March 26, 2001
Purpose: This assignment will help you become familiar with the Introductory Programming Laboratory (IPL) in Mary Gates Hall, the course web, and most of the tools you'll be using throughout the semester. It will also give you a feel for how our homework assignments are written, turned in, and graded.
Grading: You'll find there are two parts to the homework, A and B, with different due dates. All of Homework #0B but only portions of Homework #0A will actually be graded. But please do all parts of it anyway. Many of the homework assignments will have lengthy instructions. Sometimes the important stuff is buried deep within them. Get in the habit of reading the instructions carefully:
Spending an hour or so getting familiar with the lab and Windows software will be time well spent. You can easily waste more time than this spread over the quarter by being unfamiliar with these tools, and you'll be too busy later to find an hour, so do it today! This applies to experienced Macintosh users, too: many Mac people have said they found switching to PCs to require much more attention than anticipated.
Computer basics: Are you a complete novice to computers? Before sitting down to work, it would be good to review section 1.2 of the textbook ("Introduction to Computer Hardware") and be sure you understand all the terms it uses.
Do you have to use the IPL? No, you may be able to work at home. See the 142 homepage for pointers about that. Even so, it is good to have a backup in case something happens to your own computer, so take a little time at least to locate the IPL and find out how to use it -- just in case.
Find the IPL: The Introductory Computing Laboratory (IPL) is located on the third floor of Mary Gates Hall. Once inside, find one of the PCs running Windows 98 (the Macintoshes in MGH do not have a C compiler and cannot be used for this assignment, but you can use a Macintosh at home if you have one). You must have a UW NetID to log on to one of these computers, or any of the computers on campus. If you do not yet have one, find one of the computers along the wall adjoining the commons area that has a large sign saying "Create New Accounts Here." Students not working in Mary Gates Hall can simply go to the UW NetID web page.
Try to do and understand everything on this sheet (at least). Don't be afraid to ask for help! The operator at the front desk usually can't leave the work area to help you. If there is a 142 consultant on duty (the operator can tell you if there is), you can contact that person for help (the operator can tell you how). No consultant? Ask the person sitting next to you! It's probably a classmate working on the same assignment. This is also a good way to meet new people. Also, don't be afraid to offer help if you notice someone cursing under their breath. There will be times when you will feel the same way and wish that someone would offer to help you.
Windows basics: Windows checklist. You need to understand all of these concepts or operations to use Windows effectively: desktop, mouse, left & right mouse buttons, click, drag, icon, "start" button, open (application), minimize, maximize, close (window or application), pull-down menu, scroll-bar, dialog box, Windows Explorer, folders/files, shut down.
By the way, if you create files on an IPL hard drive (on the desktop, for example), they will be deleted automatically when the system is restarted. Bring two 3.5" floppy disks if you want to save files.
Browsers: Netscape and Internet Explorer (IE) are "browsers," that is, programs which can display files from the World Wide Web. There are commercial browsers other than these two, and their operation is similar. We will use the Web to communicate with the class, to distribute handouts, to distribute homework files, and to turn in homework.
To open a browser, click the Start button and select either Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. Either program is fine and your choice is purely a matter of preference.
Try connecting to the course Web site (http://www.cs.washington.edu/education/courses/142/). Try clicking on "active links" (underlined and in color) to see what happens. Practice using the "Back" button to return from one site to the previous one.
See if you can figure out how to print a copy of this file you're reading now. (Hint: look at the File menu of Netscape or IE.) The printout is sent to a printer near the operator's station; you can go there to claim it.
Try going to a couple of fun sites. There are millions of them! Here are a few (not affiliated with CSE142, surf at your own risk/convenience!) For sports lovers: the Seattle Mariners Official Home Page: http://www.mariners.org/mariners.home.html. Music lovers: Northwest Music links, http://www.camas.wednet.edu/chs/netlinks/nwlinks/music.html. More Seattle region things to do: http://www.cs.washington.edu/area/. The Internet Movie Data Base (try "search" to find a movie you are interested in): http://www.imdb.com/. Animal lovers, check out http://www.petshelter.net.
http://huskysearch.cs.washington.edu This is "Husky Search." Use this as a starting point to find information about UW or the world. For example: can you find out the latest news about UW's basketball teams? And who could you take bassoon lessons from on campus? Further afield, can you find out what is the current exchange rate of the Yen vs. the Dollar?
Microsoft Visual C++ (MSVC): If you can tear yourself away from the Web, try opening up this application. Click the "Start" button, then select "Programs", then "Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0", and finally "Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0" again. Just open it, maybe try a few buttons, and close it. Don't worry, you don't have to understand anything about it yet. For the next assignment, you will have to use MSVC to get a C program to actually run. It is an industrial-strength system (i.e., complicated), but we'll need to use only parts of it.
Telnet and mail: To be completely connected in the class, you need to use e-mail. Chances are you already have a UW NetID, which includes an e-mail account. If so you can skip this section. Note: Students using hotmail, yahoo, or other free email services experience considerable difficulty using these accounts for coursework. We highly recommend that you use your UW mail account (which is free to students) for all coursework.
Most undergraduates read e-mail from a machine named "dante." If you are new to email, you should learn how to use email at the UW.
In the IPL, you can connect to dante by simply clicking the start button and selecting "Dante". Once you are logged on, you can select "electronic mail" from the menu by typing a character. Dante runs the UNIX operating system, and because of that and because of the nature of the connection from your PC to dante, you won't be able to use the mouse while connected. Everything has to be done through the keyboard.
The e-mail program is called pine. It is used world-wide probably by millions of people, but originated right here at UW. You can use it to send and receive e-mail all over the Internet, that is, all over the world. There is no individual cost or charge to you. All you need to know is the e-mail address of the person you are sending to. And you need to know your e-mail address so you can give it to other people. Your address will be your home login name, followed (no spaces) by @u.washington.edu
E-mail practice: figure out your e-mail address and exchange it with someone in the class (anybody! it doesn't have to be your best friend). Then you can practice sending, receiving, and replying to messages. As you get familiar with the system, you will discover all kinds of shortcuts.
Once you are hooked on e-mail, you will want to check it every day. You don't have to come to the IPL for this purpose. There are many computing sites around campus where you can use a browser and connect to dante for e-mail. They may have quite different procedures, however, so you may need to spend a little time getting familiar with each site. It's also possible to connect from home.
You'll also want to read news. To get started, read our intro to reading newsgroups.
On to the Treasure Hunt. If you've read this far, your reward is not far off. The Treasure Hunt is the rest of part 0A (and it's the part that will be graded!). Then go on and do part 0B.