CMPSC 176a – HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT 1

DUE: OCTOBER 4TH (By 11:59pm)

Objective

The Internet has revolutionized the computer and communications world like nothing before. This assignment will help you better understand how the Internet (as we see it today) has come into being. The objective is to also hone your non-technical skills, in particular, your paper structure and presentation style, visual aids, and also using the Internet to search for content and literature.

Assignment

Write a 1500-2000 word essay describing the origins and the evolution of the Internet. Besides using the textbook, you very likely will make use of the various online resources and articles. Feel free to add in charts, pictures or graphs that you find relevant to your essay. Proper citations are mandatory.


In writing this essay, you likely will want to pick a particular topic on which to focus. You might choose to focus on one of the following questions or something else of your choosing. What is the Internet? How were the first computers interconnected? What was the idea/vision behind the Internet? What were the major research labs/communities that contributed to the evolution of the Internet (and the main people involved)? What were the main issues to be addressed then. What were/are the major challenges encountered with the early growth of the Internet? What other efforts internationally were happening in parallel?

A good starting point to this assignment would be to read A Brief History of the Internet(Leiner et al)

Grading Guidelines

This homework assignment is worth 10% of your final grade.

The following guidelines will help you better understand how your essay will be graded.

  1. Presentation Style and Layout

  2. Content

  3. Length of the Essay (Your essay should not be less than 1500 or more than 2000 words)

  4. Proper Citations

Resources/Help

  1. Tips on writing a good essay: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/ics/study3.htm

Google for more!

  1. Any paper that quotes or refers to the work of another person should include a "citation" or reference to that work. A guide to writing citations can be found here http://www.hamline.edu/administration/libraries/bush/handouts/citations.html

Please email/meet the TAs if you need any help or guidance with your assignment.

Submission

The assignment is due on Oct 4th by 11:59pm. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Submit you essay in HTML format as a single file. Do not forget to include your name and Perm#. Your HTML file should be named using the following convention: <firstname-lastname>.html, for example kevin-almeroth.html

To turn in the assignment, use the following command from the Computer Science CSIL lab:

csil-machine> turnin homework1@cs176a firstname-lastname.html

Points will be taken off if you do not follow the exact procedure given above. If you need help with your submission, contact the TAs.


Cheating Policy

This assignment is to be done individually. Cheating will not be tolerated. Please read the UCSB Academic Code of Conduct to find out more about Student Conduct and Discipline. Of particular relevance to this assignment is the need to properly cite material you have used. Failure to do so constitutes plagiarism.