acm-header
Sign In

Communications of the ACM

Latest Practice



Passing a Language Through the Eye of a Needle
From Communications of the ACM

Passing a Language Through the Eye of a Needle

How the embeddability of Lua impacted its design.

If You Have Too Much Data, Then 'Good Enough' Is Good Enough
From Communications of the ACM

If You Have Too Much Data, Then 'Good Enough' Is Good Enough

In today's humongous database systems, clarity may be relaxed, but business needs can still be met.

Scalable SQL
From Communications of the ACM

Scalable SQL

How do large-scale sites and applications remain SQL-based?

Does Deterrence Work in Reducing Information Security Policy Abuse By Employees?
From Communications of the ACM

Does Deterrence Work in Reducing Information Security Policy Abuse By Employees?

Methods for evaluating and effectively managing the security behavior of employees.

The One-Second War
From Communications of the ACM

The One-Second War

Finding a lasting solution to the leap seconds problem has become increasingly urgent.

Weapons of Mass Assignment
From Communications of the ACM

Weapons of Mass Assignment

A Ruby on Rails app highlights some serious, yet easily avoided, security vulnerabilities.

A Co-Relational Model of Data For Large Shared Data Banks
From Communications of the ACM

A Co-Relational Model of Data For Large Shared Data Banks

Contrary to popular belief, SQL and noSQL are really just two sides of the same coin.

National Internet Defense - Small States on the Skirmish Line
From Communications of the ACM

National Internet Defense - Small States on the Skirmish Line

Despite the global and borderless nature of the Internet's underlying protocols and driving philosophy, there are significant ways in which it remains substantively...

System Administration Soft Skills
From Communications of the ACM

System Administration Soft Skills

How can system administrators reduce stress and conflict in the workplace?

A Plea from Sysadmins to Software Vendors
From Communications of the ACM

A Plea from Sysadmins to Software Vendors: 10 Do's and Don'ts

What can software vendors do to make the lives of system administrators a little easier?

UX Design and Agile: A Natural Fit?
From Communications of the ACM

UX Design and Agile: A Natural Fit?

Talking with Julian Gosper, Jean-Luc Agathos, Richard Rutter, and Terry Coatta.

Collaboration in System Administration
From Communications of the ACM

Collaboration in System Administration

For sysadmins, solving problems usually involves collaborating with others. How can we make it more effective?

The Theft of Business Innovation
From Communications of the ACM

The Theft of Business Innovation: An ACM-BCS Roundtable on Threats to Global Competitiveness

These days, cybercriminals are looking to steal more than just banking information.

A Conversation with Ed Catmull
From Communications of the ACM

A Conversation with Ed Catmull

Pixar's president Ed Catmull sits down with Stanford professor (and former Pixar-ian) Pat Hanrahan to reflect on the blending of art and technology.

Sir, Please Step Away from the ASR-33!
From Communications of the ACM

Sir, Please Step Away from the ASR-33!

To move forward with programming languages we must first break free from the tyranny of ASCII.

Keeping Bits Safe: How Hard Can It Be?
From Communications of the ACM

Keeping Bits Safe: How Hard Can It Be?

As storage systems grow larger and larger, protecting their data for long-term storage is becoming ever more challenging.

The Case Against Data Lock-In
From Communications of the ACM

The Case Against Data Lock-In

Want to keep your users? Just make it easy for them to leave.

Tackling Architectural Complexity with Modeling
From Communications of the ACM

Tackling Architectural Complexity with Modeling

Component models can help diagnose architectural problems in both new and existing systems.

Photoshop Scalability: Keeping It Simple
From Communications of the ACM

Photoshop Scalability: Keeping It Simple

Clem Cole and Russell Williams discuss Photoshop's long history with parallelism, and what is now seen as the chief challenge.

Computers in Patient Care: The Promise and the Challenge
From Communications of the ACM

Computers in Patient Care: The Promise and the Challenge

Information technology has the potential to radically transform health care. Why has progress been so slow?
Sign In for Full Access
» Forgot Password? » Create an ACM Web Account