SYLLABUS

CS 162: Introduction to Computer Science

Fall 2012

 

Prerequisite:

Prior programming experience using a high level language

This means you should have experience writing complete programs in a high level programming language.

 

 

Instructor:

Karla Steinbrugge Fant

E-mail:

karlaf@cs.pdx.edu

Office:

 FAB 120-19

Office hours:

Wednesday 12:30-1:20 and Friday 9-9:50 in FAB 120-19

 

Texts:

D.S. Malik, C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis

To Program Design, Course Technology.

 

 

 

Russell Shackelford, An Introduction to Computing & Algorithms, Addison-Wesley.

 

Lecture Notes:

Lecture notes and course power point slides are on D2L with a backup available on the class web site: http://www.cs.pdx.edu/~karlaf

 

 

 Handouts:

All handouts, due dates, required videos and programming assignments can be retrieved from D2L

 

 

Disabilities:

If you have a disability and are in need of academic

 

accommodations, please notify the instructor immediately to arrange needed support. This includes any accommodations required for taking examinations.

 

 

Hardware:

CS UNIX systems  

Compiler:

C++ language implemented by the g++ compiler.

All work this term will be done on unix or linux!

 

Two Sections of CS162

This term there are two sections of CS162. Section 001 is an “in-class” section and Section 002 is an “online” section. These classes are not the same.

 

Section 001: In class students will experience both lecture and in class lab time where students will use their own computers (laptop, netbook, table, etc.) or check-out a PSU laptop computer. Attendance to these sessions is required. Lectures will be augmented with required course videos to allow for in-class lab time.

 

Section 002: Online students will have online materials available through D2L which will include lecture videos, slides, quizzes, and discussions. Online students will be required to take the midterm and final exam at PSU and demonstrate programming proficiency during that time. Remote students will need to arrange for examination and proficiency demonstrations early in the term through proctoring centers.

 

To account for the fact that each of us may be watching the class at different times, all announcements and course materials will be posted on PSU’s online system called Desire2Learn (D2L), so it is important to login frequently.

 

All course materials (except exams and textbooks) are available electronically and programs can be submitted entirely electronically, so there is no requirement to come on campus to turn in your work! However, the on-campus labs have tutors that can help with the assignments – so you might consider scheduling some time to work at PSU.

 

Questions?

If you have questions, the best approach is to post messages on Desire2Learn or send email directly to karlaf@cs.pdx.edu. Sending D2L Mail will not provide for a quick response as it is an internal-only mail system – it is not “email”.

 

Electronic mail works the best if you have a question that you encounter as you work on the programming assignments. Please be advised that questions should be clearly formulated and it should be clear from the question that you have attempted to solve the problem on your own. Do not, unless explicitly asked by the Instructor, simply email your program and expect a response! Instead, talk about what problems you are encountering and what you have done to make progress. Make sure to provide your full name and class each time!

 

Be careful when seeking help from others. You should seek help from (a) instructor, (b) TA’s, and (c) Tutors. We are here to work with you – either in person or remotely. But, beyond this be careful. Do not to share your code with others! Never post your code in the D2L discussions, the Web, social networking sites, or the web. Never give your assignments to any other PSU students, regardless of their situation. Never email your code to anyone except your instructor. Never turn in someone else’s work as your own. Performing any of these actions will result in a ZERO grade on that assignment.

 

If you have administrative questions and need to talk directly with the Instructor, send mail to: karlaf@cs.pdx.edu. Office hours listed on this syllabus are also highly recommended. When coming to office hours, please make sure to bring a hardcopy of your program!

Is CS162 the right class for me?

CS162 is designed for students who have already programmed in a high level language previously. However, you do not need to know C++ prior to taking this class.

 

1)      You should already understand concepts such as:

(a) variables

(b) loops

(c) arrays and

(d) functions.

 

3) You should be able to design and implement a complete program from a specification and decide how to use functions.

 

2)      You should be able to answer the following questions with ease:

a)      Write a conditional expression (if) to determine if someone’s age is between 13 and 21 (exclusive)

b)      Using a loop, sum all of the whole numbers stored in an array (assume there are “length” numbers stored in the array)

c)      Create a function that finds the largest number in an array. Use arguments and returned values in your solution.

d)     Create a function that will compare two names and display them in alphabetical order

e)      Create a complete program from scratch

Course Description:

Introduction to programming using a high level programming language.  Conditionals, I/O, Files, Functions, Classes, Pointers, Dynamic Memory, Linear Linked lists, Recursion and  Multi-Dimensional Arrays. Program correctness, verification, and testing.

 

Computing Environment:

The CS UNIX systems (known as Solaris) using the g++ compiler which must be used for all assignments. Odin’s g++, Dev Cpp, or Visual C++ are not acceptable.

 

Goals:

The goals of this class are to teach the syntax of a high level programming language to students who already know what programs are. This course will introduce the syntax of C++ including: data types, variables, conditionals, loops, functions, and arrays. It will introduce new constructs such as classes, pointers, dynamic memory, linear linked lists, recursion, and multi-dimensional arrays to prepare students for CS163, Data Structures. To learn and use advanced concepts provided by a modern structured computer language, such as data abstraction, separate compilation and the use of library procedures.

Material to be Covered - Topics:

Introduction and overview (4 hours)

I/O, Conditionals, Repetition, Arrays (4 hours)

Functions and Arguments (4 hours)

Introduction to Classes, Constructors, Separate Files (4 hours)

Introduction to Pointers and Dynamic Memory (8 hours)

Introduction to Linear Linked Lists (4 hours)

Recursion (4 hours)                       File I/O (4 hours)

Arrays with Structured Elements (4 hours)

 

 

Approach:

There are three major learning outcomes expected for CS162:

1.      Proficiency in Programming (in C++)

2.      Problem Solving and Critical Thinking (via participation)

3.      Proficiency in the Course Concepts

 

You must receive a passing grade in each of these three learning outcomes:

1.      Proficiency in Programming (in C++)

a.       5 graded programming assignments  

b.      Midterm and Final Syntax Proficiency demonstrations (Pass/No Pass)

 

2. Problem Solving and Critical Thinking (via participation)

a.       Pre-Lab exercises (Pass/No Pass)

b.      Participation (Pass/No Pass)

                                                                          i.      Section 001: Attendance and participating with inclass labs

                                                                        ii.      Section 002: Weekly participate with D2L discussions

 

3. Proficiency in the Course Concepts

a.       Examinations (Midterm,  Final)

b.      Section 002: Watch the course videos each week. D2L quizzes unlock the next topic content area (Pass/No Pass)

 


Policies for Proficiency in Programming (in C++)

 

Policies for Assignments:

• Course requirements consist of five assignments which include written components and programming components in C++ that comprise (35% of your grade). The programming portion provides experience building correct implementations of abstract data types.

 

All 5 programming  must be done in C++ on unix or linux

 

The written components include discussions on algorithms, ethics, and style issues. These must be completed to get a grade on each assignments. These must be your own work and may not be copied from the web or other students. Be careful to not plagiarize.

 

• For the programming component, 20% of your grade is based on the program style, comments, and documentation provided with the program. Make sure to follow the STYLE SHEET!

 

• 20% of the program grade is based on an algorithm that must be written for each program. The algorithm must be a minimum of 1 page or at least 600 words. Refer to the style sheet for information about what should be discussed.

 

• LATE assignments will be accepted: one week late, for 5% off (except for the last assignment). There will be situations where I will announce changes to the due dates in class and posted on the web site. Assignments may not be turned in later than one week late.

 

• Partial credit will be given for incomplete work. This means that it is better to turn in something, even if it doesn’t work. If you find you are continually having problems meeting the due dates, make an appointment.

 

Submit assignments electronically to the D2L Dropbox (make sure to select the “submit” button after uploading the files, otherwise your submission will be lost). It is important to submit your assignment to the correct D2L Dropbox, otherwise it cannot be graded. For backup, please also email your assignment’s files as attachments to karlafgr@cs.pdx.edu. You may need to use a file transfer program – you can talk with the tutors (tutors@cs.pdx.edu) to get more information. On a PC I use a free program called WINSCP.

                                                                             

Each student is expected to submit only original work. Software and passwords must be kept confidential.  Any person who violates these will receive a grade of zero on an assignment which will result in an F for the course and a letter will be sent to the head of the CS Department. Identical programs will be treated as copying even with cosmetic changes. Material copied from the web will not be graded.

 

 

Policies for Demonstrations: Pass/No Pass

 

Policies for Problem Solving and Critical Thinking (via participation)

 

 (Section 001 Only- Inclass): Policies for in-class Lab Sessions: Pass/No Pass

 

(Section 002 Only - Online): Policies for On-line Discussions: Pass/No Pass

• Online Students are expected to login to D2L every week and participate (posting and reading) the online discussions! Your participation must be (a) meaningful, (b) instigate other discussion, (c) and be related to the class subject matter. Participation means that you can ask questions, answer other students’ questions, or answer the discussion questions. It all counts! However, simply providing the entire solution and/or code will not promote a meaningful discussion.

• Participating in discussions is Pass/No Pass. To pass this portion you must receive a passing grade 65% of the time.

 

Policies for Proficiency in the Course Concepts

 

Lecture Videos – Pass/No Pass

 

Policies for Exams:

 

It is against department policy to give final exams early (no exceptions!). Exams will all be closed book, closed notes.

 

Minimum Grade Requirements:

 

Demonstrate Proficiency in C++

Pass/No Pass

Proficiency Demos (twice)

Participation

 

 Pass/No Pass

Section 001: Attendance & Labs

Section 002: D2L Discussions & Labs

Keep up with Course Material

Pass/No Pass

Every week watch Videos

and Read Chapters

Individual Assignments

-          5 written & programming assignments

 

35%

 

Submit to D2L Dropbox

 

Midterm

25%

At PSU or Proctored

Comprehensive Final

40%

At PSU or Proctored

 

Policies:

• Failure to turn assignments in on time will result in a zero for that assignment. Assignments will not be accepted after the last day of class.

 

• CHEATING:  Each student is expected to submit only original work. Any person who violates these requirements will receive a grade of zero for an assignment which based on the above grade requirements will result in an F for the course. A letter will be sent to the head of the CS Department. 

 

Students will receive a zero on an assignment if any of these activities take place:

1.      Student accepts an assignment and/or program from another student

2.      Student supplies an assignment and/or program to another student

3.      Student posts the assignment and/or program on the web, social networking site, or D2L discussions

4.      Student shares their password with another student at PSU giving that student access to their assignments and/or programs

5.      Students work together on assignments and turn in the same and/or similar assignments.

6.      Student turns in work that was obtained from other sources such as the web, friends, tutors or TA’s.

7.      Student leaves work available for others to copy from

8.      Student attempts to purchase programs from others (in person or electronically).

 

The work you submit must be your own. It is not acceptable to hand in assignments in which substantial amounts of the material was done by someone else. You must be especially careful that in the process of discussing problems with other students that they do not inadvertently end up using your work. In such an event, all students involved will receive a zero on that assignment.

 

No Basis for a Grade – A no basis for a grade in this class only applies when a student has not turned in any work, not taken any exams, and have not participated on D2L. If you have complications and cannot finish the class, make sure to drop or withdraw. Otherwise you will get a grade in the class.

 

INCOMPLETES will be given only when a minimal amount of work remains to be completed, only for a valid reason and only for a fixed time period. Do not expect an incomplete in this class.

 

 

 

 

 

Being Successful!

1.      Login and Participate on D2L.

2.      Keep up with Materials

3.      Watch all class lecture videos each week or Attend all class sessions

4.      Practice Programming Constructs

5.      Perform the pre-lab exercises to get ready for each construct

6.      Ask Questions! Use Tutors, use D2L discussions, and correspond with me!

 

 

Try to Exceed my Expectations!