University of Rochester Computer Science

Computer Science 171: Computer Programming

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CSC 171

What is this course?
What you will need...
Book
Personnel
Grading
Turning in Projects
Attendance
Academic Honesty

Most part of this page is based on the web page of CSC 171 offered in Fall 2004.
What is this course?

CSC 171, Introduction to Program, uses Java to teach programming. The substance of this course is programming, not Java. When you finish this course, you should be able to take a description of what a computer should do and write a program that will make the computer do it. Learning to program is hard. This course may take more time outside of class than any other course you have ever taken. Students who know how to program may not find the class as hard, but these are the exceptions, not the norm. You will need to be able to program well in order to handle CSC 172: Data Structures. This course covers a lot of material, but all of it will be necessary for you to continue into Data Structures.

What you will need...
Book

The required text for this course is "Java Software Solutions (5th edition) -- John Lewis and William Loftus. Make sure you get the 5th edition book. The sections you are to read in these books are listed next in the schedule next to the date for each class. You should have read these sections before you come to class. You may wish to read them again after class, but you should read them at least once before coming to class.

Personnel

The instructor for this class Ted Pawlicki. There will also be one Graduate Teaching Assistant, ten Workshop Leaders and Undergraduate Lab Teaching Assistants for this course. We are all very happy to help you with your assignments and to answer questions you may have about the reading.

Grading

Your grade will be calculated based upon Exams, Projects, Workshops and Labs. It is your responsibility to ensure that your grades are recorded correctly, specifically for lab assignments. You should check that your TA has correctly recorded your grades. Remember that your grades are maintained by the Lab you are in so if you have any questions regarding your grade go and see the lab TA first.

    
       26 Labs                          25%
       4 Projects                       40%
       10 Workshop Quizes   10% (5% attendance and 10% quiz)
       2 Midterm Exams          20%
       1 Final Exam                  20%
       

Exams

Exams will account for 40% of the grade. There will be two mid-term exams and a final exam will be given during finals week. Please see the course schedule for the exact dates. All exams are "closed Book" and "closed Notes". You are also not permitted to use Computers, Calculators, Cell Phones, Beepers, or any other Electronic device. The exams account for a total of 40% of a student's grade as follows. Midterm1 - 10% Midterm2 - 10% Final Exam - 20%

Programming Projects

Projects will account for 20% of the grade. Four projects will be assigned during the semester. Please see the course schedule for the exact dates. All programming assignments are to be turned in using the turn-in script. No credit will be given for late assignments. The 4 projects will account for a total of 20% of a student's grade as follows. Each project will be worth 5% of your final grade.

Labs

Lab work will account for 25% of the grade. Lab assignments will be given over the course of the semester. Each lab assignment must be demonstrated in Lab. Unless otherwise specified no hard copy must be turned in. Labs are due by the end of you last registered lab period on the week assigned. No credit will be given for late lab assignments. Collaboration with other students is encouraged during the lab sessions. Collaboration includes open discussion and use of handwritten notes. Wholesale copying of programs, by electronic or any other means, is strictly forbidden.

Turning in Projects

The exact time when programs are due will vary from project to project. See the individual project specification for appropriate due date. Programs that are late or that do not compile will be given a zero. The best way to succeed at this course is to start programming as soon as you can. If you get the program done before the deadline, turn it in and start on another.

Attendance

Attendance is required during the entire lecture period and you are expected to have completed the assigned reading before coming to class. Lectures are 1 hour and 15 minutes. Lab and Workshop attendance is also mandatory. Each lab is also 1 hour and 15 minutes. Attendance will affect your grade.

Academic Honesty

Cheating is bad. Fortunately, few students do it. Unfortunately, this also means we must make a statement regarding cheating in this course. If you do not cheat, you have nothing to worry about. If you cheat, you will have something to worry about. All students caught cheating in this course WILL be reported to the Academic Honesty board. Academic Honesty means giving credit to the sources of your ideas. This means that if you receive help from people, you should acknowledge that help. Getting help is good, you should just make sure that you acknowledge that help. The following activities are consider cheating in this course. If you do any of the following activities (but not limited to these) it will result in a report to the Academic Honesty Board. Turning in a program that includes parts of someone else's program is cheating. Copying a program you find in the trash is cheating. Turning in your roommate's or friend's program as your own is cheating. Copying the program listing of the person sitting next to you in lab is cheating. Adding pieces of code that people email you is cheating. Looking at someone else's program to ``get ideas'' is cheating. Getting parts or all of your program from any World Wide Web site or any source other than your own mind is cheating. Giving a program to someone else to turn in as their own is cheating. Turning in your program as someone else's is cheating. Giving your program for someone else to ``study'' is cheating. Copying answers in a test or quiz is cheating. Looking over someone's shoulder and writing the answers they are putting down on your own test or quiz is cheating. Taking a test or quiz for someone else is cheating. Having someone else take a test or quiz for you is cheating.

The University Policy on Academic Honesty can be found here
Updated 03-Sep-2006 17:00