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CMSC160: Introduction to Algorithmic Design
Summer 2008 (Online) Instructor: Dr. R. P. Webber Office location and hours: Ruffner 332; hours by appointment or coincidence during the summer Telephone: 434-395-2192 Email: webberrp@longwood.edu
How to contact me: Email works best. If you are on campus, feel free to stop by my office. However, I’ll be working out of my home as much as I’ll be at school. That’s one of the benefits of teaching an online course! I’ll be checking email often. Course description and prerequisite: An introduction to problem solving and algorithmic design using a modern high-level programming language. Topics include: problem solving techniques, high-level structures, subprograms and modularity, simple, aggregate and user-defined types, and fundamental algorithms. Program clarity, good coding style, and effective documentation are stressed. No prerequisites. 3 credits. Text: Liang, Introduction to Programming with C++, Brief Version. Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007. ISBN 0-13-232049-5. Course objectives:
Course requirements and grading: This is a programming course, and your grade will be based on the assignments that you do. There will be approximately 12 assignments, counted equally. There will be no tests and no exam. The grade scale is as follows. 90-100 A; 80-90 B; 70-80 C; 60-70 D; below 60 F Assignments and working with others: Assignments will consist of nonprogramming and programming exercises. It is OK to work with others on the logic of a program and to help others debug a program or understand an error message. Everyone should contribute approximately equally to the work. If somebody tries to freeload, don’t work with him or her, and tell me if the person persists. Furthermore, everyone is to write up his or her own solutions. I don’t want to see duplicate code or solutions. In general, it’s all right to brainstorm about how to do an assignment, but the details of carrying it out are to be done individually. Each assignment will have a due date. It is due by 12 midnight on that date. Failure to hand it in on time will result in a penalty of 25% for each calendar day it is late. No excuses will be accepted for late programs. I’m sorry, but such things as computer failure, sickness, etc., are not excuses! I strongly urge you not to wait until the last minute to submit your assignments. No assignment will be accepted after midnight on the last day of the term for any reason. Nonprogramming exercises will be graded on a partial credit basis. Click here to see the rubric for grading programs. What to do if you need help: Put a message on the Discussion Board in Blackboard with your question. Somebody else in class may know the answer and can help you – or somebody else may have already posted the same question. I’ll be checking the Discussion Board, too, and I’ll answer queries that I find there. You can email me directly if you like, too, and I’ll be glad to respond. The advantage of using the Discussion Board is that everybody can see the question and answers, which may save time. What to submit: For nonprogramming exercises, type your answers and submit them. For programming exercises, submit a Notepad or other text editor (not word processor) file with your source code. I will compile and run it on my machine. For all exercises, make the first line a comment with your name, the assignment number, and (for programs) a brief account of what the program is supposed to do. How to submit: Send your assignments to me
Make sure that programs compile, run, and produce correct output before submitting them. As stated in the grading rubric, if a program doesn’t compile, I assign it a grade of 0 and grade no further. Make sure it works before sending it to me for grading! Of course, I will be glad to help you debug a program that does not work. Send me a file with the code, and send me a description of what happens when you try to compile or run it. Do this before the due deadline so that you’ll be able to correct it before it is due. If you submit program via email, don’t put the code in the body of the email. Rather, put it in a Notepad file (not a Word file) and send each program as a separate attachment. Similarly, if you are using Blackboard’s digital dropbox, put each program in a separate file. The file name (for programs) must end in the suffix .cpp. It must be a text file. Do not use a word processor (such as Word) to write your program files. Word processors embed all sorts of formatting codes, and the resulting file will not compile. Use a text editor (such as Notepad or Edit) instead. Tentative Schedule:
Honor Code: The teacher subscribes to the Longwood College Honor System, which, among other things, assumes you do not cheat and that you take responsibility to see that others do not. Infractions will be dealt with harshly. A student who is convicted of an Honor Code offense involving this class will receive a course grade of F, in addition to penalties imposed by the Honor Board. Computer: You are expected to do your programs and assignments on your own computer. You will want to put a copy of C++ on your PC. I recommend Dev-C++ or Visual C++. They are free, and instructions for installing them are in the text and in Course Documents on Blackboard. You may use other versions of C++ if you wish, but you will not be able to get help from me in implementing them. Programs must run correctly on one of these compilers to be acceptable for this class.
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