Lectures: MWF 8:30 am, Sieg 134 (it is possible that exams may
be held elsewhere)
Sections: Meet both Tuesday and Thursday. Check the Registrar's
online schedule on the Web for times and locations.
Section AA is intended for students who feel they may have relatively less
computer background.
Office hours and lab times: Check the online staff
schedule for instructor and TA office hours, as well as
lab consultants' hours.
Course Goals
CSE 143 is a
continuation of CSE 142. Its goals are similar, namely to
teach the foundations of problem-solving through programming. This
encompasses software engineering principles and practice (particularly abstraction and
modularization); and elementary data structures and associated algorithms
(including an introduction to the performance analysis
of algorithms). To make the principles concrete, we will
study and use the C++ programming language and by the end of the course will
have adopted an object-oriented approach to program construction..
Successful completion of the course will give you the tools
needed to construct substantial computer programs and the
concepts needed to better understand computers and software
in a variety of situations. In particular, the material
provides a good foundation to students who continue in more
advanced computer science and computer engineering
courses.
Course Format
The class meets three times a week for lectures. A day-by-day lecture
schedule may be found on the Web. Twice a week, you meet with your TA
and the other members of your quiz section. On your own time, you have
homework to do, mostly computer programs to design and debug.
Communication
The course web at
http://www.cs.washington.edu/education/courses/143/00su/ will
be a key resource. You are responsible for
material in the course web. There will be very few handouts; most
information, including assignments, will be made via the web. Be sure to check the web pages
often for updates to the schedule, project clarifications,
sample solutions, etc.
In addition to the course web, E-mail is another
important communication tool for this course. You are also
responsible for class announcements made via email on the list
cse143-announce.
For answers to most questions, you
can go to any of the staff, not just your own TA or the
instructor. E-mail is usually the fastest way to contact the staff.
Texts
Required: Frank Carrano, Paul Helman, and Robert Veroff,
Data Abstraction and Problem Solving with C++: Walls and
Mirrors, 2nd ed, Addison-Wesley, 1998.
Recommended:CSE 143 Course Packet, available at
Professional Copy and Print, 4200 University Way N.E. This
packet contains a full set of lecture slides from a recent offering of the
course. Many
of this quarter's slides will be similar. The packet does
not contain old exams or other supplementary
information.
Optional: Many bookstores will have books
about C++ aimed at all sorts of readers. You might find
that one or more of these books appeals to your learning
style and background. A popular but somewhat advanced book is the
C++ Primer by Stanley Lippman and Josée Lajoie,
third edition. Addison-Wesley, 1998. This book is
particularly useful if you plan to do C++ programming beyond
the level of CSE 143.
Quizzes and Exams
There will be several quizzes, midterms, and a comprehensive final exam.
All tests are closed book, closed notes, calculators not permitted, unless
otherwise announced. Tests cannot be made up. Tests may include a variety
of multiple-choice questions, short answers, short essays, and programming
problems. Students should bring a blank mark-sense (Scantron) form and a
#2 pencil to each exam. The exams will be timed at approximately 55
minutes.
The final exam will be on Friday, August 18,
at the usual time and at the usual place (unless another location is
announced). It will not be possible to give the final on any other day.
Please be careful not to schedule travel or other activities that conflict
with the exams.
Homework
Programming is one of those things you learn partly by doing. About five
programming exercises will be assigned throughout the course. Programming
assignments must be done individually, unless explicitly directed
otherwise (see Academic Misconduct below).
Homework Turn-In
Most programming assignments will be turned in via the Web. Electronic
submission forms will be available a few days before the due date of the
assignment. You must print out and hand in (in time) the receipt
generated by your electronic submission in order to get any credit for the
assignment. Parts of some assignments may be turned in by other methods.
In some cases, you may be asked to demonstrate or discuss your program in
person. Specific instructions will be available with each
homework. Programs are compiled as they are turned in; if a
program fails to compile, or it compiles but doesn't run, it will receive
little or no credit.
Attendance
Please plan to attend class five days a week. If you don't attend every class, you can't expect to do your best in the
course. It's very easy to fall behind. Missing
lectures or sections can quickly lead to disaster. If you
miss a class, talk to a friend who was present, and be sure
to check the Web for class messages or handouts.
Grading
There will be 5 or 6 programming assignments, several
quizzes, two midterm exams, and a comprehensive final exam.
All tests are closed book, closed notes, no calculators,
unless otherwise announced. Approximate breakdown of the
course grade is as follows:
Programming Projects
36%
2 midterm exams
14%+14%
Final exam
25%
Quizzes & other
11%
If you find an error in our grading, please bring it to
your TA's attention within one week of that item
being returned in sections.
Make-up/Late Policy
Barring exceptional circumstances, late homework
will not be accepted. Make-up quizzes and exams
will not be offered, and exams cannot be taken early.
Computing Facilities
The primary computer lab for CSE 143 will be the Computing
Resource Center in Mary Gates Hall. The PCs run Windows 98
outfitted with Microsoft Visual C++ (Version 6.0), Netscape,
Internet Explorer, and other tools. It should be possible
to complete assignments using other UW
computing facilities, or
at home, especially on home PC's that have software
similar to that in the IPL, but our ability to support a
wider variety of platforms is limited.
Materials
Unless you compute at hime, you will need a few 3.5" high-density (1.4 Megabyte)
floppy diskettes for your course files. They can be
purchased at the computer section of the University
Bookstore and at many retail outlets. Back up your
files frequently.
Computer Use Policy
Some excerpts from the campus policies
follow. "You must use all UW [computing] resources in strict
accordance with local, state, and federal laws. These laws cover such
areas as illegal access to computer systems, networks, and files;
copyright violations; and harassment issues... Software and information
resources provided through the university for use by faculty, staff, and
students may be used on computing equipment only as specified in the
various software licenses. Unauthorized use of software, images, or files
is regarded as a serious matter and any such use is without the consent of
the University of Washington...If abuse of computer software, images, or
files occurs, those responsible for such abuse will be held legally
accountable."
Academic Misconduct
Although students are encouraged to study together to
understand general course content, each student is expected
to produce his or her own solution to the homework problems,
except as allowed on team projects. Copying or using
sections of someone else's program, even if it has been
modified by you, is plagiarism and is not tolerated. In general, you
should not look at anyone else's code, nor allow anyone to look at yours.
