CS 145
Fall 2026 • Intro to Big Data Systems
Curated journeys through the existing course material. Pick the path that matches your goal — the exam, a SQL interview next week, a systems-design loop, or going deeper after the term ends. Steps are ordered: walk them top to bottom.
The straight line from "haven't studied" to "ready to sit the exam." Quizzes first to find your gaps, then P-sets for the mechanics, then CA section walkthroughs to see solved examples, then re-read the concept summaries.
For SQL screens and analytics-engineer interviews. Start with the patterns interviewers actually test (Round 1 = single pattern, Round 2 = composition), then drill on the playground, then read how Postgres scales in the wild for the inevitable "how would you scale this?" follow-up.
For data-infra, backend, and platform-engineering interviews. Start with the IO cost model (the substrate every systems answer rests on), then index selection, then a real-world transaction disaster, then distributed primitives. Each step is a concrete pattern you can name in an interview.
For when class is over and you want to keep going. Three columns: the foundational papers that built the field, the in-course case studies grouped by topic, and the modern systems shaping where things go next.