CIS 210 Fall 2002

Introduction to Computer Science

Class Details

• Class Times
  • Lecture: MWF 2:00 - 2:50, 110 Fenton
  • Labs: All labs are in 026 Klamath Computer Lab (basement of Klamath Hall), please attend the one for which you are registered
    Tiller - Monday 3:00, 4:00, Tuesday 4:00
    Shasta - Tuesday 9:00, 10:00, 11:00

• Instructor: David Atkins
  • Office: Deschutes 358, phone 346-4413
  • Office Hours: Monday/Wednesday 11:00-12:00, Tuesday 2:00-3:00 and by appointment
  • Email: datkins@cs.uoregon.edu

• Graduate Assistants:

  Tiller Beauchamp	Phone: 346-1380, Office: Deschutes 227, email: tiller@cs.uoregon.edu
  Office Hours in 026 Klamath: Monday 10-12
  Office Hours in Deschutes 227: Friday 3-4
  Shasta Willson	Phone: 346-4425, Office: Deschutes 341, email: shasta@cs.uoregon.edu
  Office Hours in Deschutes 341: Thursday 11-12, Friday 11:30-12:30
  Office Hours in 026 Klamath: Friday 1-2

• Reference Material

  Required Text: Java Software Solutions, 3rd edition, by John Lewis and William Loftus, Addison Wesley, 2002.

  This is the required book for the course and we will refer to it as Lewis and Loftus or just L&L. Previous courses used the second edition of this book. The basic layout and material in the third edition is similar, but the third edition contains more examples, more reference material, uses the latest Java 2 Version 1.4 SDK, and uses color.

  Optional Text: The Code Book, by Simon Singh, Anchor Books, 2000.

  You can get by without this, but I recommend you purchase it (or share a copy with a friend if you want to save some money) because (a) it will help you understand the cryptography theme we are following this term, (b) it is an excellent and clear introduction to more advanced topics in cryptography, and (c) it is a lot of fun and interesting reading.

• Grading and Policy
  • Approximate grade weighting: Assignments 30%, Midterm 30%, Final 40%
  • CIS pre-majors must take CIS 210 graded; others may take it graded or P/NP.
  • All students must take the CIS 210 placement test. See Placement Tests for more information.

Course Objectives

• The primary objective of this course is to introduce the basic concepts and practices of computer science. The core ideas of computer programming will be explored using the Java programming language. We will cover fundamental approaches to problem solving and the creation of software solutions as well as introduce the notions of data abstraction and object oriented programming. You will learn about Java programming in this course, but more importantly, you will learn how to identify the abstractions in problems and design good software to implement solutions.

• CIS 210 is a required core course to become a CIS major.

CIS 210 Academic Honesty Policy

• All assignments turned in for the course must be your own work. Copying from other class members or other sources is not acceptable. If you collaborate with someone else on any assignment, you must indicate such on the work you turn in, and partial credit may be given.
• Academic honesty is expected and cases of suspected dishonesty will be handled according to university policy. In particular, copying someone else's work (including material found on the web) will not be tolerated. If solutions to assignments are obtained from outside sources, the source must be cited.

CIS 210 Do's & Don'ts

• Here are some suggestions for a strategy to pass this class:

  DO'S (a recipe for success in this course:)

  1. Read the textbook. The chapters we will cover are listed in the course syllabus. The text provides good core information - if you read over the material before class, you will get more out of the lectures and be able to ask questions. Come to lecture with questions.

  2. Read the entire homework assignment as soon as it is assigned, even if it's confusing. Do not wait until the topic is covered in lecture to start working. Lectures will give you a deeper understanding of concepts and go through examples. However, if you attempt to use lectures as your sole source of information, you will be sunk on the homework.

  3. Do your own work. You can discuss the problems with classmates, but then start over and work them out yourself. Otherwise it is very easy to fool yourself into thinking that you understand the material well enough to do it yourself. The exams are worth 70% of your grade. You will be on your own in the exams, so learn to work on your own. (Also remember our strict rules about cheating.)

  4. Go to labs. They give you a head start on your homework and can save you many hours.

  5. Ask for help after you have made a sincere effort to figure something out. When you have an idea for solving a homework problem feel free to run it by the professor or GTFs. We will try to give you a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on your strategy. This can save you enormous amounts of wasted time. Again, you want to do this early.

  6. Document your code with comments. Pay attention to coding style and strive to make your code neat and easy to read. Write all software as if it will be seen by experts and be around for a long time.

  7. Experiment. If you wonder whether or not some code is legal or does what you want, try it out. Learn from the compiler by trying small chunks of code to see whether it compiles and works the way you think it should.

  8. Use the Java API documentation. Become familiar with how to read the API. The holy grail of software development is re-use, so learn how to find and use existing classes and methods.

  9. Aim for elegant solutions. Don't be satisfied with a "quick and dirty" program to produce the correct results, but refine your work to the best solution possible.

  10. Debugging skills we introduce can save you vast amounts of time and frustration. Watch for them.

  DON'T (Each of these, alone or in combination, usually leads to failing this course.)

  • Do not wait to start homework
  • Do not spin your wheels for hours before you get help from 210 staff
  • Do not work in groups

  One last point: it is possible that this course may not be for you. If you follow all the suggestions above and still find yourself putting 15+ hours a week just into assignments, then you should come talk to the professor. There are other options.

Last updated 2002/10/28 10:28:51