CIS 210 Fall 2009

Introduction to Computer Science

Last updated 2009/10/21 12:07:55

Class Details

Class Times
- Lecture - there are two sections to this course. You should attend the lecture for the section in which you are registered.
  MWF 9:00 - 9:50, 16 Pacific Hall
  MWF 1:00 - 1:50, 30 Pacific Hall
  Labs: All labs are in B26 Klamath Computer Lab (basement of Klamath Hall)
  Thursday 9:00 (GTF: Raihan)
  Thursday 10:00 (GTF: Raihan)
  Thursday 11:00 (GTF: Nicholas)
  Thursday 12:00 (GTF: Nicholas)
  Thursday 1:00 (GTF: Kals)
  Thursday 2:00 (GTF: Kals)
Instructor: David Atkins
- Office: Deschutes 358, phone 346-4413
- Office Hours: MWF 11-noon, and by appointment
- Email: datkins@uoregon.edu

Graduate Assistants: Open lab and office hour schedule

Nicholas Boydston	Phone: 346-1373, Office: Deschutes 228, boydstnp@cs.uoregon.edu
	Open Lab Klamath B26: Monday 8-9 and 4-6, Wednesday 4-5

Raihan Masud	Phone: 346-1484, Office: Deschutes 231, raihan@cs.uoregon.edu
	Open Lab Klamath: Monday 12-2 (B13), Tuesday 9-11 (B13), Friday 4-5:30 (B26)

Kals Muthuswamy	Phone: 346-4392, Office: Deschutes 235, kals@cs.uoregon.edu
	Open Lab Klamath: Monday 10-12 (B26), Tuesday 12-2 (B13), Friday 2-3 (B13)

Required Text Book

Java Programming: From the Ground Up, 1st edition, by Ralph Bravaco and Shai Simonson, McGraw Hill, 2009.
This is the required book for the course. It is a new book that is comprehensive in its treatment of CS fundamentals and Java programming, and has a lot of good examples. A copy has been put on reserve in the Science Library.
Lecture Slides

A printable version of my slides for each week, along with code examples, will be available before the beginning of the week.
Other References

Head First Java, 2nd edition, by Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates, O'Reilly, 2005.
This book is entertaining and easy to read, but not as comprehensive as the required text. It is available in an online version through the UO Library's subscription to Safari Tech Books Online. You must be on the UO network to access these books. See the acceptable use statement in the library page link.

Introduction to Java Programming, by Y. Daniel Liang, Pearson, 2007.
Java Software Solutions, by Lewis & Loftus, Addison Wesley, 2007.
An Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming with Java, by C. Thomas Wu, McGraw Hill, 2004.
These are more traditional introductory Computer Science texts, and similar to the required text. If you feel you need more reference material than is available in the required book or on the web, then you may find one of these books helpful. These books are on reserve in the Science Library. You can probably also find past editions of the first two titles from students on campus or at used bookstores in town.

Getting Started, Sun Microsystems
This online Java tutorial shows how to install Java and compile and run a simple program.

Learning the Java Language, Sun Microsystems
This online Java tutorial covers all the basics of Java.
Grading and Policy
- Approximate grade weighting: Assignments 30%, Class/Lab Participation and Quizzes 15%, Midterm 25%, Final 30%
- Lab attendance is required and will count toward part of your grade.
- CIS majors must take CIS 210 graded; others may take it graded or P/NP.

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. Pair programming will be used for most of the programming assignments, so collaboration of the pair is expected and acceptable. In this case, the work turned in is the pair's work - any source outside of the pair must be cited.
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.
You are also responsible for protecting your work. That is, you must take reasonable precautions to prevent your work from being copied. This means that if you store your assignment solutions on gladstone, the file permissions must be set to keep others from accessing your files. If you are working on assignments in the lab, you must remove any of your files on the lab machine before you leave.

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. Use the lecture slides. Printable copies of each week's slides will be available on the class web site before the material is covered. If you print a copy, you can use it to follow the lecture and take notes. If you look over the slides before class, you will get more out of the lectures. Even if some of the slides do not get covered in lecture, you should make sure you understand the material.
2. Read the textbook. The chapters we will cover are listed in the course syllabus. The text is thorough and well organized, and contains lots of examples. If you feel the book is too expensive, see if you can share with someone else in the class. 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.
3. Read through the entire homework assignment as soon as it is assigned so you know what to be looking for in lectures and the readings. Do not wait until the topic is covered in lecture to start thinking and working on the assignment. Lectures will give you a deeper understanding of concepts and go through examples. Lectures are not your sole source of information, the discussion/lab sessions are geared toward the assignments.
4. 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 over 50% of your grade and you will be on your own in the exams, so learn to work on your own. (Also remember the strict rules about cheating.)
5. Make effective use of pair programming. For assignment problems designated as pair programming, use the pair programming technique as a learning experience. Pair programming is not about getting someone else to do half of the work, but is a tool to learn from each other.
6. Go to labs. They give you a head start on your homework and can save you many hours of spinning your wheels on your own. Lab attendance is required and contributes to a portion of your grade.
7. Ask for help if you are still stumped 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, not the night before the due date when we will not be as sympathetic.
8. 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. Comment your code as you are writing it or even before you write the actual code. If you can't write meaningful comments, then you probably don't have a clear understanding of your design.
9. 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.
10. 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 (except when the assignment asks you to implement your own version).
11. 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. After you think you are done, go back over your code and double check and polish it.
12. Debugging tips 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 2009/10/21 12:07:55