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Table of Contents
Course Meetings
- Section F: 12:30 - 11:20
- Section G: 11:30 - 2:20
Course Description
This course assumes prior programming experience in Java (at the level of 15-100) and is designed to expand students' knowledge of computer science and sharpen their programming skills through the implementation of a large project. The course extends object-oriented programming techniques begun in 15-100 and covers data aggregates, data structures (e.g., linked lists, stacks, queues, trees, and graphs), and an introduction to the analysis of algorithms that operate on those data structures. The course is currently taught in Java and, along with 21-127, serves as a prerequisite for 15-211.
NOTE: students who receive a grade of C or less in 15-100 should discuss
whether they are adequately prepared for 15-200 with their academic advisor.
-- From the Offical Course Description
Prerequisites
15-100, or equivalent, or consent of instructor.
Textbook
No textbook is required. But, if you enjoy textbooks, please drop by and
you are welcome to look at a few good ones before purchasing one.
Website
This course website, http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/course/15-200/fg,
will contain a tremendous collection of resources, as they become available.
This will include such items as lecture support materials, video of lecture,
practice exams, lab information, &c.
Instructor
Please note:
Office hours are times that I do my best to reserve exclusively for
"drop in - no appointment" meetings with students, but I am often available
at times other than office hours.
Please don't hesitate to call or drop by at other times, or to request
an appointment. Office hours are convenient -- if they are convenient for
you. If not, please, please, please email or call for an appointment, or
just take your chances and drop by -- if I'm not teaching, I'm likely here.
Please remember -- I'm here to help. I appreciate the opportunity to
serve you. Do give me the chance.
Both my office and homes phones roll to my cell phone. Please feel free
to call at any time (I generally turn it off when it is inconvenient to
answer).
I can often be found as "gkesden" on AIM or GIM. Please feel free to
ping me if I can be of service.
Teaching Assistants
- Sarah Celantano (scelenta@andrew.cmu.ed)
- Simon Markowski (smarkows@andrew.cmu.ed)
- Austin Michael McKinley (amckinley@mu.ed)
- Office hours: (in the Wean 5419 cluster)
- 7:30PM - 10:30PM Sunday - Thursday in WeH 5419
Course Attendance
Attendance is expected at all classes. You are responsible
for everything conveyed during class, even if you are absent. It is suggested
that you make friends with your classmates and aestablish a study group
-- these will provide vehicles by which you can discovery the content of
any lectures you might miss. In the event that you miss class, you should
contact one of these individuals promptly to ask for help.
The course staff is not responsible to help you with material or procedural
announcements from which you opted out by electively missing class.
Need Help?
I can't stress enough that the course staff, the instructor
and CAs, are dedicated to providing you the highest possible levels of
support: inside of the classroom and outside. Please, if you need help,
do ask.
Important: It is strongly suggested that you email the entire
staff with questions or concerns. This will assure you of the fastest
possible answers. This can be done by sending email to
staff-200@cs.
This email list is currently being created and should be active within
the next 1-2 days.
Additionally, the Introductory Computing Group staffs the 5419
clusters during many hours of the afternoons, evenings, and weekends with
highly qualified lab assistants. Although these individuals aren't
familiar with the specifics of your homework or lab assignments, they are
highly knowledgable about the Java language, programming methodology, and
data structures -- please don't hesisitate to drop the clusters and query
them for general help in these areas.
Assignments and Grading
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Exams: 50%
These will be individual, in-class exams. There are most likely to be
"closed book, closed notes, closed everything" style exams. They will
incorporate programming questions, theory questions, problem
solving, the drawing of figures, &c. The first two will count
10% and the next two 15% each.
-
Departmental Exam: 20%
This exam is being developed by the department and will be
administered to all 15-200 sections. The same exam configuration,
grading scheme, and course weight will be applied, regardless of the
instructor or section.
The exam will be administered during finals week.
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Classwork, homework, &c: 20%
The bulk of the assignments in this category will likely consist
of individual programming-intensive laboratory assignments. But, there
will also be some in-class assignments, non-programming homework,
collaborative work, and other material as necessary to adapt to the needs of
the class.
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Recitation: 10%
Attendance at recitation counts 10% broken down as 5% for attendance and
5% for active participation. Students wishing to exempt recitation may
ask permission from their recitation instructor -- after the first exam
has been graded and returned. Students who are excused from recitation by
mutual agreement with their instructor have their homework counted at
35% instead of 25% of the grade.
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Please note:
These percentages may change as necessary to comply with directives
of the "Intro Group", the collection of instructors teaching 15-100/111/200.
Should the group adopt policy in conflict with this syllabus, the syllabus
may be changed to reflect the policy of the group. The same is, of course,
true of directivies arising at the department, school, or university levels.
Grade Corrections
We try to be very, very careful about scoring your work and
maintaining your grades. But, we are human and will make mistakes. If you
have any questions about grading, please see any member of the course staff.
If possible, s/he will help you "on the spot". But, if s/he want to
discuss the issue with other members of the staff, which does occur in
many cases, he or she might make a copy of your work and/or ask you to
write down or email your concerns. Please don't be alarmed -- this is just
to try to ensure correctness and consistency among staffers, as well as
prevent miscommunication. If you are asked to provide a copy of the work
or feedback in question, or to provide your concerns in writing or email,
you are required to do this before your concern can be addressed.
Please keep copies of all of your graded work, electronic submissions,
and electronci feedback, until you receive your final course grade and
are satisifed that it is correct. Without the original work and the grading
information, it is more difficult and time consuming to correct errors.
In general, grading concerns should be addressed within one (1) weeks.
In the special case of the final exam, they should be addressed with one
(1) year. The course staff, at its discretion, may refuse to reconsider
grades outside of this time period.
Should concerns arise outside of these time periods, but during the
semester, please do contact any member of the course staff -- we want to
be reasonable and will do our best, within our discretion, to help. Should
concerns occur after the end of the semester, please contact the instructor.
Or, in the unlikley event that he is no longer at the University, on leave,
or otherwise inaccessible, contact an administrator in the Computer Science
department.
Students do have the right to appeal final course grades. This can be
done informally, beginning with the instructor, and then to the student's
academic dean and/or the academic dean in the home department. It can also
be done formally using the policy outline in the Academic Regulations.
Collaboration
These groups generally work best if there are between three and five people
involved, but sometimes pairs or slightly larger groups can work well.
Typically the most effective study groups meet once per week for a few
hours, or a couple of times each week for a couple of hours each meeting.
For study groups to be effective, each member must work indivudally with
the material in-between meetings such that s/he has something to contribute
as well as questions to drive the discussion.
Unless otherwise specified, all assignments should be completed individually.
In other words, it is okay to collaborate in studying the course material,
but the "writing on the page" or the "code in the lab", as examples, should
be your own "thought product".
If portions of your individual assignments have been significantly influenced
by someone else, you should prominently give them credit for their contribution.
Proper attribution is critically important -- and is an absolute defense
against charges of "Academic Dishonesty"
Failure to provide proper recognition for the contributions of others
towards any graded work may be, at the discretion fo course staff, considered
Academic Dishonesty under the applicable University, School, Department,
and/or Intro Group policies.
The Academic Regulations are the only authoritative source for information
regarding the University police on Academic Dishonesty, and related procedural
matters. But, the following is an informal summary:
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An instructor can charge a student with academic dishonesty and impose
a penalty within the course, including an "R" grade.
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The instructor informs the University of the charge, where it is recorded.
If it is a first-offense, the University takes no further action. If it
is not, a University committee is convened. For other than first offenses,
the Committee, not the instructor determines the penalty, which can include
academic actions such as expulsion or suspension, as well as less-severe
actions. The student may appear at this hearing, and the instructor might
also ask to appear or be asked to appear.
-
Even on a first offense, the instructor can ask the University to convene
a Committee as discussed above. This might be done, for example, in the
case of a particularly flagrant case, or under atypical cicumstances.
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The student has the right to appeal an instructors finding of academic
dishonesty. Such an appeal is heard by the same Committee as discussed
above. In the event that both the student and faculty member request a
Committee, the same Committee will hear both.
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University procedure provides for the appeal of decisions by the Committee.
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In the event that the instructor charges a student with Academic Dishonesty,
it is suggested that the student consider the totality of the circumstances
calmly and rationally and seek advice from the instructor -- as well as
third parties, such as the student's advisor, academic dean, or a dean
of student affairs. It is may not be in the student's best interest to
take a rash action, such as attempting to drop the course.
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Students who are charge with Academic Dishonesty should be aware that there
will be no prejudice against them in the course, beyond the penalty directly
imposed, as a result of the charge, or of any appeal.
Late Work
You have fivve (5)"Late Days" for use on assignments this semester.
You can use one day on each of five assignments, three days on one
assignment and two on the next, &c. There are no half days -- an
assignment 1 second late requires the use of a full late day.
These late days are not "procrastination days". They are instead designed
much like "personal days" at work to handle the little things that come
up during the semester: short illnesses, injuries, visiting family or friends,
a burst of work in other classes, doctors vists, &c.
The use of these days is completely at your discretion -- but, once
they are gone, they are gone. That's it. The course staff cannot give you
more. Late work is not accepted, other than through the use of "Late Days".
There is, of course, the possibility that exceptions to this policy
will arise. We certainly hope that nothing incapactiating will happen to
any of you. But, in the event that there is some major life event including
major medical issues, emotional problems, family problems, &c, the
course staff stands ready to work with you, as appropriate.
But, because these events are major events that likely will affect more
than one class, we refer these circumstances to other University officials,
typically academic deans, deans of student affairs, and/or assigned academic
advisors.
In the event that you need help of this kind, please see a member of
the course staff, and advisor dean, or other appropriate University offical.
If you contact us, we'll likely begin by contacting your advisor or dean.
But, regardless who you contact first, we'll work together with your academic
unit and/or student affairs, and (most importanbtly) you, to do the Right
Thing. We are, in fact, here to help.
Please also keep in mind that assignments only count as submitted, if
submitted as directed. For example, we don't accept assignments via email
or on floppy disk, unless we specifically authorize it. Should you fail
to submit an assignment as directed, you will need to use late days to
submit it.
No Email Attachments
Unless otherwise directed by a member of the course staff,
do not send files as attachments via email. For technical reasons, this
mode of file transmission is extremely inefficient. Instead, please create
a directory within your AFS space, place the file or files into that
directory, and give gkesden:staff-100 at least "rl" access. If this doesn't
make sense to you -- relax. Just send email to us and ask for instructions
for sending us the file(s).
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