You are responsible for the information in this document and the complete list of policies on the course website. This document is located at the Syllabus link on the course website at http://www.cs.cornell.edu/courses/cs211/.
In CS211, you are expected to learn the following:
The course topics will be listed along with lecture notes at the Lecture Notes link.
The following is a summary of the staff for CS211. Refer to the Staff link on the course website for an updated and complete listing of names, locations, and office hours:
Refer to http://www.cs.cornell.edu/ugrad/FirstCourse.html for information about other introductory programming courses if you need help in deciding whether or not to take CS211.
CS212 is a 1-credit project course that the computer science major requires. Students may either take CS212 simultaneously with CS211 or afterwards, though we recommend taking CS212 as a corequisite. For more information concerning CS212, see its syllabus at http://www.cs.cornell.edu/courses/cs212/.
For students who are unsure on when to take CS212, we offer this advice:
You are expected to attend all lectures. There are two ways to register:
Note that ENGRD 211 and CS211 are the same course, so you should not sign up for both! The difference is purely administrative so that the College of Engineering can keep track of how many students use this course to fulfill a distribution requirement.
| ENGRD Course ID |
COM S Course ID |
Section | Day | Time | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 685-633 | 616-994 | LEC 01 | TR | 10:10AM-11:00AM | 155 Olin Hall |
We expect the following to improve the effectiveness of lecture for all students:
Generally, I prefer class participation, but I try to avoid "cold calling" on students who have not raised their hands. People who fall asleep might get the occasional "ribbing," but I'll keep it light-hearted.
I put most of my files for lecture notes, corresponding readings, and examples at the Lecture Notes link, usually just before or after lecture. Not all material covered in lecture will necessarily be on-line. However, sometimes it's the reverse scenario, so you are responsible for this material.
You are expected to attend section (also called recitation) once per week. Sections will cover some material not covered in lecture and provide an opportunity for questions on recent material, assignments, and exams. You may attend any section, but we prefer that you select one and stay with it.
The current sections are as follows:
| ENGRD Course ID |
COM S Course ID |
Section | Day | Time | Place | Instructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 685-720 | 617-097 | SEC 01 | T | 0125-0215P | HO 312 | Lim |
| 685-856 | 617-308 | SEC 02 | T | 0230-0320P | HO 312 | Rosofsky |
| 685-889 | 617-325 | SEC 03 | T | 0335-0425P | HO 312 | Rosofsky |
| 685-949 | 617-451 | SEC 04 | W | 1220-0110P | OH 216 | Kulkarni |
| 685-965 | 617-661 | SEC 05 | W | 0125-0215P | HO 312 | Niculescu-Mizil |
| 686-200 | 617-731 | SEC 06 | R | 0230-0320P | HO 401 | Conlon |
| 686-227 | 618-027 | SEC 07 | R | 0335-0425P | HO 401 | Fink |
| 686-292 | 618-081 | SEC 08 | R | 0125-0215P | HO 401 | Qiu |
| 686-357 | 618-115 | SEC 09 | W | 0230-0320P | HO 312 | Flynn |
| 686-485 | 618-199 | SEC 10 | W | 0335-0425P | HO 312 | Kulkarni |
| 686-597 | 618-253 | SEC 11 | W | 1220-0110P | TH 202 | Niculescu-Mizil |
| 686-064 | 618-015 | SEC 12 | W | 0125-0215P | HO 320 | Lin |
Occasionally section instructors might temporarily move their section to a computer lab. Pay attention to announcements to keep track of these potential room changes.
Generally, expectations of lecture are the same for section, though each section instructor will indicate their requests in the first few sections.
Occasionally notes and examples are posted in the Section Notes link.
If you haven't programmed in Java, haven't programmed in a long time, or feel that your skills are a bit weak, I strongly suggest that you spend a couple of weeks intensely practicing. This section of the syllabus summarizes advice we usually give and explains the resources we have made available.
To take CS211, you must be experienced in programming, preferably in an object-oriented language. For students with limited Java experience, we will hold a Java Bootcamp, which involves about three hours of training in Java. The bootcamp will summarize key issues of Java's syntax that are usually covered in CS100.
The Academic Excellence Workshop (AEW) offers an opportunity for students to gain additional experience with course concepts in a cooperative learning environment. Research has shown that cooperative and collaborative methods promote higher grades, greater persistence, and deeper comprehension. The material presented in the workshop is at or above the level of the regular course. We do not require joining the AEW program, but do encourage students to join if they are seeking an exciting and fun way to learn. The AEW carries one S/U credit based on participation and attendance. The time committment is two hours per week in the lab--no homework will be given. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to seek extra help on course topics in a small-group setting.
Your fellow undergraduate students, who are familiar with the course material, teach the sessions with material that they prepare. The course staff provides guidance and support but do not actually teach the AEW course content or any session. Each workshop can accommodate up to 16 students.
We have one workshop available. A representative from the AEW program will be speaking about the program and registration procedures on Thursday 1/23. Workshops will begin the week of 1/27 (2nd week of class) in the Green Room in ACCEL, not the rooms listed in the Spring 2003 Course and Room Roster. There is one S/U credit for the CS AEW, based strictly on attendance. You will be allowed three non-excused absences.
You are responsible for the following:
To reach a staff member, the best time is in office hours. Please post general questions on the newsgroup so that others can benefit from your question. Note that posts in USENET are subject to the rules of A.I., so you should not post solutions to your work. Generally, I suggest that students post rough algorithms or code "snippets" if they wish to seek help or answer questions.
Concerning e-mail, the instructor tries to reserve e-mail for emergencies and urgent matters. Something that is urgent is generally defined as would the instructor find it urgent?.
You will have seven assignments (which some other couses call homework, projects, programs) to complete for the semester. All assignments are posted in the Assignments link. The last assignment is a makeup assignment, and is more difficult than all of the others. Students may replace any assignment with the makeup and also drop another assignment. So, we will count only the five highest scores.
Occasionally, we might require smaller assignments called exercises to ensure that individuals do not rely completely on their partners to do the work. So, usually exercises will not allow partners. Exercises tend to have binary grading, which means 0/1.
You must follow the rules of Academic Integrity (A.I.) that are posted on the website. In addition, you must follow these rules concerning partners, unless we post otherwise:
If you miss an assignment for any reason, you may replace that assignment with the comprehensive makeup assignment at the end of the semester. Because we will count only the five highest assignment grades, you may effectively drop two assignments if you do the makeup. If you miss more than two assignments, we strongly encourage you to drop the course.
Refer to the late policy, above, on replacing a missed assignment with the comprehensive makeup assignment. See Section 13, below, for general policies.
If you have official documentation concerning special needs for assignments, you must provide a copy of the documentation to the instructor or course administrator at the beginning of the semester.
See Section 14, below, for our policies.
For each assignment, you must do the following:
You are required to take two prelims and a final exam:
See the Prelims and Final Exam links for locations, practice problems, and solutions.
We distribute prelims in Upson 304 usually the day after your prelim. Final exams may be reviewed the following semester, but may not be taken from the room.
What if you have a known university-excused conflict, like a prelim scheduled at the same time? You must first try rescheduling the event conflicting with the CS211 exam. If you have exhausted other means for rescheduling your conflict, you must contact the course administrator two weeks before the exam. In the e-mail, you must explain the nature of the conflict and provide documentation. You might be eligible to take an early prelim offering at 5:45-7:15 PM. We do not offer exams at any other time.
See Section 13, below, for our policies.
See Section 14, below for our policies.
If you have official documentation concerning special needs for exams, you must provide a copy of the documentation to the instructor or course administrator at the beginning of the semester.
If you miss any coursework due to illness or another university-excused conflict, you must contact the instructor ASAP and provide formal documentation. If you miss a significant amount of coursework, you are strongly encouraged to drop the course. In cases in which you need to miss an exam and can provide formal documentation, you might be eligible for a comprehensive makeup exam, which covers both prelims and would be offered at the end of the semester.
Your final grade will be based on the following:
The weights of individual assignments are usually about the same, though we reserve the right to adjust them.
In CS211, we split the grades into thirds for As, Bs, and Cs, though the amounts are adjusted up and down based on overall performance.
This semester we will use different books than has been used in past semesters. Although the bookstore shows two books, one required and one optional, I'm trying an experiment this semester. My "required" book (Tremblay & Preston) will be my main reference because it is very comprehensive. The "optional" book (Priess) has less material, but some students might find the condensed format more appropriate. I will discuss my recommendations during the first lecture.
The Tremblay & Preston book has the advantage of covering both CS211 and CS212's material. Readings for both books will be posted along with lecture notes. You can inspect both books because we have copies on reserve in the Engineering Library. Students who choose to use different books are on their own.
We require that students use Java SDK 1.3 or higher. Occasionally, we might require elements of SDK 1.4, though we will provide rules for any differences in syntax. The CIT computer labs that support Java use CodeWarrior 8.0. Although we suggest that you use CodeWarrior for consistency, you may use any development environment that you wish. See the CodeWarrior and More Java! links for help on CodeWarrior and links to other IDEs.
For public access to CodeWarrior and Java, refer to the Labs link for more details.
In compliance with the Cornell University policy and equal access laws, I am available to discuss appropriate academic accommodations that may be required for students with disabilities. Requests for academic accommodations are to be made during the first three weeks of the semester, except for unusual circumstances, so arrangements can be made. Students are encouraged to register with Student Disability Services in 420 CCC to verify their eligibility for appropriate accommodations.