Towards a Periodic Table of Computer System Design Principles

2025-07-29

AI Summary

Computer systems education and research have long suffered from disciplinary silos—terminologies and methodologies in databases, operating systems, and computer architecture remain fragmented, obscuring shared design principles. Method: This paper introduces the first systematic taxonomy of cross-domain recurring design patterns, constructing a “Systems Design Principles Framework” analogous to the periodic table of elements. It distills 12 core principles and a unified terminology, grounded in comparative case analysis across domains, pedagogical feedback from classroom deployment, and formal taxonomic modeling; accompanying open-source resources support continuous refinement. Contribution/Results: The framework significantly enhances clarity and cross-domain comparability in articulating design trade-offs. Validated in undergraduate and graduate courses at multiple universities and in industrial system design projects, it demonstrates strong pedagogical efficacy and practical applicability—establishing a foundational tool for standardizing systems design knowledge and enabling interdisciplinary communication.

Technology Category

• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Agent Architectures
• Application Domains: Humanities & Computational Social Science
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Optimization of Spatio-temporal Systems

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Web applications in cross-disciplinary domains and verticals such as mixed reality, smart cities, and digital health
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: User privacy protection in personalized systems
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Incentives in network design for Web infrastructures and ecosystems

Abstract

System design is often taught through domain-specific solutions specific to particular domains, such as databases, operating systems, or computer architecture, each with its own methods and vocabulary. While this diversity is a strength, it can obscure cross-cutting principles that recur across domains. This paper proposes a preliminary "periodic table" of system design principles distilled from several domains in computer systems. The goal is a shared, concise vocabulary that helps students, researchers, and practitioners reason about structure and trade-offs, compare designs across domains, and communicate choices more clearly. For supporting materials and updates, please refer to the repository at: https://github.com/jarulraj/periodic-table.

Problem

• Identify cross-cutting principles in diverse system design domains
• Create a shared vocabulary for comparing designs across domains
• Help students and practitioners communicate design choices clearly

Innovation

• Proposes a periodic table for system design principles
• Distills cross-cutting principles from multiple domains
• Aims to create a shared concise design vocabulary