Syllabus

Homework

The homework assignments are all programming projects. There are nine in total, and every one is to be done individually. All deadlines are in Gradescope, and you will have at least a week to complete each assignment.

The core of the course is to learn concurrency, parallelism, and Rust by building systems that incorporate these ideas. The first three assignments are in C or C++ and focus on concurrency and parallelism. The next two are an introduction to Rust. The last four explore concurrency and parallelism within Rust.

Homework is released every Wednesday on GitLab and is due on the Friday of the following week (nine days per assignment). To submit, run the submit.sh script included in the starter code to create a zip file, then upload that zip to both the test case and code assignments on Gradescope. See the calendar for exact dates.

The programming portion of each assignment is autograded. The starter code includes only a few tests, so we recommend writing your own for debugging. You can also use the anonymized tests in each assignment's student-tests repository, but keep in mind that they might not all be correct. You can submit to Gradescope as many times as you like before the deadline (including the grace period) to check how many autograder tests pass. The autograder may also contain additional hidden tests.

Test cases

Most assignments will ask you to write and donate a test case. The purpose is twofold: you will get practice writing useful tests, and you will gain experience using the systems that you build. We use the word "donate" because as soon as you submit your test case to Gradescope, it is anonymized and added to that assignment's student-tests repository, where every student can use it. This lets you take advantage of everyone's creativity to build a cohesive test suite.

Test cases are generally due two days before the homework deadline (on Wednesdays). There are no late days for test cases (see the late policy). We may also select some test cases to add to the autograding suite.

A member of the course staff grades the test case you write. In particular, we are looking for interesting, unique use cases. Since every student writes a test case, it may be more interesting for each test case to stress one element of the system in depth rather than lightly test all components. Submitting your test case shares it with the class. If you want to share a test before submitting it, you must share it publicly with the entire class or not at all. The test case grade contributes a portion of that assignment's grade.

Homework questions

Every assignment comes with a set of related questions. They are due at the same time as the homework code, with the same late policy. You can find them on Gradescope.

Homework rubric

Each assignment requires three submissions, weighted roughly as follows. The exact percentages will differ for each assignment.

The code portion (~70%) is about 90% autograder and 10% style. We grade style and test cases on these criteria:

Style

• Is your solution code readable and understandable?
• Do you use an appropriate amount of comments (not too many, not too few)?
• Does the code solve the problem in a reasonable and idiomatic way?

Test case

• Is your test case readable and understandable?
• Is it clear what your test case is testing? Do you describe (in comments) which part of the system you stress, and which sorts of erroneous solutions it would catch?
• Does your test case deeply exercise one part of the system, rather than lightly test everything?

Quizzes

Roughly once a week there will be a quiz in lecture or section. Quizzes are meant to be easy and not require studying if you have attended lecture and done the assignments. Each has a few multiple-choice questions and takes no longer than ten minutes. Quizzes are announced in the preceding lecture or section. They are distributed online, so bring a laptop or phone.

Your two lowest quiz scores will be dropped.

Exams

The course will have midterms and a final exam. The final exam is on Monday, December 14, 8:30–10:20 am. Midterm dates will be posted on the calendar.

Exams cover material similar to the quizzes, and we do not expect them to be difficult for students who attend lecture and complete the assignments honestly.

Grades

The mapping from percentages to the 4.0 scale will be determined at the end of the course. There is no curve with predefined ratios of 4.0s and 3.0s: everyone should be able to earn a 4.0 in this course.

Late policy

Our late policy is designed to give you as much flexibility as possible without having to ask permission in most cases, while still letting us grade assignments and return them promptly. If you have an extenuating circumstance that keeps you from completing the work on time, especially one outside your control, please make a private post on Ed (see contacting the staff). Often we can work out something agreeable to everyone involved.

• Homework: each assignment comes with a 48-hour grace period during which work is accepted without penalty. Turning an assignment in late cuts into the time you have for the next one, so only use this flexibility if necessary. Homework questions are part of the homework, and the same policy applies. After the grace period, submissions are not accepted.
• Test cases: there is no grace period. Submitted test cases are shared with the class right away, and they are most useful while everyone still has time to complete the assignment. And if we add student tests to the grading suite, we want to do it as early as possible to give you the best chance of getting full marks.

Academic honesty

Please read the Allen School's academic misconduct policy.

You are encouraged to discuss all aspects of the course with, and ask for help from, the instructor, the TAs, and other students. However, do not cross this line:

• Do not share code or written text.
• Do not look at homework solutions that might be on the Internet.
• Do not use someone else's code or text in your solutions or responses.
• Do not use AI in ways the course AI policy prohibits. In short: no AI on graded work.

It is fine to share ideas, explain your code to someone to see if they know why it doesn't work, or help someone else debug if they've run into a wall.

All work is to be done individually. We take plagiarism extremely seriously.

Disability resources

The Disability Resources for Students (DRS) is a unit within the Division of Student Life and is dedicated to ensuring access and inclusion for all students with disabilities on the Seattle campus. They offer a wide range of services for students with disabilities that are individually designed and remove the need to reveal sensitive medical information to the course staff. If you have a medical need for extensions of exam times or assignment deadlines, these will only be granted through official documentation from DRS. Browse to DRS getting started to start the process as soon as possible to avoid delays.

You can refer to the university policies regarding disability accommodations for more information.

Religious accommodations

Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW's policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form.

Extenuating circumstances and inclusiveness

We recognize that our students come from varied backgrounds and can have widely-varying circumstances. If you have any unforeseen or extenuating circumstance that arise during the course, please do not hesitate to contact the instructor in office hours or via a private Ed post to discuss your situation. The sooner we are made aware, the more easily these situations can be resolved. Extenuating circumstances include work-school balance, familial responsibilities, military duties, unexpected travel, or anything else beyond your control that may negatively impact your performance in the class.

Additionally, if at any point you are made to feel uncomfortable, disrespected, or excluded by a staff member or fellow student, please report the incident so that we may address the issue and maintain a supportive and inclusive learning environment. Should you feel uncomfortable bringing up an issue with a staff member directly, you may consider sending anonymous feedback or contacting the Office of the Ombud.