Question 1: We are planning to add a certain additional functionality X to our program for the Assignment. Is adding the additional functionality X allowed?

Answer to Question 1:

In Section G, Note, of the Assignment 2 description document, it is stated that,

“Please note that the requirements specified in section A. Description of the Problem above, are the minimum requirements that must be satisfied by your program. Obviously, there are many other possible details of the AUCTION program that have been left unspecified. It is your responsibility to make appropriate design and implementation choices concerning the unspecified details of the AUCTION program, and justify those decisions in your report.”

Any decision to add any particular additional functionality X to your program should be guided by the principles in Section G, Note, of the Assignment 2 description document above.

The marker will judge whether you have made appropriate design and implementation choices or not in adding the particular additional functionality X; and whether your justification of what you have chosen to do and the particular ways you have chosen to do it are valid or not.

Question 2: How can I learn about makefiles?

Answer to Question 2: Just do a Google search using the key words “makefile” or “makefile tutorial”, and many tutorials or reference manuals can be found, for example:

- a brief introduction to some of the most basic features of makefiles:

    http://www.cs.tau.ac.il/~dcor/Software1/Makefile.ppt

- a tutorial on some of the most basic features of makefiles:

    http://www.opussoftware.com/tutorial/TutMakefile.htm

- a complete reference manual on the gnu make utility:

    http://www.gnu.org/software/make/manual/

Question 3: For cse3221 assignment 2, I am having trouble compiling the code of my program. The errors that I get are: 1. … 2. … 3. … … This makes me suspect that there is something wrong with the <pthreads.h> library on the “RED” server, or maybe something is wrong with …, or maybe something is wrong with … … Could you please advise me on this issue.

Answer to Question 3:

There is nothing wrong with the pthread library on RED. The best and easiest way to do the assignment, is to follow the advice in the assignment 2 description document:

 "F. Hints
 1. You may start by trying to read and understand the program
    "alarm_mutex.c" in pages 52-58 of the book "Programming with POSIX
    Threads" by David R. Butenhof.
 2. The program "alarm_mutex.c" and the file "errors.h" and "README" can
    be downloaded from the directory /cs/course/3221/assign2.
    Try to compile and execute this program by following the
    instructions in the "README" file.
 3. The book "Programming with POSIX Threads" by David R. Butenhof has      
    been put on reserve in Steacie Library."

Once you have studied and understood the program “alarm_mutex.c”, and have learned how to compile and execute this program by following the instructions in the “README” file, you can use the program “alarm_mutex.c” as a template to write your own program for the assignment 2.

The following “gradualist” approach will minimize the chances of getting an unmanageable large number of compilation errors:

Start with the program “alarm_mutex.c”; each time make just a few changes to make it closer to satisfying the requirements of assignment 2; each time after making just a few changes, try to compile it and run it and make sure that the new version of your code is at least compilable and is at least executable. Always save several previous compilable and executable versions of your code so that you can revert back to a previous compilable and executable version of your code if you experience difficulty compiling and executing the most recent version of your code and/or find it difficult to determine what is possibly wrong with the most recent version of your code.

Question 4: For Assignment 3, can I include the errors.h file that was used in Assignment 2?

Answer to Question 4: Yes.

Question 5: For Assignment 3, can I use an approach similar to the approach suggested in the answer to Question 3 above?

Answer to Question 4:

Yes. You should follow the advice given in the “F. Hints” section in the Assignment 3 description document. Once you have studied and understood the programs “pxsem/prodcons3.c”, and “pxsem/prodcons4.c”, and have learned how to compile and execute these programs by following the instructions in the “README” file, you can use the programs “pxsem/prodcons3.c”, and “pxsem/prodcons4.c”, as a template to write your own program for Assignment 3.