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December Back to Top

12/14	Carpenter...	I've been informed by Laurie Buck and CIT that someone(s) created a mess in Carpenter: "Apparently once this student realized that his test weren't back yet, He made it a point to make sure that the TA knew this by throwing whatever papers were at their desk onto the floor and around the computer." I should hope that everyone realizes that this is inappropriate behavior. If you are frustrated, the thing to do is communicate your feelings in an assertive, calm, and rational fashion. Whereas trashing Carpenter certainly sends a message, I doubt that you will gain a sympathetic ear. If it were anyone in CS100M, I ask that you please apologize to CIT and Laurie Buck.
12/13	Retrieving work	Next semester, give the Ugrad office (303 Upson) a about 2 or 3 weeks to get past the beginning of the semester craziness to look for work you didn't retrieve. Also, while you cannot take your final exam, you will be able to look it over.
	Getting scores...	DO NOT SEND EMAIL. Please give/send Laurie Buck a self addressed, stamped envelope or postcard with a list of things you would like sent (actually, just course grade, final grade). I'll post the mean here when it's ready.
	Final Solutions	We typically don't provide solutions to the final. But, I have a compromise -- I intend to expand the test questions into projects next semester. So, for those of you who want to play with, and expand the belt/tray/box simulation, check in towards the end of the semester. Actually, what I really modeled the problem after is the belt you see in dining halls -- I used to work on the other side of one of those infernal things -- the students used to just dump everything on the trays, and if we (the workers) didn't keep up, the trays piles piled up at the end and eventually went crashing to the floor! As a thought exercise, consider how to improve the problem....what about worker efficiencies varying? workers being able to skip unloading? a circular belt? different types of objects on the belt?
12/12	Final Exam RIGHT NOW	If you are reading this message Tuesday 12/12 morning, you are missing your CS100M final!
12/11	Final Exam Reminders	Bring a form of picture ID.
	Project 6 sols	A student reported to me that the link was still down. Sure enough, the permissions weren't set, so I fixed them. The problem with me checking is that I have permissions to my own files, so I can never see this kind of thing! Maybe I should offer bonus points for the first person to spot a broken link....
	Extra special hints...	I have to take off this evening, so I will not be able to respond to email until about 12/13. Here are some things I "revealed" during office hours, plus more: MATLAB strings -- know 'em really, really well; random numbers appear in 4 problems; quite a few fill in the blank; yes, there's 1 question that involves inheritance; something is row major and something is column major; cell arrays, but not structure arrays; no file I/O, but I do use TokenReader a bit; there's a simulation problem -- kind of long -- know how objects interact -- actually, you need to know arrays of objects for this and problem 1; don't forget about the MATLAB string stuff; budget your time on this exam -- the places to spend the time are on the problems with the most points; some questions might give you hints for other questions (which is advice for every exam you will ever take); a really good problem to know on the MakeUp Exam was the number guessing problem...hmmm...; I pulled something from my last lecture that's worth 1 point on the exam (it's something I demonstrated); an string with no contents in MATLAB is called the empty string and represented as `''`; be able to loop "backwards" and "forwards" ;
12/8	Last chance!	This is your last chance to collect old work from Carpenter.
	DIS Office hours shifted	Sorry about the last minute warning, but I have to cancel my Friday times. I also have meeting on Monday I forgot to include. So, here are my hours for Mon: 11:30am-2:30pm.
	Early Exam hints	Make sure you know how to do random numbers in both MATLAB and Java. Be absolutely sure. Be able to do both column and row major arrays in Java. In terms of strings, so far there's a greater focus on MATLAB than Java, but that could change (yes, I haven't finished with the final yet). A lot the skills required were developed on the projects and examples from section and lecture. You should also thoroughly understand this semester's prelims.
12/7	nothing posted	Well, I couldn't leave a day open so here's a pointless announcement. I was going to post a story about me vs the auto-checkout at Tops, but I'll save that for another day. Suffice to say, "Press here" doesn't always mean that... ;-)
12/6	Fixed link	A student alerted me to an incorrect link -- the solutions to the old prelim3 are now there.
12/5	Review session	Now confirmed. See Exams page again.
	Another review question	Originally we were going to have an Exercise 11, which Raju wrote. I copied it as a review question that we leave to you for a solution. It would be a nice study reference.
	Solutions to review questions	I just posted the solutions to makeup exam. I also posted an entire prelim from a previous semester. The questions on it are quite appropriate for arrays and inheritance. (Skip the bonus questions.)
12/4	Carpenter Hours	Consulting works differently during finals week. I heard back about the times: Weds-Fri 2-5pm.
	Additional hours	See 12/3 -- I'm updating the times.
	Mystery Exercise 8	Someone submitted an exercise #8 with no name. If you think it's yours, come to me DIS during office hours (11am-noon).
	lesson learned	OK -- never again will I tell people to bring something to my office -- you wouldn't believe the pile of projects under my door.
	Exercise 1	Believe it or not, I finally finished reviewing the stack of runner-ups. I selected 3 winners who were contacted. All the others are being returned to Carpenter.
12/3	Makeup project	I'm getting a lot of questions on 1 thing: In terms of plotting, you could create a text file and use MATLAB to generate the plot. If it becomes too much of a pain, skip this part.
	Exercise 10 sols	posted Mon
	Project 6	posted Mon
	Makeup exam	I posted a blank version for you to practice. I will post a few more questions. All the solutions will go up soon. These will be your review questions for the final exam.
	Final Topics & review session	On Exams page. See Makeup exam info for questions. The time&place will be set by 12/4.
	Office hours	From Mon 12/4-Mon 12/11, the following times are: DIS: All hours changed to 11am-noon MTWR. Contact my assistant to make an appointment if you cannot make these times. Rohit: unchanged Raju: by appointment only (email him) Niranjan: Thurs cancelled, Tues 1:30-3:30, Mon 12/11: 1-3pm Daisy: same+ 11am-noon Fri. Consultant: Carpenter is staffed 2-5pm Weds-Fri. AEW facilitators will be holding office hours Saturday 12/9 3-6pm Upson 205. All CS100M students can use these hours.

November Back to Top
11/28	Project 6 reminders/hints	Some people have been asking about the user guide. As a suggestion, write the guide such it explains to another user how to write a Main Class that uses your code, assuming the user cannot actually see the code in your class.
	Makeup topics	All topics for the previous 3 prelims (see those lists -- no MATLAB plotting though), Projects 4 and 5, and arrays in Java. There's a greater emphasis on topics covered in the first 3 prelims. There's no inheritance.
	more examples	I posted 2 more examples -- one of them (inherit5a) the 9:05 group didn't see -- I think it explains what's happening in inherit5 a bit better.
	pencils	Please bring a #2 pencil to lecture on Thurs
11/22	Project 6 hints	I posted two examples to help you do the I/O portions. See `FileIO.java`and `UserIO.java`. These involve some barebones ways of doing I/O. If you read Chapman's explanation you'll understand where we got this code from. If you dig through TokenReader, you will see more extensive coding that deals with exceptions (also in Chapman -- see Fall 1999 examples except1-4). Remember that the file I/O method simply involves reading the strings strings.dat. For full credit, you should report your file I/O method results in an output file. (Actually, feel free to report everything to an output file, so long as you provide a copy of that file.)
11/21	Course grades	I announced how I will deal with course grades today in lecture. I'll repeat in lecture on 11/28.
	Project 6 extension	I moved the due date from Tues 11/28 to Thurs 11/30.
	Prelim 3 regrades	Due Mon 11/27 5 pm
11/20	Prelim 3 stats	`mean 68.3` `SD 23.8` `median 77` `min 2` `max 99`
11/17	exams and solutions	I posted PDF files for all three exams. I also posted the complete solutions to Prelim 3.
	exercise 10	announced in lecture and posted on Exercises page
11/16	Prelim 3 and makeup	I have had a few requests if students could take the makeup exam to help cover/replace prelim 3 and other tests. Basically, I can't -- but.... I am willing to arrange something else. Whatever that is would have to benefit ALL CS100M students, though. I am toying with different ideas. So, keep working hard and don't get discouraged. I'll discuss more on Tuesday's lecture.
	Project 6	I announced P6 again in lecture -- I updated the web page. If you've missed lecture each time I've talked about P6, you might wish to check with the course staff during office hours.
	Make up project	announced in lecture and on Projects page
11/15	Makeup exam	If you have missed 1 Prelim, please contact my assistant Kathy (kathyc@cs.cornell.edu) to sign up for the makeup exam. Give her your name and student ID. She will give you the details of when and where it will take place. (I have gotten some questions about the makeup policy -- be sure to read the Exams page.)
11/13	prelim hints	Some people (mainly the ones in my office hours) are asking me about what's on the test -- make sure you know `equals`, `this`, `static`, when to use `public` and `private`, how constructors work, that constructors can do more than set variables (call other methods), and how to Project 5 (both parts, but I'm asking problems that look a bit different). Yes, you are required to do a box diagram, but we've drawn all the boxes for you already -- you have to fill in values and draw/cross off arrows. Don't worry about crossing off boxes for finished methods and disconnected objects -- focus on the arrows (for connecting objects and variables) and values of variables. Some people also wanted to know how many problems: there are 3 problems. The focus of the test is OOP thinking and understanding how to apply algorithms in an OOP way....
	gloves	someone left gloves in my office -- I'll bring them to both lectures. after that, I'll drop them off with my assistant in 4115 Upson
	Project 5	Most made it to Carpenter -- I discovered that some weren't finshed graded/logged, so I'm pushing to have them done ASAP.
11/12	Review solutions	posted on Exams page
11/11	Mistake in review question 3	The return type for method $calStats$ should be $StatValues$, not $void$.
11/10	more review sessions!	AEW facilitators once again will offer office hours before the prelim. Sunday, noon-? in Upson 207. All CS100M students (not just the ones in AEWs) can go.
	review questions	posted on Exams page
	examples	Some students asked about certain things that have popped up. Make sure you review the lecture examples. As an added bonus for checking, I threw on an example for using `equals`.
	Prelim 3: bring picture ID	I found out today that CS100 sometimes does periodic checking of student IDs. Please bring picture ID (namely, your student ID) to Prelim 3 and the final exam.
11/9	Prelim 3 Rooms	I just got these (time: 8:53am)! `A-G Goldwin Smith Kaufman Auditorium` `H-M Goldwin Smith D` `N-Z Goldwin Smith Hollis E Cornell Auditorium`
	Project 4 broken links? yes - fixed	Ah ha! I found the blasted bug! If something still doesn't work, please let me know. Here's the zip file p4sol.zip just in case.
11/8	Office Hours	I have to cancel my office hours on Weds 11/8 due to committee meeting on computer usage. I'll be telling the tale of MATLAB....
	Project 5 grading error	I just checked in on the grading session -- turns out there was miscommunication about bonus points. If you resubmitted an EXACT copy of your part A, the graders might dock you the points. If so, do a regrade and we'll give you the points back. Sorry about that.
	Prelim 3 topics	I just posted a relatively complete list on Exams.The exam covers everything up to and including 11/7. If you think I missed something, please let me know. Basically, I'm looking to see if you know how to trace a Java program (and generate box diagrams), write method bodies (using flow control -- loops and conditions), enforce encapsultion&info hiding (public, private, static), and create classes. Make sure you really understand Part B from Project 5 (which will be posted a few minutes after I finish this message). I've also posted the lecture examples which contain code that you need to understand.
11/7	Carpenter	It's alive again!
11/6	Notes	Notes and examples: They are still being posted and updated. The next batch should be ready by early AM on 11/7. A few of these were announced in lecture and borrow from examples I didn't cover last class. If you want to get a head start on Thursday's lecture, start on Arrays. See some of the examples posted on Spring 2000 -- I'll be borrowing/updating many of these.
	Project 6, makeup	Project 6: To get a head start, you will be converting your Project 4 into Java. The biggest changes are no cell arrays, but you will have to put all the methods that you use (except `main`) inside a class called `DNA_Sequence`. We will be giving you code for doing user and file I/O. There will likely be a second part to this assignment. I may also fold the makeup project into this as an extension of the work so the makeup people have less overhead and more programming.
	Exercise 9	Posted -- due Thurs this week. Trust me: it's great practice for the exam!
11/2	Syllabus	updated -- I'm going to try to cover strings and exceptions in more detail, but we must get in arrays -- yes, they're coming back! :-)
11/1	Exercise 8 Boxscope rules	After a few questions, I decided to updated the box scope rules. For your exercise, we've decided to let you skip drawing boxes for constructors, if you wish. Ultimately, we'll skip drawing methods at all, but for now, draw boxes for the "regular" methods. The updated rule list is posted on 11/1 Examples.
	Information	And you thought you had a lot know in CS100 :-) http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/how-much-info/summary.html

October Back to Top
10/31	Lecture notes	A bunch will be posted today.
	Typo	There is a minor typo on page 244 for q4: ...c1 = a1 = b1i ... ^^^ it should be: ...c1 = a1 + b1i
10/30	Exercise 8	Posted on Exercises page. It's due this Thurs. See also lecture19.java which I posted just now (you need this for your exercise)
	Project 5	I updated the Projects page. There's not enough time to assign another problem, so you have just the Chapman problem. I posted the test cases just now. Note that I used math notation to post the problems. Your code will have to make the Complex numbers.
10/27	Lecture Notes	If you attended lecture, you've already realized that I changed the order of lecture on 10/26. Many of the notes for 10/26 will show up next week. For those not attending lecture, remember that what I cover in lecture is not always identical to what gets posted. I suggest checking with a classmate to see what I did.
	Java page	A student alerted me to a few more broken links for files to download...fixed now. I hope those are the last of them!
10/25	office hours canceled	I need to be available for freshmen advising, so unless it's an emergency, I'm reserving today for my advisees.
	P5 Part A	I just posted the official (and proofread by-someone-other-than-myself) file on the Projects page. Actually, here it is.
	P5 Part B	There will be two problems. I haven't finished the second one yet, but I know the first one: Chapman, pg 244, Problem 4. This is a really good one. I'll have some test cases posted soon so you know what to output.
	P4 solutions	I cleaned up the inconsistencies and fixed a bug. I'm posting the zip file of solutions right now. My assistant is practicing posting, so she'll be posting the individual files on the Projects page.
10/24	office hours canceled	I need to be available for freshmen advising, so unless it's an emergency, I'm reserving today for my advisees.
	lecture files	"I" (actually my assistant who I'm training) posted the lecture files. I didn't actually get to lecture17 part B, so that will be the start of lecture 18 on 10/26. I will also have her post the box scope diagram that corresponds to nonoop4. Also, I fixed the output typo in nonoop4.
	more Java	I fixed the TokenReader link and a few mods on the Java page. I also put a link to Jcreator, which one student asked that I possibly link. Turns out there's other Java IDEs out there you may want to check out.
10/23	Prelim 2 stats	mean 76 SD 15 median 79 min 23 max 98
10/22	P4 upper vs lower	A few students have been asking me about whether we want lower or upper to be "legal." I think this portion of the assignment is unclear. I'll let you use either uppercase or lowercase as legal as long as you stick to your choice for the entire code. I'm more concerned about whether or not you can have error checking in your code. Make sure you account for "illegal" characters.
	P4 cell/struct arrays	Rohit came up with a "fill-in-the blank" version for `fileiomethod.m`. You're not required to use it, but we thought it might help out. I just posted it on the Projects page. Please be aware that he worked it out assuming uppercase legality.
	Project 5 headstart	As announced in lecture, I'm going to have you redo a portion of Project 3 in Java. Essentially, create one Main Class that has a main method that activates other methods that solve the sheet-pile problem using LHS/RHS, bisection, and newton methods. See lecture16 notes for a good template of how your code might look. I still have to finish the write-up, but many students asked for head starts on the assignments. I hope this helps. There will be second portion of this assignment. It involves OOP thinking, so make sure you've read Chapters 6 and 7 before lecture this week. To get an idea of what it will resemble, I suggest checking out Part 3 from a project we gave last semester: http://courses.cs.cornell.edu/cs100/2000sp/Homework/project4.txt. I hope to have the notes up Tues or Weds.
10/19	CS211	CHANGE IN COM S/ENGRD 211 FOR SPRING 2001 In an attempt to satisfy a wider range of students, the Spring 2001 offering of COM S/ENGRD 211 has two versions. The 10:10 lecture is "regular" 211. The 12:20 lecture is for students who wish to acquire a little more experience with larger programming projects. In exchange for the larger projects, the 12:20 students do not have to take the final exam. The two versions each have the same Java content and are on equal footing in terms of follow-up COM S courses that require 211. The decision to take one version or the other has NO bearing on affiliation-it makes no difference. Questions? Please contact the Computer Science Undergraduate office, 303 Upson Hall; 255-0982.
	broken links on Java page	A student alerted me that the links to guides to installing CW were broken. I just fixed them.
10/18	Exercise 7 due date typo	I just realized I posted (below) 10/26. In lecture, I announced 10/19 (this Thurs). To anyone who skipped lecture, well.... if you have a problem getting it on 10/19, I'll accept it on Tues 10/24. For people who hand it in on 10/19 (tomorrow), you get 2 core points instead of the usual 1. (I think that's a fair trade.)
	More P4 help	I posted the complete p-files and a cleaned up version of the assignment. Raju suggested that I give some hints about file I/O. For weighted distance, I read in the substitution matrix with the `dlmread` function. To read in the strings, I use `fopen` and `fgetl`. You might also wish to use `fscanf`. For printing to a file, I use `fprintf`. Check out Chapter 8 in Chapman (ML) for help on these.
	Final Exam	The CS Department has the final exam dates listed (I'm also updating the Exams page): http://www.cs.cornell.edu/ugrad/FallFinals.html
10/17	Exercise 7	posted (due Thursday 10/26) Don't worry -- it's not too tough. I just want to make sure you can access Java, compile, and run a program.
10/16	P4 zip	I just posted the p-code for the problem. It's still missing the business about cell arrays and structures, but everything else works. Rohit will have the extra stuff soon. We're also thinking of posting a skeleton of that code because of the trickiness involved.
	Web updates/ reminders	Chapman website reminder: see Material ->Textbooks Java page: See Material -> Java. I've answered a lot of questions I've gotten so far. I still need to clarify whether version 1.2.2 if OK. Also, I'm debating the extent that we should rely upon Chapman's prepackaged classes. The problem is that public labs don't have them. Right now this issue isn't important, so please don't worry about it.
	Syllabus	OK -- the new version is more specific.
10/15	Review Solutions	just posted
	another prelim hint	Make sure you REALLY know how to do functions and logical arrays.
10/14	extra office hours	A few of the AEW facilitators have offered to hold extra office hours on Sunday 8pm. (10/15) The room should be Upson 207. There's a chance that someone else already grabbed the room, so try the next door rooms just in case.
	prelim hints	It's come to my attention that many students simply copied my exercise solutions when completing Project 3. Do make sure you really understand how to do those problems. Also, remember that my code wasn't perfect (as I announced several times in lecture). You did improve upon the style, I hope? (hmm...what portions were bad style or incorrect.?...hmm...)
	Project 4: some typos; converting cell array into structure array	After 2 e-mails, I realized I made some terminology typos: Hamming Distance IS Simple Distance -- they mean the same thing. I meant to say WEIGHTED DISTANCE for Section 5.2... So, the handout should read 5.1 Hamming Distance Use the method for hamming distance, described in Section 4.1. Call this script `hammingdistance.m`. 5.2 Weighted Distance Use methods for Weighted Distance, using Sections 4.2-4.5. Call this script `weighteddistance.m`. Rohit caught a MATLAB problem with the portion of the assignment involved with converting the cell array into a structure array. To use the string lengths as fields, concatenate the string `'s'` to each string length. For example, if you had just 1 element inside the cell array: `>> c = {'atc'};` `>> f = {strcat('s',num2str(length(c{1})))};` `>> cell2struct(c,f,1)` `ans = s3: 'atc'` I have updated the handout if you would like a clean copy.
10/12	Prelim 2	More review questions coming tonight. If you would like even more quesitons, work on Project 4 for awhile. This project is comprehensive for most of the programming in MATLAB taught so far (minus most plotting, plus some file I/O).
	Project 4	Yes, it's in MATLAB.
	Project 5	If you want a head start, Project 5 will involve converting Project4 into Java, plus maybe some additional work. I might offer a portion already worked out or do it in sections as exercises again. (I may also do both Projects 3 and 4 in Java, but definitely 4.)
	Exercise6	I posted the solutions for prob7.1. The 7.2 solutions need to be changed a bit so they're a bit delayed.
10/11	Prelim 2	Don't forget that Prelim 2 is on 10/17. See the Exams page. I'm in the process of updating the info -- I posted the test topics. The test covers all material up to and including 10/5 lecture. We're posting review questions hopefully tonight or early tomorrow. There's also a review session listed. More info will be updated tonight.
	Project 4	Almost ready -- will be posted tonight.
	Syllabus/notes	Java is almost upon us. I'll be posting more readings this week and over the weekend. Stay tuned. Also, please keep checking out my examples and notes in the Examples page.
10/5	Prelims	Correction: Today I checked with the ugrad office, but there was a slip-up in bringing the exams to Carpenter by 2pm. If they didn't make it today (Thurs), check back early Friday. Also, if you haven't already looked, the solutions were posted earlier in the week on the Exams page.
	Exercise 6	This will either count as a makeup or bonus, depending on whether or not you missed an exercise so far. Do Chapman 7.1 & 7.2, pg 282.
	help!	Some students have approached me about how they've gotten behind. My TAs tell me that almost no one is making appointments. If you need 1/2 hr appointments for 1-on-1 help, check out the Help page.
	Newsgroup	Reminder about CS100M's newsgroup: The information is available on Overview and through Material -> Software -> Internet -> USENET. Rather than trying to e-mail one of the staff, many questions may be asked to the general CS100M population and staff.
	more examples	I'll be posting examples as they "arrive." I just posted an example that demonstrates a heated issue that arose during 11:15am today. See sas.m on the Examples page.
10/3	Prelim 1 Stats	I got the info today: `mean 82` `SD 12.1` `median 83.3` `min 31` `max 100` Please don't ask (or assume) what the numbers mean in terms of letters. For now, use an approximate high-school grading scheme to get a ball park figure. If you did get below a 70, that might indicate weakness in the material. The engineering college wants me to send them a list of students who might be in trouble. I'm going to pass along a list for students below 65, maybe 70. This letter will claim you are getting a "C-" or lower, but ignore the letter grade. The letter will advise that you see your advisor or the course staff to discuss your options and how to improve your performance. All students (besides engineering) should follow this advice.
	E5 and notes	Posted.

September Back to Top
9/29	announcements	`% Revised algorithm` `for ii=9_27_announcements:9_28_announcements` `for jj=1:length(ii)` `read jj` `end` `end`
9/28	lecture11 notes fix	If you already downloaded it, please destroy it ASAP. There's a few typos that "came to light" in 9:05 lecture (I used `'aBcD'` to generate the examples but wrote `'AbCd'` to generate the output...whoops.) I just copied the new version. Also I caught a mistake in `rand`. Blast! The 11:15am had the joys of more bugs. I refixed the fixes so now it's hopefully completely fixed. I'll work on some more examples to help explain it some more. I also added `characters.m` to fill in some gaps and supplment my notes and Chapman.
	Exercise 5	Parts 3&4 from Project 3, due Tuesday 10/3: see Exercises page.
	`deg2rad`	After some students asked, I checked -- I can't believe it. The student version does NOT have `deg2rad`. It's not like it's difficult to program, though.
	Newsgroup	I've gotten a question about CS100M's newsgroup. The information is available on Overview and through Material -> Software -> Internet -> USENET. One of the consultants expressed some interest in helping out, so check it out if you're curious.
	Exercise 4	I posted `manualmethod.m` in Exercises. The final (more cleaned up) version will be posted after the project is done.
	Project 3 Style	Check out this style guide posted on the MATLAB page. We expect you to use good style on the project.
	`rand`	Turns out the `rand` mystery is indeed resolved (thanks Raju and the student from 9:05) -- the probability that a random generator chosses exactly one number is 0. So, a number of textbooks are wrong about [0,1].
	Programming contest	Do you have what it takes to win a programming contest? I was asked to post this link: http://www.cs.cornell.edu/kempe/contest/default.html.
9/27	Project 4 freebie	Thanks to the encouragement of a student who saw me today, I compiled the entire Project3 code into PCODE. PCODE is a version of an M-File that only MATLAB can use (and "understand"). To create a pcode file, enter `pcode mfilename` at the prompt. See Chapman, page 401 for more details. To retrieve a version of my solution, go to Projects and get `p3.zip`. Unzip the file and you will get pcode versions of all my files. Feel free to run and test them. To run a pcode file, type the name of the file at the prompt. For example, to run `p3.p`, enter just `p`.
	Examples page overhaul	As announced, I got permission to post ALL of Chapman's book examples. You may also retrieve the files from the Material page under Textbooks. I also cleaned up the Examples listing. I'm currently debating whether or not to split the page when we hit Java.... There might be incomplete/broken links, so please be patient.
	more Examples/notes	I added notes for lecture 11.
	Syllabus update	Because we had no MATLAB for awhile, we got a bit behind. But, we're mostly caught up. I had to shift the syllabus by 1 day. I posted updated readings. You won't need Chapter 6 until you get Project 4, but you should get a head start. I'm hitting the string stuff in lecture tomorrow. We'll be covering Chapter 7 starting next week.
9/26	Exercise 4/Project 3	I announced E4 in lecture: Do parts 1 & 2 from Project 3 (the guessing and manualmethod portions in section 5 of the write up) There's some confusion over partners: Yes, you may have a partner for this exercise, but that person MUST be your partner for the project. But, I still want you to submit exercises separately becuase of grading. And yes, you still need to submit those parts when you submit the full project (in case you make any changes). (I know -- technically we're killing more trees -- so, I'm toying with the idea of electronic submission for a future project.)
	Symbolic Toolbox	Anyone who bought MATLAB should make sure they installed the symbolic toolbox. You need it for Project 3.
	Examples and lecture notes	A few people have asked me where I'm posting these. I've announced in lecture a couple weeks ago -- Examples. Also, see 9/7 announcements. Please note that I don't always follow the notes and that they have typos (work in progress!). Sometimes in lecture I'll tell you to refer to the notes for some details. The moral: attend lecture.
	How many exercises you may miss?	I've gotten a few questions about this: you miss 2 without penalty.
	Makeup project	As promised, I updated the Projects page for a makeup project. This project is comprehensive, so might involve more work, so I suggest students try to do all other projects. Don't forget that we only count the first 50 project points, so you don't really need the makeup.
9/25	p3 typos	Crud -- I caught a few typos in the project write up (there's no such thing as "computer root"), so I cleaned it up. I also shrank the font to save 400 sheets of paper. I'm submitting the copies today, so they should be ready about 3pm in Carpenter. I'll bring them to class if they're available.
	Review solutions	If you missed the review session yesterday, I posted the solutions to the non-chapman problems. (The publisher asked that I avoid posting Chapman solution files...I'm working on an arrangement. I figure for project2, well... what's done is done. I might have to remove these at some point.)
9/24	plotting	I've gotten some questions about plotting on the prelim. Yes, there will be some, but the emphasis is on other topics.
	Project 3	After quite a bit of development, it's ready (Projects page). I strongly suggest you start immediately. Two of the handouts (newton.pdf and p3maple) are strictly supplemental. I'm going to have the main handout printed for everyone. It should be ready on Tuesday (hopefully in class - if not, I'll put them in Carpenter). Some of my staff have asked about having students submit disks along with their work. I'm debating this...I might try it as an experiment. But if I do, it would not mandatory this time.
9/22	Review Session change	I checked with university scheduling and was able to find a Sunday time slot! So, the review session is Sunday 1-2:30pm in Upson B17. I would appreciate it if everyone could spread the word. I'll have a sign posted on B17, too, just in case (and hope no tears it off). Please note: Daisy is running the review session. She will be focusing on the review questions but will take time for general questions.
	more review questions	My staff came up with some more questions. I'm posting them as "part2" on the Exams page.
	which chapters?	A couple students asked me, so maybe a few others don't know -- chaps1-4.
	bonus point opportunity	I came up with an idea when talking with a student -- if 2 or 3 students would like to earn some bonus points, I'm looking for advanced students to debug my lecture notes. If you're interested, drop by after Prelim 1 scores are recorded.
9/21	p2 solutions	posted
	Old Prelim	One students REALLY wanted to see a previous prelim, so I figured I might as well help everyone. So, it's posted on the Exams page along with all the other info. I'm not sure if this will do any good since it's entirely in Java, but there it is....At least you will have an idea what your exam will at least look like.
	grading	The TAs and I have been discussing grading at length. We're going to stick to 0-1 exercise grading for the most part. For projects, I want everyone to remember that the grading is more about critiquing your work and offering guidance than looking to lower your score. A score of 4 or 5 means that you made a good effort, not necessarily good code/solutions. Why we do this is the subject of a long story, I can tell you sometime if enough students are curious.
9/20	more Prelim 1 notes	I've posted review questions on the Exams page. You'll also discovered the room assignments for the CS100M exam -- do not go to Olin 155 on 9/25 unless you have a hankerin' for the CS100J exam.
9/19	Prelim 1 notes	I'm posting the topics and exam info on the Exams page. Should be up by 2pm today. I'm still waiting for word on the review questions and review session. In terms of problems, there will be about 4, some with a few parts. Make sure you know how to do array insertion and extraction, know the different types of language elements, use conditionals and loops. I expect there will be a conditional update problem on the exam, so if you went to lecture today you're in good shape. The test covers up to today's lecture and all assignments up to, and including, P2. A few questions might be pulled from the assigned readings, also.
	Advice	Practice programming on paper. For an idea what your prelims will look like, I strongly suggest you check out the archived websites. (Have you checked out this yet?)
	E1 contest	We didn't forget -- the TAs gave a me a small stack of finalists from which to choose. I'll have a winner soon. I'll contact that student by email to find out if I can (1) announce the name and (2) make the example publically available.
9/18	Prelim 1	I assume everyone has been keeping up with the exam dates? Don't forget that we have Prelim 1 on 9/25. I'm trying to secure a room for a review session. We should have some review questions posted in a few days.
	More notes	I managed to post the 9/19 notes this morning. Again, I may not cover everything in class, but the notes represent the overall concepts.
	More books	Some students would like to have a more in-depth reference on MATLAB, so I am having 2 copies of Mastering MATLAB: A Comprehensive Tutorial and Reference put on reserve. The book is fairly packed and very comprehensive. If you get the chance, please let me know what you think of it.
	More help	Students seeking 1-on-1 tutoring and additional hours should check out the Staff&Help page. I've added a link for Tau Beta Pi, which is a student organization that offers FREE tutoring. We're also getting another TA who will increase the office hours CS100M will hold.
	the power of a name	http://www.tv/en-def-a21120c447a6/en/press/news_pr_09072000_un.shtml
9/15	MATLAB in bookstore	It's been reported that the bookstore still hasn't received its shipment, but it should be there "in a few days."
	Book on the web	I'm asking permission from the Chapman MATLAB publisher to make all the book files available on my website. Stay tuned.
	AEW!	As of 1pm, there are some openings in Labs 2, 5, 7, and 10 for CS100M, All CS100J labs have been filled. If you haven't officially added your AEW, please your e-mail that was sent out by OR&IS. Students who still want to join should contact Daisy Fan (see Staff page) and tell her the college to which they belong. Engineering: before Mon 9/18. Arts & Sciences: before Thurs 9/21. Labs for CS100M have already started! If you missed the first week (9/11-9/15) we will NOT count that as an absence. CS100J labs start the week of 9/18.
9/13	tues vs thurs (p2)	P2's due date is Tuesday 9/19 -- there was a typo in the assignment
	lecture notes	I'm continuing to post them -- I think I even got a bit ahead tonight. I posted notes for 9/14.
9/12	site map	One of the TAs created a site map for the behemoth CS100M website. Please let the course staff know if its useful. (See also Information.)
	project 2	I just posted. (Look on big-gray-bar for Projects link :-) Essentially, you're doing Chapman Exercises 2.13, 2.16, 2.17, 3.7, 3.12, 4.16 and 4.23. But, you must use our specifications.
	Lecture notes	I didn't quite use all the examples from my notes that I posted for lecture6. Those of you who went to lecture get 2 for the price of 1 :-)
	Late work	I'm getting a lot of late work showing up in my office. I'm essentially stamping them with zeros. Please review the submission guidelines in the Exercises page. To those of you who have just added the class: If you could attach a copy of your add/drop slip to your work or get DIS a copy if you haven't already, you can saive yourself the work of a makeup project.
	AEW	Students will receive an email today or tomorrow about their AEW lab time and location. Do not try to add (at the registrar) until you receive the 6-digit course code either in your first session or in the email. Still interested in joining? We will still accept students until Tues 9/19. (Yes, this is after the Add period.)
	E3	I posted E3 last night. This morning the CS Firewall was down, so you might have missed it.
9/10	Tetris [tm] (AEW)	We're still filling up AEW sessions. I've got some good news -- Some students will get to write a Tetris program for their MATLAB portion of the AEW. Some of the facilitators will be developing it along with AEW students to produce a working game for MATLAB. (Yes, you can do graphics in MATLAB.)
	unknown AEW applicant	Someone submitted a form that said "I really really want this lab. It fits perfectly," but didn't leave a name or e-mail address. Please contact Daisy Fan or David Schwartz if you're the person.
9/8	Exercise 2 Revisited	I got 2 e-mail messages saying students couldn't find it...errr...look at 9/7 Announcements :-)
	Where to pick up work?	See pages on Exercises and Projects.
	Syllabus	updated -- basically, if you have read chapters 1-4, you're in good shape.
9/7	Exercise 2	I just posted here (Exercises page). It's due Tuesday. Don't forget -- if you still don't have textbook yet, I put 2 on reserve in Carpenter (1st floor).
	AEW	Did you fill out and submit the form yet? Please do so soon! This is a great opportunity to learn more about programming in a lab setting. Bring to 4115 Upson when done.
	Examples, lectures	Due to popular demand, I've started posting examples. I suspect what I posted might seem a bit confusing -- I've posted a combination of lecture notes and examples in the Examples page. (Look at the gray block -- it's 2nd row, 4th column.) You should load them as M-Files and run in the Command Window. The second example is designed a bit better than the first, but both will help you. I intend for you to read these and supplement your notes from lecture, section, and readings. (I've tried to cover some stuff Chapman left a bit vague, so the order might appear a bit different. Both files deal with Chapter 2.) Now that we actually have MATLAB, I'll be posting more examples. I'm also arranging to get Olin Hall's projection system fixed because my laptop tested positive on a different system.
9/6	MATLAB - best news	Here's what CIT informed me a little while ago: "MatLab should be working in both Upson and Carpenter in just a few minutes. Each system will need to run PC-Rdist before it gets the new license, and after that things should be OK. I am aware of 1 machine in Carpenter that will not run Matlab immediately, but we will fix that one as soon as possible."
	AEW	Did you fill out and submit the form yet? Please do so soon! This is a great opportunity to learn more about programming in a lab setting. Bring to 4115 Upson when done.
9/5	MATLAB - better news	I checked with the ACCEL lab. They welcome ALL students to get an account. So, everyone who needs access to MATLAB right now should go upstairs in Carpenter and get an account (go inside the 1st floor, go up the stairs, and look on the left.) Since everyone in AEW needs an account, this will save time anyway.
	Where else is MATLAB?	Here's a list I got from Engineering: http://www.englib.cornell.edu/coe/cpc/licenses/matlab/facilities.html I just updated the MATLAB info page to include it.
	office hours/appointments	I've updated the Staff page with the remaining info. We managed to secure a room for the TAs to provide help.
9/4	AEW	Yes, the AEW is really happening next week! I've posted a reservation form here. It works like the CS100 registration form, except you bring it to 4115 Upson. I'll make announcement in class tomorrow to explain how this will work.
	Other Accounts	Some students have been getting ACCEL accounts, which are available to students in engineering classes. Go upstair in Carpenter Hall and look for a computer that creates an account. I'm not sure if you need some kind of proof that you're in CS100. (Actually, the AEW is about to happen, and you would to get an ACCEL account anyway.)
	MATLAB and E1	After leaving all kinds of messages yesterday, I found out today that MATLAB's licence expired! The College of Engineering is giving CIT a renewed licence but because of Labor Day (today) I don't think it's going to happen until tomorrow. So, for E1, just do the first part which doesn't require any MATLAB. For the second part, see if you can spot the mistake -- it happens failry "early" in the code.
9/3	More MATLAB	We've been having more problems with MATLAB. I just spent a couple hours explaining the problems to CIT and basically demanding that these things get fixed tomorrow. But, if MATLAB still isn't installed and anyone has trouble getting into it, try this: find a computer with an "old image" run Explorer and search for MATLAB if you can't find it from the starting screen go into "bin" and run the old MATLAB executable That approach seems to work. Please check with a consultant if you need help.
9/1	Labs & MATLAB	If students are still having trouble accessing MATLAB, please let me know on Tuesday in lecture. I've contact CIT and left a blizzard of messages. I'm also trying to get MATLAB on the 5 Macs in Carpenter.
		A lot of students have been asking me how much costs and when we'll get more. One student tells me we're getting it early next week (Tues?) and it's $100. I've emailed my MATLAB rep to check.
	AEW	Yes! It's happening...I'm creating another form for you to fill out. Here's the deal - I'm going to need you to print it out, fill it out (like the waiver/registration form), and bring it to a place I have told you about yet. You will need to fill it out very quickly because we need to sort out all the slots. If everyone moves quickly, you will have your first lab starting Mon 9/11! We managed to staff 10 sections! That means we can accept about 200 students, which is almost the entire population of CS100M (note: I still need to count the registration forms). I'm very excited about it, because it means most of you will be able to take an AEW lab in conjunction with CS100M. Please: Students from CS100J (or those who leave CS100M) are currently BANNED from entry.
	Exam Conflicts	Some students have already contacted Laurie Buck for tests in Oct and Nov. I really didn't want to freak anyone out. You don't have to contact her yet. Actually, she asks that you wait until we get a bit closer. We just want you to look ahead and be ready for conflicts. I've updated the Exams page to explain the process a bit clearer.
	OK -- how's this one?	I got numerous questions about project grading, so I added a bit more to the Projects page. Please let me know if this version is clearer.
	More MATLAB books	I'm trying to figure out we ran out of books. We had 250 in the store and there are currently about 200 students in "M" -- weird. Anyway, we ordered more and made a big deal about needing them "yesterday." In the meantime, I took 2 of our own copies of Chapman MATLAB and put them on reserve in Carpenter.
	Staff hours	I'm just about done updating them. I have to confirm the appointment hours of most of the staff with the room schedule, so I ask that you hold off on them unless the TA indicates you may send email. For now, attend the open hours of Fan, Rohde, Nagaranjan, Fernandes, and Schwartz. The consulting hours in Carpenter are rapidly getting staffed, so that's a good place to turn for immediate help.
August Back to Top
8/31	Exercises	I am posting an exercise that's due on Tues in lecture. Please let me know if you cannot access. The website is up, but in case it flakes out on us again, I need to know ASAP.
8/30	Website	I'm trying to clean up some broken links and clarify a few spots. I hope to get it done by this weekend. (Why? I'm using the same templates for CS99 -- just imagine the chaos if I save to the wrong file...so, CS99 becomes yellow, and CS100M becomes blue.)
8/27	Registration form typo	I had my M and J backwards on the Registration form -- it's fixed now.
8/25	Forms	Both the Waiver and Registration forms are ready. Fill them out and bring to lecture.
	Project 1	After waiting all day for my web server to return to life, I finally managed to post Project 1 (P1).
	Consulting in Carpenter	We currently a bit understaffed, so you may find there's a few hours in Carpenter with no consultants for about a week. But, many time slots are filled, so consulting begins on Mon 8/28.
	Demos	Remember that if you are unsure about taking J or M, attend a demo.
8/24	First Day of class	Hopefully you have checked this announcement.
	Waiver and Registration Forms	The waiver form is ready. Print it, fill it out, and bring it to lecture. The registration form will be ready Friday morning. You must print it, fill it out, and bring to lecture before submitting Project 1. If you choose to switch to CS100J or switch to another section, you will have to fill out a formal Add/Drop form.