Jeffrey 'Alex' Clark in front of a Sun SPARCstation (circa 1998)

This repository contains a collection of coursework, research projects, and experimental code from my undergraduate Computer Science studies (circa 1995-1999). It serves as a historical archive of my early journey into systems programming, data structures, and compiler construction.

The curriculum and course descriptions are based on the Loyola University Maryland Computer Science major requirements (archived 1998).

Continuation of foundational CS concepts including elementary file handling and abstract data types (lists, stacks, queues, and trees).

• Featured Project: A Sparse Matrix implementation using a 2D linked list (262/list.c).

Boolean algebra, combinatorics, graphs, inductive and deductive proofs, recurrences, and finite state machines.

Implementation of numerical methods for linear systems.

• Featured Project: Gauss-Jordan elimination for solving MxN systems (301/gauss/g.c).

Advanced data organization and storage techniques.

• Featured Project: An N-way "knock-out tree" (heap) merge of an arbitrary number of sorted run files (364/ko.c), preceded by run-splitting (364/split.c) and a pairwise merge (364/merge.c).

Low-level programming, including DOS device drivers and 16-bit Assembly games.

• Featured Project: A "Missile Command" style game written in x86 Assembly (366/rocks.asm).
• Featured Project: A dummy block device driver for DOS (366/blkdrv.asm).

Research in Software Construction Methods under Dr. Keith Gallagher. Surveyed development methodologies including clean-room and rapid prototyping.

Comparative study of programming language paradigms.

Theory and practice of compiler design.

• Featured Project: A lexical analyzer using Flex/Lex (461/project/prac/scan.l).

Complexity analysis and advanced algorithmic strategies.

Principles of OS design, process management, and networking.

• Featured Project: A custom Unix-like shell with redirection and piping support (466/shell/).
• Featured Project: Socket-level network programming utilities (466/tok/socket.c).

.
├── 262 (Data Structures)
│   ├── list.c (Sparse Matrix)
│   └── ...
├── 295 (Discrete Structures)
│   ├── fsa.c (Finite State Automaton)
│   ├── factorial.c
│   ├── hanoi.c
│   └── ...
├── 301 (Linear Algebra)
│   ├── gauss/ (Gauss-Jordan Elimination)
│   └── ...
├── 364 (File and Data Structures)
│   ├── ko.c (Knock-Out Tree Merge)
│   ├── split.c / merge.c / rng.c
│   └── ...
├── 366 (Systems Programming)
│   ├── x86 Assembly Projects
│   └── ...
├── 420 (CS Research)
│   └── ...
├── 451 (Programming Languages)
│   ├── java/
│   ├── ml/
│   ├── pl/
│   ├── scheme/
│   └── ...
├── 461 (Compiler Construction)
│   ├── project/ (Lexer/Parser logic)
│   └── ...
├── 462 (Algorithm Analysis)
│   └── ...
├── 466 (Operating Systems)
│   ├── shell/ (Custom Shell)
│   ├── tok/ (Socket Programming)
│   └── ...
├── 474 (Assembly Programming)
│   └── ...
├── 496 (Capstone / Networking)
│   ├── bootp.pl
│   ├── dhcp/
│   ├── httpd/
│   └── ...
└── README.md

In April 2026, this repository underwent a "Capstone Refactoring" pass to bring the code into a professional maintenance mode.

Co-authored with Gemini CLI and GitHub Copilot CLI:

• Codebase Professionalization: Scrubbed informal comments and placeholder strings from lexers and data structures.
• Structural Cleanup: Renamed files and directories to follow professional naming conventions (e.g., 462/t/hello.c, 462/f/stuff).
• Memory & Logic Improvements: Ongoing efforts to address legacy memory leaks (Gauss-Jordan) and refactor complex legacy insertion logic (Sparse Matrices).
• Modern Build Standards: Unifying build processes and documentation.
• Security & Correctness Review: Found and fixed heap overflows, uninitialized reads, and leaks across the 301/462/466 projects; added a justfile task runner; finished the long-unsolved CS 364 ko knock-out-merge assignment and consolidated it out of its misfiled home under 420/.

Archive maintained by Jeffrey 'Alex' Clark.