Computer Science 252
Problem Solving with Java

Fall 2013, The College of Saint Rose

Home     Syllabus     Schedule     Examples     Style Guide

Disclaimer

Everything on this syllabus is subject to change. Changes will be announced in class and updated in the online version of the syllabus.

Course Objectives

CSC 252 is the second course of a 3-course sequence in Java programming. The emphasis of this course will be on the development of intermediate to advanced programming skills in Java. We will be using an pedagogical tool called Objectdraw that will allow us to learn these programming skills using some simple graphics and animations.

This course is a prerequisite to most of the courses in the Computer Science department, and successful mastery of the concepts and programming skills is crucial to success in follow-on courses. For this reason, students must earn a grade of C+ or higher in order to progress to other Computer Science courses.

Upon successful completion of CSC 252, CS and IT majors should enroll in CSC 302, Data Structures, which is the prerequisite for most intermediate and upper-level courses.

Prerequisites

CSC 202, or equivalent, with a grade of C+ or higher.

Texts

The required text for the course is Java: An Eventful Approach (Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006, ISBN 0-13-142415-7) by Bruce, Danyluk, and Murtagh. This is available from the Saint Rose Bookstore (and elsewhere).

Many students in computer science courses find their textbooks difficult to read and digest. Unfortunately, reading a technical document such as a computer science textbook is very different and more challenging than most of the readings you need to do for your other classes. One approach you may wish to try is to read each chapter three times.

1. On the first pass, quickly go through the chapter looking for the key ideas and the words that appear over and over. Make lists of these words. Mark key passages. However, do not worry about the technical details.
2. The second pass is the thorough pass. Read the text carefully asking yourself questions. Type every programming example into the programming software and test that it works as advertised. Save these in case you wish to go back to them again. Carefully introduce small errors in the software you have just typed in. See what happens. Does the program run but give wrong answers? Does the program fail to run and give an error message? In this case, can you relate the error you introduced to the message?
3. The third pass is to go quickly back through the chapter once more to make sure you grasp all the ideas thoroughly.

Lectures

Everyone is expected to attend class and participate in discussions and to complete in-class exercises. Supplemental readings are listed on the lecture and reading schedule. Of course you are encouraged to do the reading, but all important topics will be covered in class.

The notes used to guide in-class presentations are available as PDF files linked from the lecture and reading schedule. (But you should take your own notes anyway.)

Most lectures will have some time set aside for in-class programming or other exercises.

Some lectures will include a small assignment due at the start of the next class. No late submissions of these "lecture assignments" will be accepted, as they will often be discussed in class on the due date. Some assignments will be graded for correctness, while others will be graded based on whether an honest effort was made.

Be prompt, prepared, and ready to focus on the day's topics. This should go without saying, but this means your phones and other devices not being used exclusively to follow along with class materials and/or to take notes must be powered off. Unfortunately, food or drink cannot be permitted, as we meet in a computer lab.

Labs and Programming Projects

We have the advantage of holding all of our class meetings in a computer lab. This allows a significant fraction of our class time to be used for lab activities. Time will be set aside during class meetings each week to get you started on lab exercises. In some cases, lab assignments will be handed out in class a few days before we will start working on it during class time. There will often be a pre-lab activity for you to complete before coming to class to make the designated lab time as productive as possible. It may be possible to complete some labs during the meeting, but most of the time you will need to continue to work on your own and turn them in a few days later. You may develop your programs anywhere (Computers in the labs, your own PC, etc.) but grading will be done using BlueJ on the College of Saint Rose systems unless otherwise specified. It is your responsibility to ensure that your program works on the grading platform. Programs will be graded on design, documentation, style, correctness, and efficiency. For regular labs, you are permitted (and are in fact, encouraged) to get help from the Computer Science tutors in the Academic Support Center and from your instructor. You may discuss the labs with your classmates, but the work you submit must be your own (and that of your partner, for work done in pairs).

There will also be several formal programming projects. These projects will test the skills that you have developed in class and during regular lab assignments. They are to be treated as take-home exams, so you may only use the resources specifically permitted and may only discuss your approach and your solutions with your instructor.

Unless otherwise specified, late lab and project work may be turned in with a penalty computed as 1.08^h%, where h is the number of hours late. Extensions will only be granted in serious situations. You can find a Java program that prints out a table of the late penalties here. Work turned in after solutions have been made available cannot receive credit.

All lab and project assignments are to be submitted both in hard copy and electronically using the procedure specified on each lab or project handout. Most labs and projects require an in-person demonstration. Please submit written work in portable formats (plain text where appropriate and PDF otherwise). If in doubt about a file format, please check before submitting. Keep a copy of all submissions for yourself.

Exams

There will be three exams: two exams during the semester and a final. Exams will tentatively take place on Tuesday, October 8, and Thursday, November 14. The final exam will take place on Tuesday, December 10, 10:45 AM-1:15 PM.

Grading

Grades for individual assignments and exams are not scaled. Any scaling deemed appropriate will take place at the end of the semester by adjusting the thresholds. The following thresholds may be adjusted downward (thereby raising grades) but will never be adjusted upward.

Please note the instructor policy for this course: in order to earn a grade of C+ or better in this course, you must have an average of C+ or better on the examinations and projects, regardless of performance on labs and other assignments. Further, departmental policy states that students must earn a grade of C+ or higher in order to progress to other Computer Science courses.

College policy forbids changing of course grades after they are submitted except in very specific cases (such as an error in grading of an assignment or in computation of a grade). Any such errors that slip through must be found and rectified quickly after grades are submitted. In rare circumstances, a student request for an incomplete grade may be approved at the discretion of the instructor. Requests must be made one week prior to the end of the semester, and terms of such arrangements must be mutually agreed upon before grades are submitted.

Attendance

Every college student should be motivated to attend every lecture and lab meeting for all the right reasons (e.g., desire for knowledge, desire to get the most out of every very expensive minute, etc.). As college students, you understand that regular attendance is essential to your ability to master the course material.

Therefore, there is no formal attendance policy. You are expected to attend regularly, and should still see the instructor about any excused absences. An excused absence may be any of the following:

1. A documented athletic or academic event that conflicts with a class meeting. The required paperwork must be presented in person at least one week prior to the event.
2. A family emergency.
3. Personal illness.

While there is no formal penalty for unexecused absences, missing class regularly will be considered a sign that you are not taking the course seriously. History shows that students who are frequently absent perform poorly on graded work. Do not expect compassion when final grades are assigned or extensive extra help if you do not understand a topic that was covered while you were absent without a valid excuse.

Disability Accomodations

If you are a student with a documented disability and require academic accommodations please register with Lynn Cantwell, the Director of Services for Students with Disabilities, located in the Academic Support Center on the 2nd floor of St. Joseph Hall (campus extension 2335 or 518-337-2335, off campus) for disability verification and for determination of recommended reasonable academic accommodations. After you have made arrangements with that office, please see me to discuss your accommodations. Please remember that timely notice will help avoid a delay in your receipt of accommodations.

Academic Integrity

You are encouraged to discuss the concepts related to course assignments and exams with your classmates. This is an essential part of a healthy academic environment. However, work submitted for grading must be your own (or the combined work of group members, for group assignments). Any unauthorized copying or collaboration is considered a breach of academic integrity and will not be tolerated. Academic dishonesty cases are unpleasant and uncomfortable for everyone involved. You are responsible for reading and understanding The College of Saint Rose Policy on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity.

The minimum penalties for a first violation will include failure (0 grade) for the assignment or exam in question and the filing of a Academic Dishonesty Report Form with the Registrar's office. A second violation will result in failure of the course and a second Academic Dishonesty Report Form.

If there is any doubt about the degree of collaboration allowed or the permitted sources for a particular assignment, please ask for clarification before collaborating or consulting the source. Any such collaborations or sources must be cited properly.