CS 21 Algorithmic Problem Solving
Section 02
MWF 9:30-10:20pm, SCI 240
Spring 2006
Swarthmore College

Contents

• Course Description
• Keys to Doing Well in CS21
• Text and Useful Links
• Grading
• Course Policy
• Course Schedule
• Course Assignments

From the department course description:

This course will introduce fundamental ideas in computer science while building skill in software development. Algorithms will be implemented as programs in the Java programming language. Object-oriented programming and data structures will be introduced in order to construct correct, understandable, and efficient algorithms. A deeper coverage of these topics will be presented in CPSC-035. CPSC-021 is appropriate for all students who want to be able to write programs. It is the usual first course for computer science majors and minors. Students with Advanced Placement credit or extensive programming experience may be able to place out of this course. Students who think that they may fall into this latter category should consult with any computer science faculty member.

These tips are for any course, but are especially important in CS 21.

• Read the material before class
  The first time through, you just are trying to get a sense of the material that is going to be covered in class that week. This will let you focus on the important parts of lecture and formulate good questions in class.
• Do the lab and homework assignments
  Learning to program and to think like a computer scientist is an active process. It is important that you go through the exercises even if you think you understand them completely.
• Start the homework early
  Getting an early start is always a good idea, but it is especially useful in that it gives you time to let a solution percolate even when you are not actively working on it. It also allows you to ask useful questions and take advantage of things like clinicians and office hours.
• Ask questions when you don't understand
  Each week in this course you'll be learning about new material that builds upon the material from earlier in the course. It is vital that you understand the topics or you risk falling behind.

  During lecture, please ask questions when you are unclear about something. If you aren't sure about something, it is probable that many of your classmates are similarly confused, and quite possible that I forgot to present something.

• Take little steps
  Don't try to write your program all at once and expect it to work. Take small steps while developing it -- write a few lines and then compile and resolve all warnings and errors. When you add in new functionality, test to be sure that it works correctly.

The text for this course is:
	Java Software Solutions: Foundations of Program Design, 4th Edition John Lewis and William Loftus Addison-Wesley 2005 ISBN: 0-321-32203-7

Useful Links

• Thinking in Java by Bruce Eckel (Local version Frames - No Frames)
• The Java Tutorial from Sun.
• Java 1.5.0 Documentation (java.sun.com) (local copy)
  • API Specification (java.sun.com) (local copy)
  • java.lang package (java.sun.com) (local copy)
  • java.util package (java.sun.com) (local copy)
  • java.io package (java.sun.com) (local copy)
  • java.awt package (java.sun.com) (local copy)
  • javax.swing package (java.sun.com) (local copy)
• Collections (also known as Containers)
• Professor Newhall's Tips on How to Compile, Run and Debug Java Programs
• Professor Newhall's Java Style Guidelines
• Professor Newhall's Tips on Java Makefiles
• Local Computer Help Pages
• Common Java Error Messages

Java Documentation

Grades will be calculated based on the following distribution:

• 40% - Homework/Projects
• 25% - Exam 1
• 25% - Exam 2
• 10% - Attendance

Attendance

Regular class attendance is expected. I am required to report to the dean any student whose repeated absences is impairing their performance in the class.

Please talk to me if regular class attendance is going to be a problem.

Programming Assignments

There will be a number of assignments made in this class. I expect every student to attempt each assignment and turn in the results. You are encouraged to complete every assignment as this is one of the most effective ways to learn the material. Do not expect to pass this class if you do not submit something for every assignment.

When homework is assigned, a due date will be made available (usually Wednesday Monday at 11:30pm). You are responsible for submitting your answers before the deadline.

If you know that for some reason you will not be able to submit the assignment before the deadline, you should contact me in advance of the deadline. Extensions are only granted in exceptional circumstances, but need to be done in advance.

Grading

Programming assignments will be graded on both correctness as well as programming style. Good programming style includes the following:

• A descriptive header for each file including author's name and the date
• Descriptive and meaningful variable and method names
• Logical organization
• Sufficient comments, but not overly commented
• Appropriate use of white space to separate sections
• Consistent indentation and style

(This may be revised during the course)
Programming assignments will be graded on a 5 point scale. A perfectly working solution is only worth 4 points. Doing extra credit, using good programming style, and effective use of comments are necessary to have a higher score. In general, the breakdown is as follows

• 5 - Fully implemented, good comments, testcases, and programming style
• 4 - Correctly performs the requested operations
• 3 - Most portions correctly implemented, some minor problems
• 2 - Some portions correctly implemented,
• 1 - Some reasonable attempt made, possible compilation errors

Programming projects will generally consist of multiple assignments, but I will only be evaluating one of them.

If a portion of your program is not working correctly, please clearly indicate it in the comments at the beginning of the file and in the methods that are not working. Problems that I discover are graded more severely than those you discover.

Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty

The College's Judiciary Committee (CJC) handles plagiarism offenses. The penalties for plagiarism are quite severe: usually the first offense leads to failure in the course, but it may additionally result in suspension. The following constitutes plagiarism on CS programming assignments:

Under no circumstances may you hand in work done with (or by) someone else under your own name. Your code should never be shared with anyone; you may not examine or use code belonging to someone else, nor may you let anyone else look at or make a copy of your code. This includes sharing solutions after the due date of the assignment. Failure to abide by these rules constitutes academic dishonesty and will lead to a hearing of the College Judiciary Committee.

Discussing ideas and approaches to problems with others on a general level is fine (in fact, we encourage you to discuss general strategies with each other), but you should never read anyone else's code or let anyone else read your code. If you are in doubt about some help that you received, then credit the person(s) from whom you got help by citing them in a comment at the top of the file and discuss the situation with your instructor.

Clinic

The CS21 clinician is an additional resource to help you with this class. The clinician is available for 3 hours per week and will help you with any problems you are having in the class. If you use the clinician to help you with your homework, please cite their help.

Clinician: Meggie Ladlow Location: SCI 240 Hours: Sat, 2-5pm

Clinician: Scott Blaha Location: SCI 240 Hours: Sun, 1-4pm

Clinician: Megan Schuster Location: SCI 240 Hours: Mon, 6-9pm

In order to submit assignments for this class, we'll be using a program called handin21. Simply run this program from the command prompt and follow the prompts.

Note: the other section of this course is using a program called cs21handin. Please don't get these two confused.

Last Modified: Mon 13 Mar 2006 02:59:10 PM EST - Benjamin A. Kuperman