Syllabus for COMP SCI 256 Software Design I

(Tentative as of 8/26/08)

Fall 2008, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay

Final Exam: 8:00~10:00 am, Tuesday, December 16, 2008 !!!

Course Description

• (From the Catalog) Students will learn a language common to software design and be introduced to software design techniques. This includes the problem statement, solution design, program testing, implementation, debugging, and final documentation. Credit will not be given to those with credit in Comp Sci 266. P: Comp Sci 161 or 201 with at least a C grade and Math 104 or Math Placement of Math 202 or greater.
• Expected prerequisite knowledge/skills
• Introductory programming experiences with any languages using following constructs
• Various data types and variables
• Expressions (arithmetic, relational, and logical)
• Decision structure (If..Then)
• Repetition structure (Do While loop, For..Next loop)
• Procedures and functions
• Arrays
• What you will learn
• Deepen the prerequisite programming skills with Java language
• Introductory software design methodology using object orientation with classes
• Single class for service provision
• Multiple classes with different roles
• Arrays of objects
• Java GUI programming

Instructor

• Hosung Song, Office: MAC-C327, Phone: (920)465-2201, E-mail: songh@uwgb.edu
• E-mail will be checked only normal business hours (approximately 8~5). For urgent matters outside normal business hours, please contact me through an Internet messenger as described in http://www.uwgb.edu/songh/remote_help/.

Classes

• Computer Science Lab @MAC 122, TuTh 8:50~10:50 am
• Note the unusual time due to change in scheduling policy.

Office hours

• TuWTh 2:00~3:30 OR by appointment @MAC C327
• I may be available online when I’m not in my office. See http://www.uwgb.edu/songh/remote_help/ for how to reach me remotely.

Course web site

• Login to your D2L account (go to http://www.uwgb.edu/learntech/d2l/) and find COMP SCI 256 in “My Green Bay Courses.” Check this course web site frequently (preferably on a daily basis), as important announcements and informational resources will be posted here.

Text

• (Required) Java Concepts, 5^th Ed., by Cay Horstmann from Wiley.
• Textbook web site: http://www.horstmann.com/bigjava.html.
• Student companion site
• http://bcs.wiley.com/he-bcs/Books?action=index&itemId=0470105550&bcsId=3663
• Note the availability of (cheaper) electronic editions of the book!!! They are with different features and prices, and it can be very confusing to pick the right one for you.
• Wiley Desktop Edition: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470230444.html
• WileyPLUS online purchase: http://www.wiley.com/marketbasket.cgi?schoolchooser&isbn=EEGRP06821
• CourseSmart: http://www.coursesmart.com/9780470105559
• WileyPLUS will be used from time to time for in-class activities. Stay tuned for further instructions.
• This book will also be used in my COMP SCI 257 Software Design II again.
• Note that Prof. Baulieu (the other COMP SCI 257 instructor) uses a different textbook.
• (Recommended) Head First Java, 2^nd Ed., by Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates, O’Reilly, February 2005.
• The order for this book was NOT placed with our bookstore, so if you want this book, you need to order a copy individually. However, this book is very amusing and easy to read, not dry or boring. If you find the academic textbook doesn’t work for you, this book may be better for you. And the price is so low! It’s just around $30.
• More information is available at http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/hfjava2/, including two sample chapters.
• Also, I will try to put a copy of this book on reserve at our library.

Software

• JDK (Java Development Kit, http://java.sun.com), DrJava (http://www.drjava.org), and Eclipse (http://www.eclipse.org) are available to students in any university computer lab.
• For programming work at your home, it is recommended to visit the above web sites, download JDK (from Sun.com) and “Eclipse IDE for Java Developers (from Eclipse.org),” and install it on individual PCs. Also, students can bring their own CD and copy UWGB’s Eclipse distribution from X: drive.
• We will use another programming environment called DrJava in the beginning. It’s freely available at http://www.drjava.org/.

Classes

• Classes will consist of lectures and labs.
• To successfully pass this course, it is very important to attend classes, listen to lectures, interact with the instructor, and participate in in-class labs.
• There’ll be no formal class attendance checks and associated grade points. However, in-class labs will be graded and in-class labs may be given at any class time. See the in-class lab assignments for details.

Homework Assignments

• There will be roughly bi-weekly programming assignments. At least one week will be given for each assignment. The total number of assignments will be between 6 and 8.
• Late submissions will result in 10% deduction per every 12 hours. See the course policy for details.
• Homework assignments should be conducted individually. See the course policy for violations.

In-class Lab Assignments

• As stated above, there’ll be in-class lab assignments frequently (but not necessarily periodically). These in-class lab assignments will be graded and contribute part of 10% toward your final total percentage score.
• In-class lab problems are not announced in advance. However, they are directly related to the lecture materials, so paying attention to the lectures will be more than enough for solving the problems.
• In-class lab assignments should be performed as a group of two students. If you cannot find a group member, the instructor will assign one. Also, the instructor will occasionally require swapping of group members, either by new group assignments or self regrouping.
• Normally, in-class lab assignments should be completed and submitted in-class. No late submissions of in-class lab assignments will be accepted.
• To accommodate unexpected/unavoidable class absences, the lowest 15% of the in-class lab grades will be dropped.

Exams

• There will be two in-class midterm exams. The exact dates will be announced at least one week in advance.
• Graded final exams will not be returned.
• The final exam (comprehensive with emphasis on newer topics) time is determined by the registrar. It is 8:00~10:00 am, Tuesday, December 16, 2008 for this course. PLEASE NOTE: This date/time is known many months in advance and any plans such as work schedules, vacations, trips, travel, etc. must be planned around this date.
• In the final exam, there will be some coding problems using a lab PC and DrJava or Eclipse.

Course Grade Distribution

Note that each category’s weight may be adjusted up to ±5%.

• In-class labs and other in-class participation: 10%
• Assignments: 30%
• Midterm exams: 35% (17.5% each)
• Final exam: 25%

Final Letter Grading

• Your grade will be assigned based on the total number of points you accumulate out of the total number of points possible (i.e. there is no curve), according to the following cases:

o If greater than or equal to 92%, then A.

o Else, if greater than or equal to 88%, then AB.

o Else, if greater than or equal to 82%, then B.

o Else, if greater than or equal to 78%, then BC.

o Else, if greater than or equal to 72%, then C.

o Else, if greater than or equal to 68%, then CD.

o Else, if greater than or equal to 60%, then D.

o Else, F.

• Note that the cut points are usually adjusted and that I reserve the rights to such adjustments. Be assured that cut points will never increase. If you have any questions/concerns about your final letter grades, please do contact the instructor before it’s too late. Good times would be after each midterm exam but before the final exam.

Programming Assignment Criteria

All programming assignments are graded using the following criteria.

• Accuracy: The program must work correctly in all cases and be consistent with all stated requirements.
• Documentation and Readability: Documentation involves placing comments into the code that specify what a program and its various components are designed to do. The requirements for documentation will evolve as the semester progresses, but a fundamental requirement is to use clear and concise statements to articulate what is happening inside the program code. In addition, program statements themselves must be written according to specified guidelines.
• Logic and structure: As we develop programming ability, we will see that there are often many ways to do one thing and that the choice you make has a significant impact on the program’s efficiency or the ability for another programmer to modify what you have done. The requirements for logic and structure will evolve as the semester progresses.
• Interface: All output must be clearly marked and well organized. Never print data without some qualifying statement indicating what the data means. The use should never be asked to input something without clear and explicit instructions as to what should be entered.
• Design: This is where writing a program differs from designing software. You design software without the use of the computer. Find a quiet place and lay out exactly what problem you need to solve and how you are going to do it. Make an outline clearly indicating all the necessary components that go into the program and how they work and interact. When you have determined exactly how you are going to solve the problem, then you write the program.

Specific weighting of the grading criteria will be identified for each programming assignment.

Course Policies

1. Classroom policies. The course is taught in a technology classroom (MAC 122), where every desk has a computer, which blocks the view of the instructor and the student in both ways. It has been noted that students get very easily distracted by the temptation of computers and the Internet. This distraction naturally leads to other kinds of disturbances such as conversation between students, laughing or giggling in class. Eventually distracted students will not achieve desired learning. To avoid all such distractions as much as possible and concentrate on our learning, the following classroom policies will be strictly enforced.
1. When the instructor is lecturing, computers cannot be used.
2. When the instructor asks students to do in-class lab assignments, students should try to complete the assignments actively, and use computers only for those experiments, not for anything else.
3. At any instance of either lecturing or lab activities, students should not distract others or the instructor by any unexpected behaviors including, but not limited to, chattering, laughing, asking irrelevant questions, making uncivil remarks or behaviors. Students are always encouraged to ask the instructor relevant questions at any time.

Computer usage will be strictly monitored using the central monitoring/controlling software called SynchronEyes. A student’s first violation of this policy in any single class will be warned. If there’s another violation from the same student in the same class, he/she will be asked to leave the classroom.

2. Grade privacy policies. You are not supposed to show your grades or grading results (homework submissions or exams) to others. There’s no curve, so grading is an individual matter between the instructor and each student. Any consequence of such sharing of your grades will be totally your responsibility.
3. Incomplete grade policies. Incompletes are given only in unusual and extreme cases. To receive an incomplete, you must meet the following criteria.

· You must not be able to complete work due to unusual circumstances. (Being ill for a couple of days is miserable, but unfortunately, not unusual.)

· You must have completed most of the work with a passing grade.

· You must notify the instructor within 1 week after any circumstances that prompt your request for an incomplete.

4. Late homework policies. Penalties are assessed for late assignments at a rate of 10% of the maximum point total per every 12 hours. No assignments will be accepted after 72 hours from the regular due time. There will be no exceptions for late due time and late penalties, so please do not postpone doing your homework and submitting the deliverables until the last minute.
5. Extra-credit problems policies. There will be occasional extra-credit problems in either assignments or exams. Scores for extra-credit problems will not be included in the final total percentage score for determining the final letter grade. However, a student with a bordering final total percentage score will be given some consideration if he/she has tried and received extra-credits. Therefore, you should not try to solve extra-credit problems when you haven’t completely solved regular-credit problems. Scores for extra-credit problems will not even show up in the D2L gradebook, but will be kept separately for the stated purpose only.
6. All persons are responsible for the coding of their own program for homework assignments. (However, in-class lab assignments can be done as a group of up to 2 students.) Copying is plagiarism and will be dealt with. See dishonesty policy on the next heading.
7. If you miss any exam, you will receive a 0 for that exam. However, if you have a legitimate conflict with a scheduled exam, arrangements can be made to take it during the last week of classes. However, the final exam must be taken when scheduled. This date is known more than three months in advance and any plans such as work schedules must be planned around this date.
8. When you have difficulty with a homework assignment, try to figure it out yourself first. It is important to develop independence. However, there will obviously be times where you don’t know where to turn (especially at the beginning). Then seek help during office hours (regular or private). Do not seek help from your peers initially. Doing so often leads to academic misconduct, which will be dealt with as stated in the dishonesty policy. When you seek instructor’s help, you are expected to store your programs and data files in your M: drive or bring a hard copy of program code and data files.
9. If you miss a day of class, it is your responsibility to obtain the notes for that day.
10. This is not an internet/online/remote-learning course. This course requires class attendance. For online/alternative courses, please contact our Extended Degree program.

Policy Statement for Academic Dishonesty in Computer Science

In all computer science classes, each student is expected to assume full and sole responsibility for writing the code associated with any assignment not designated as a group project/assignment. Any instance where a program, submitted by one student, was fully or partially written by another constitutes Academic Dishonesty and will be dealt with. Published penalties range from 0s for BOTH people involved to failing and a letter sent to the Dean of Students. Please note that such letters go into your file and can have an adverse affect when seeking employment. The minimum penalty taken for any such incident in our course is the combination of 0 points for the specific assignment AND a lower grade (e.g. A to B, B to C, C to D, or D to F) of the course, FOR BOTH PEOPLE INVOLVED. Note that giving copies of program source code or designs is also an academic misconduct/dishonesty. For more information on what constitute an academic misconduct and how one is dealt with, please read Chapter 14 of University Policies, which can be found at http://www.uwgb.edu/deanofstudents/policies/ch14.htm. You are required to be aware of these policies and procedures.

Things you CAN do:

· Talk with others about an assignment. This includes various design options and general approaches to a problem.

· Ask and answer questions about a design or syntax of specific statements.

· Ask and answer questions regarding interacting with IDE (Integrated Development Environment such as Visual Studio .NET or Eclipse) but independent of specific coding that may be required.

Things you CANNOT do:

· Give or receive copies or partial copies of code or designs. (Note: The manner in which it is obtained is irrelevant. Thus, for example, this statement applies to programs left on a table or even discarded in a trash.)

· Participate in discussions that involving writing code to accomplish a particular task.

· Examine another person’s code for the purpose of working on your program.

· Having any individual (including consultants) write any part of your program or tell you how to do so.

· Help other students by allowing them to see code that you have written or designed. This means that if you discard any hard copies of code make sure that no one else can have access to it. Shred it, burn it, or flush it.

· Work together on creating the code for a program, unless the program is explicitly designed as a group program.

Violation of these rules will result in action taken. Not only will the person who benefited be held accountable but also the person who provided the assistance will be penalized. In order to run a class smoothly, a measure of trust must exist between instructor and student. Violations of these rules destroy that trust and respect that a student deserves. These things are hard to recover once they are lost.

COMP SCI 256 Software Design I: Tentative Schedule, Fall 2008

Week	Dates	Topics	Remarks
1	09/01~09/05	Introduction, Eclipse Java development environment	09/02: Semester begins.
2	09/08~09/12	Ch. 1: Introduction Ch. 2: Using Objects
3	09/15~09/19	Ch. 2	09/15: Drop/add deadline (no DR for drop)
4	09/22~09/26	Ch. 3: Implementing Classes
5	09/29~10/03	Ch. 3
6	10/06~10/10	Ch. 4: Fundamental Data Types	Midterm 1 around 10/7.
7	10/13~10/17	Ch. 4	10/17: Drop deadline (with DR)
8	10/20~10/24	Ch. 5: Decision
9	10/27~10/31	Ch. 5
10	11/03~11/07	Ch. 6: Iteration
11	11/10~11/14	Ch. 6	Midterm 2 around 11/11.
12	11/17~11/21	Ch. 7: Arrays	11/19: Withdrawal deadline.
13 (0.5)	11/24~11/28	Ch. 7	11/27,28: Thanksgiving
14	12/01~12/05	Ch. 7 Ch. 8: Designing Classes (if time permits)
15 (0.5)	12/08~12/10	Ch. 8 (if time permits) Catch-up	12/10: Last day of classes
Final Exam	12/16 (Tu) 8:00~10:00

Note: All book chapters in the above table are reading assignments for the corresponding weeks. There may be pop quizzes about the reading assignments. Pop quiz scores will be reflected in the “In-class labs” grade.