writing and explanation style is truly awesome! I read his book DDIA (Designing data intensive applications) and listened to his distributed systems class lectures [1]. It was a joy learning. I wish I had him or someone like him in graduate school. I would've probably taken all his courses :-). [1] [this video]
Clear, enjoyable explanations of distributed systems by Kleppmann
1. MIT's 6.824: Distributed Systems - [link] Lectures are available on Youtube. Assignments code and test runner are also available on the course page. 2. The Book Designing Data-Intensive Applications by Martin Kleppmann and the Youtube videos - [this video] 3. Distributed Systems course by Lindsey Kuper - [link] 4. CMU's Database Systems and Advanced Database Systems by Andy Pavlo
I think that i understand the argument, but things changed with the advent of microservices. Suddenly everything turned into a distributed system, and it is hard to cope without some understanding of the subject matter. This lecture series by Martin Kleppman has helped me quite a bit here: [this video] Also see his book 'Designing Data-Intensive Applications', which is more focused on discussing practical systems.
Lecture series for understanding distributed systems
Good resources for understanding Distributed Systems: - MIT course with Robert Morris (of Morris Worm fame): [link] - Martin Kleppmann (author of DDIA): [this video] If you can work through the above (and DDIA), you'll have a solid understanding of the issues in Distributed System, like Consensus, Causality, Split Brain, etc. You'll also gain a critical eye of Cloud Services and be able to articulate their drawbacks (ex: did you know that replication to DynamoDB Secondary Indexes is eventually consistent? What effects can that have on your applications?)
Kleppmann's course builds understanding of consensus and causality
I created a smart planner app at a similar age [1] and I'm now in my third year of university studying CS. I've also had a taste of industry from building a journal app as a freelancer [2], interning at a department of my uni [3] and interning at Wise [4]. - The whole js, css, html, react stuff sounds more like a beginner web dev bootcamp that should last a few months rather than a 3-4 year CS degree. Avoid that. - Sometimes YouTube is great. E.g., a playlist from a Cambridge lecturer [5] was immensely more valuable than the live lectures I was being delivered alongside 200+ other students. I don't think lectures are efficient but I typically have a mix of lectures + labs + coursework and now, a substantial individual project supervised by a researcher. I'm excited for the future of edtech and programs like OSSU [6] are great if the focus is purely on absorbing CS content but its limited. Something else I found is that the modules I dreaded the most and certainly wouldn't have opted into had they been optional were the ones I learned the most from. Who knew that an Interaction Design class would be so relevant for doing customer discovery in a startup. - No doubt that you can also have an income while studying. - Pick up an internship to learn from experienced software engineers. - The life experience is something I'll miss dearly, be it sports, socialising, dipping into the startup culture (We have an on campus accelerator). - I stress more about turning down jobs than worry
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