James Madison University

CS 239 Advanced Programming - Syllabus

CS239 – Advanced Programming

General Overview:

Students use various advanced problem-solving strategies to develop algorithms using classes and objects. Students also learn how to implement and use elementary data structures, including character strings, records, files, stacks and queues. developing clear, concise, and correct algorithms to solve problems on a digital computer.

Prerequisites: CS 139 or equivalent with a grade of "C" or better.

Themes:

1. Object-Oriented Paradigm—The OO paradigm models computing as the collaboration of objects rather than the decomposition of operations.
2. UML—The Universal Modeling Language should be used for diagramming.
3. Coding Practice—Computing professionals are comfortable with code; comfort comes from practice reading, writing, and debugging code.
4. Software Engineering Approach—programming is part of a disciplined development effort that requires thoughtful design and coding, desk-checking, and thorough unit and integration testing.
5. Professional Ethics—Intellectual property is owned by its creators and cannot be appropriated without permission. Even when used with permission, its creator must be cited. Turning in someone else’s intellectual property as one’s own is a violation of professional ethics as well as the JMU Honor Code.
6. Reading Specifications--Precise specification of requirements, designs, and so forth, are basic documents in computing. Students must develop skills in reading specifications carefully and understanding exactly what they state.
7. Professional Conduct -- Computer scientists must become adept at "figuring stuff out".  Passive absorption of "lecture" material is not the way to learn in this fast changing environment.  Students should be prepared to spend time engaging with the material in a variety of ways including but not limited to lab work, code walk throughs with fellow students, search for elegant solutions, and practice with programs outside of the class environment.

Class Format:

1. Review of the prior class period lab - you will work together in groups to review the solutions to the lab exercises.  This is an opportunity to make sure that you understand the lab and the concepts behind it.  There will be opportunity to share particularly elegant solutions with the class as a whole or to answer questions that the group is struggling with.  A "model" solution will be presented.
2. Present new material - this may be in the form of a short lecture or group activity.
3. Practice with the new material - this may be in the form of a group or solo activity.  This segment may lead into a homework assignment to prepare for the lab the following day.

Communication:

We will use Blackboard and the web as a means of communicating. Announcements for class will be made on the Blackboard announcements page or the course schedule page if Blackboard is unavailable. Any other announcement that you receive through other means (such as e-mail) is suspect unless confirmed by Blackboard or the course web page. If I send an e-mail to the class as a whole, I will also put the text into a Blackboard or web announcement.  If school is cancelled due to snow days, be sure to check the announcements for any due date changes or homework assignments.

Also, use my office hours if you are having difficulty, or just need clarification on an assignment or with something that you are working on.  Office hours belong to the students and is a good way for us to communicate individually.

Textbook and Required Material

There is no required text for this class. However, you should have a reference text of some sort.  I will annotate the schedule with readings from the Gaddis book from 139 as well as references to the Java Tutorial.  We may also use other supplemental materials..

Java API's: http://java.sun.com/javase/6/docs/api/

Java Online Tutorial: http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/index.html

Reference Text: You may use any other textbook that you find helpful as a reference, including the book you used for your first semester. An excellent reference book is Cay Horstmann's text, Big Java, published by John Wiley and Sons. See me if you would like to borrow this or any other books.

JAC Card:

There may be times in lab that you need to print a worksheet, a completed assignment or other work. You must have your JAC card with you and some money on it for printing. Make sure that you have a couple of dollars on the card each day.

Printing: 

In addition to any printing required in the lab, you will need to bring a copy of your completed lab assignment with you to class each lecture day.  For those with a laptop, that will be sufficient for sharing in the classroom.  For those without, you should print a copy of any worksheets or completed code.

Backup Media:

It will be important that you have a backup device available to use in the lab. While you will get some network space, sometimes the network goes down and you need some way to continue working. Lab machines do not provide a permanent save. When the machine is logged out, your work is lost.

Grading

Class Policies and Student Success

See the link above for general instructor policies. Specific policies and items which will insure your success in this class are:

• Come to class, come to class, come to class - Students who attend class regularly will keep up with the workload better, will gain insights from talking with classmates or the instructor, and will do better in this class as a result.  We use a lot of active learning in class so attendance is mandatory.
• Workload -This is a four(4) credit hour class. There is considerable outside work expected. More work will be done at the end of the semester than at the beginning. Be sure to get started on programming assignments early as these may be more difficult than they first appear.
• Late assignments - All lab assignments and homework are due at the beginning of class on the day that they are due. No late assignments will be accepted for credit, although I will review late assignments at your request. For programming assignments, late assignments will have a per day penalty associated with them.
• Exams - We have two midterms and a final exam. It is expected that all students will take the exams at the normally scheduled time. If an emergency occurs which requires you to be away, let me know as soon as you know about the situation. I may request documentation in order to allow you to take a make-up exam.
• Honor Code -Almost every semester I have incidents of students cheating on programming assignments in some fashion. I report ALL incidents of academic dishonesty to the Honor Council. If the violation is severe, I will refer it to the Honor Council for formal resolution. Less severe violations may be handled informally. If you know of cheating in this class, it is your responsibility to let the instructor know as soon as possible. If you are involved in a situation where you are not sure if what you did was right, please see me.
• Extra Credit - I generally do not have extra credit opportunities. One exception (and there may be a few others) are students who find bugs in the submit system are given extra points on that assignment only.  There are many opportunities in this class for credit.

Student Success - You will be successful in this class if you:

• Attend class and lab each day.
• Engage with the material...don't passively listen in class and expect to do well on the application assignments.
• Ask for help when you need it. We have TA assistance in the evening, and I have plenty of office hours.
• Get started early on assignments.
• Think about what you are doing...don't just do. In this course, the why is more important than the what.
• Experiment with the language and assignments and talk to your colleagues during lab time. Feel free to explore.
• Don't put yourself into a position of providing unauthorized help to another student.  Labs are designed for free exploration and that includes working with others.  Programming assignments are your way to test what you know and test your problem solving ability.  While we may have some programs in which you will be able to work with a partner, most will be individual assignments.  If you have a question about what help may be provided, please see me.

If you need additional resources to help you with your learning, let me know. Additional reference books may be placed in the library upon request.

Students with Disabilities:If you are a student with a documented disability, who will be requesting accommodations in my class, please make sure you are registered with the Office of Disability Services, Wilson Hall, Room 107 (568-6705) and provide me with a copy of your Access Plan letter outlining your accommodations. I will be glad to meet with you privately during my office hours to discuss your special needs. The sooner you can do this, the better I can assist you in meeting your learning goals in this course.

Student Responsibility: Student are responsible for adding and dropping courses via e-campus. The last day to add a course for the Spring 2008 semester is Thursday, January 24, 2008 (signatures required after Tuesday January 15). The last day to drop a course for the Spring 2008 semester with a "W" grade is Friday March 14, 2008. I do not give "WP" or "WF" grades to students requesting a drop after the deadline except in extraordinary circumstances.

Religious Observance: Students who are unable to attend class due to religious observance may request deadline extensions BEFORE the expected absence. I will do my best to accommodate your special circumstances.

For clarification of these and other instructor policies please refer to the policies link.