Syllabus and General Information

CSE 143: Computer Programming II

Syllabus and General Information, Summer 1998

Instructor
Craig S. Kaplan
Email: cse143-instructor@cs.washington.edu
Office: Sieg 218, Phone: 616-4367

Time and Place

Check the complete schedules for instructor and TA office hours, as well as lab consultants' hours. For answers to most questions, you can go to any of the staff, not just your own TA or instructor. A fast way to reach any of the course staff is by sending electronic mail.

Course Goals
This course is designed to follow CSE/ENGR 142 and round out your training in the fundamentals of computer science. The main theme of the course (and perhaps of computer science in general) is abstraction. You'll learn about what abstractions are and why we use them. You'll also design, construct and use many abstractions yourself, while tackling interesting and challenging programming problems.

Along the way, you'll be introduced to lots of useful and elegant concepts, both in the classroom and in the lab. Here's a sampling:

This course is taught in C++, but it is not a C++ programming course. That is, the goal of the course is not simply to make you a proficient C++ programmer. To teach this course, we need a concrete programming language in which to explore the concepts presented in lectures. One reason why we use C++ is because it has powerful abstraction mechanisms that fit nicely with the goals stated above. Naturally, the homework problems should have the side effect of giving you some C++ programming ability.

The student who completes the course successfully will have the tools needed for useful programming and the concepts needed to better understand computers and software in a variety of situations. In particular, the material will provide 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 one-hour 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.

Internet tools
One of the most important methods of distributing information will be the World Wide Web. The main course page is located at http://www.cs.washington.edu/education/courses/143/CurrentQtr/. Students are responsible for material there. Be sure to check the web pages often for updates to the schedule, project clarifications, sample solutions, etc.

E-mail is another important tool. Students are also responsible for class announcements made via email, especially those on the list cse143-announce.

Course Materials
The textbook for the course is Mark Headington and David Riley, Data Abstraction and Structures using C++, DC Heath,1994. You may also wish to purchase Stanley Lippman, C++ Primer. Addison-Wesley, 1991. I used an earlier edition of this book when I learned C++. It's also a great resource if you plan to program in C++ after the end of this course. But note: This book is based on a recent C++ standard, which is newer than the Headington and Riley book and assumes a lot of new details about C++ that I won't cover in this course.

You will also need two or three 3.5" high-density (1.4 Megabyte) floppy diskettes for storing course files while not in the IPL. They can be purchased at the computer section of the University Bookstore and at many retail outlets.

Quizzes and Exams
There will be several quizzes, one midterm, 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.

The final exam will be 60 minutes in length, and scheduled during the final lecture, Friday, August 21st, at 1:10 pm in Sieg 134 (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.

Attendance
Attendance is expected at all quiz section meetings. You are also encouraged to attend every lecture. If you miss a lecture, talk to a friend who was present, and be sure to check the Web site for class messages. Handouts can be obtained from your TA, but other than that, instructors and TAs will not furnish make-up materials to individuals who miss class.

Homework
Developing good programming skills is crucial to your success in this course and in any later software development endeavours. Proficiency in a programming language frees you from the burden of figuring out how to tell your computer to do something, and allows you to concentrate on what you want it to do. The only way to become a good programmer is to sit down and write many programs. You need to run your program, discover that it doesn't work, be frustrated, and eventually find the bug and fix it.

About five programming exercises will be assigned throughout the course. Programming assignments must be done individually, unless explicitly directed (see Academic Misconduct below). Also, you may occasionally be assigned ungraded exercises that help reinforce some concepts. You are encouraged to complete these exercises.

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 also print out and hand in (in time) the receipt generated after your electronic submission in order to get any credit for the assignment. Parts of some assignments may be turned in by other methods. Specific instructions will be available with each homework.

Late Policy
Work turned in electronically will have a specified deadline for electronic submission. Other work is due at the beginning of class unless announced otherwise. Except in truly exceptional circumstances, late homework will not be accepted.

Grading
Your grade will be determined approximately as follows:
Homework 35%
Midterm 25%
Final Exam 30%
Quizzes 5%
Other 5%

Computing Facilities
The Introductory Programming Laboratory (IPL) for CSE 143 is in Sieg 323. The computers are Windows 95 PCs outfitted with Microsoft Visual C++, Netscape, Internet Explorer, and other tools. It may 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, and Macintoshes to a certain extent, but our ability to support a wider variety of platforms is limited.

Computer Use Policy
Some excerpts from the campus policies follow. Take them seriously. "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
All work turned in is expected to be your own. 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. Copying or using sections of someone else's program, even if it has been modified by you, is plagiarism and is not acceptable. If a tutor or someone outside the course is helping you, that person may not write any part of any program for you, even if that tutor is provided by the University.

The University has very clear guidelines for academic misconduct and the staff of CSE 143 will be vigorous in enforcing them. Here is some further clarification: You may not copy code from someone else; that is considered cheating. If caught cheating in this or any other way, full disciplinary measures may be invoked, including a failing grade and initiation of a cheating case in the university system. To avoid creating situations where copying can arise, you cannot mail or post or otherwise make your code available electronically to anyone. You can post general questions about programming problems and even pseudo-code snippets, but no actual C++ code.

For more information about what constitutes misconduct and how to avoid it, read up on software hygiene.

Now for the good news. It is educationally valuable to work with others on general ideas for how to go about solving some problem, and to help others in general terms when they are stuck. You may occasionally look at (but not copy down) others' code on screens, but only to give them help in debugging. If in doubt about collaboration vs. cheating, just don't, or send the instructor mail asking for clarification.