Syllabus

CMSC Sections 103/105 and 401 ONLY

Instructor

Instructor: Mr. Dennis Frey
Office: ECS 222
Office Hours: Monday 1:00 - 3:00 Tuesday 1:00 - 2:00 Wednesday 3:00 - 4:00
Telephone: 410-455-3540
E-mail: frey@cs.umbc.edu

Teaching Assistant:Julia Jiao
Office:ECS 233G
Office Hours:Tuesday 11:30 - 12:30 Thursday 10:00 - 11:00
E-mail:jiao@gl.umbc.edu

Teaching Assistant:Zheng Yan
Office:ECS 209
Office Hours:Monday & Wednesday 10:00 - 11:00
E-mail:yan@gl.umbc.edu

Class Time and Place

Section 103/105 meets in room BS 120 at 2:30 on Tuesday and Thursday
Section 401 meets in room MP008 at 11:00 on Monday and Wednesday

Textbook

C How to Program by H.M. Deitel/P.J. Deitel, Prentice Hall

Course Description

This course will give the students an overview of Computer Science focusing on problem solving and algorithm development. The C programming language will be introduced by covering the first six chapters of the textbook. The following is a list of topics which will be covered this session:

Introduction to Computer Organization and Architecture
Data Representation and Memory Usage
Introduction to Operating Systems
Problem Solving and Algorithm Development
Introduction to Software Engineering Using Top-Down Design
Compiling, Linking and Execution
C Programming
Reuse Based on Algorithm Selection and Design Techniques

Grading

Your final grade will be composed of

homework assignments and (unannounced) quizzes worth 10%
projects worth 30%
a midterm exam worth 30%
a final exam worth 30%

Your final letter grade may be curved above the standard formula:

Under no circumstances will the grades be curved downward. Your grade is based on timely work accomplished during the semester; incomplete grades will only be given for medical illness or other such dire circumstances.

Project Submission and Grading

The critical programming skills cannot be learned simply by attending the class. You should budget enough time to work on the projects as well. In general, projects will be graded according to the following criteria, but project-specific criteria will be also be used.

Documentation: 15 % Style: 15 % Correctness: 20 % Execution: 50 %

A project that runs incorrectly will receive no more than 80% of the grade. A project that does not compile will receive no more than 50% of the grade. These guidelines are for incomplete projects where a good effort was made. Garbage will receive 0%. Projects are due at midnight on the due date. Projects will be accepted up to three days late, with a 10% penalty per day.

NO PROJECT WILL BE ACCEPTED MORE THAN 72 HOURS LATE

You will be turning in your projects electronically. Details will be announced in class before you need to submit projects.

Project Policy

All projects must be completed by your own individual effort. You should never have a copy of someone else's project either on paper or electronically under any circumstance. Also, you should never give a copy of your project, either on paper or electronically, to another student. This also means that you cannot "work" on the project together. Cases of academic dishonesty will be dealt with severely.

If your project is turned in by someone else, both you and the person copying your project will receive a 0 for that project. This includes "substantially similar" projects. Furthermore, all parties concerned will have their prior projects checked for cheating. So, if you cheat on Project 4, you can lose all the points from Projects 1 through 3 as well, even though you may have done all the work and just "let" other people copy from you.

Lectures and Readings

You are expected to attend all classes. You are responsible for all material covered in the lecture, even if they are not in the textbook. You are responsible for the material in the readings, even if they are not covered during lecture.

Exams

The exams will be closed-book and closed-notes.

last modified on Friday, Jan 22, 1999