CS 111 Syllabus

Overview

Computer science, especially when it is considered as one of the liberal arts, is perhaps best described as the study of formal processes for solving problems. These processes for solving problems, known as algorithms, are somewhat like recipes for baking a dish, or directions for navigating on road trips. It turns out that these marvelous devices that we call computers are wonderful at carrying out algorithms for us, and so they act as a remarkable testing and implementation environment for the algorithms that we create. Programming computers to carry out algorithms for us is probably the single-most common task that computer scientists do; yet, programming is only one aspect of computer science. In this course, we will engage in learning the fundamentals of computer science, both from a perspective of programming and of algorithms in general.

Said differently: some may argue that studying literature is relevant to all, since the ideas within are about life in general. Some may argue that studying chemistry is relevant to all, since everyone can benefit from an understanding of how the world is constructed. I argue that studying a bit of computer science is relevant to all, regardless of what one may end up doing, because the ideas within help one to formulate careful, rigorous, step-by-step approaches to whatever problems one needs to attack in life. (Yes, we organized my baby's sleep routine as an algorithm!)

Instructor Information

• Instructor: Dave Musicant
• Office: CMC 326
• Email: dmusican
• Office phone: (507)222-4369
• Office hours: See home page at http://www.cs.carleton.edu/faculty/dmusican

Student Assistants

• Prefect: Emma Meyer (meyere)
• Grader: Michael Sawi (sawim)

Textbook

Python Programming: An Introduction to Computer Science by John Zelle. Franklin, Beedle & Associates, 2004.

Important Dates

• Exam 1: Friday, January 18
• Exam 2: Friday, February 15
• Exam 3: Monday, March 10

Your Grade

• Assignments: 40%
• Exam 1: 20%
• Exam 2: 20%
• Exam 2: 20%

Working from Home

• We will be programming in Python, which will be set up for use in the Computer Science labs. You should feel free to install Python on your home machine and work from there if you wish. If you do so, you are responsible for making sure that your programs work on the version that we have installed in the labs. I am glad to informally provide whatever advice I can to help you get the software running on your own machine, but home use is technically "unsupported."

Homework Policy

• Each assignment will have a specific time for which it will be due. After you get your grade and feedback on that assignment, you'll have the opportunity to resubmit, once, in order to try to gain back half of the points that you lost. (There will be another deadline for resubmitting.) For each deadline, an assignment turned in late within one day of the due time will be docked 25%. An assignment turned in later than one day of the due date but within two days will be docked 50%. An assignment turned in later than two days of the due date but within three days will be docked within 75%. After that, you won't receive any credit. With nearly daily assignments, this is the only way that the graders can stay sane; it is important that I put some mechanism in place to discourage people from submitting work at arbitrary times.

Getting Help

• If you need help with a project, you can consult with other students, talk to the prefect, ask a lab assistant, or come to me. I am happy to answer your questions either in person or via email. If your question relates to difficulties with your program, please bring a printout.

Working Together

• For some programming assignments, you will be assigned a partner to work with. I'll shuffle up the partners a few times throughout the term so that you get the experience of working with a few different people.
• You and your partner should engage in the pair programming model: both of you should be sitting at a single machine, side by side. One of you is "driving," i.e. actually using the keyboard and mouse. The other is actively engaged following along, stopping bugs, and providing ideas. You should make sure that over the course of an assignment that you spend roughly the same amount of time each "driving." I will also ask you to turn in a form rating the work that your partner does.
• If you really want to work alone, even on the partner assignments, that's ok. Send me an email and let me know that you want to work alone, and I won't assign you a partner. I will expect, however, that you do work of the same amount and quality as those students with partners. You can change whether or not you work alone each "cycle" that I assign new partners.

Collaboration, Cheating, and the Difference Between the Two

There are two different kinds of working together: collaborating and plagiarism.

Collaborating

• Collaborating is good.
• You are encouraged to collaborate on ideas and program design.
• Programming is often a social effort, and there is much you can learn by talking out the ideas in this class with each other.
• If a piece of your program utilizes someone else's idea, i.e., someone other than the program author(s), you must give that person credit in program comments.

Plagiarism

• Plagiarism is bad. DON'T DO IT!
• Any programs that you turn in should be your work of the author(s) only.
• Even if the program author(s) share ideas with others, the program itself must be written by the author(s).
• If a piece of your program utilizes someone else's idea, you must make sure to give that person credit in program comments.

The following are examples of plagiarism.

• Taking someone else's program, changing the variables and comments around, putting your name at the top, and turning it in.
• Finding a similar program on the internet, changing the variables and comments around, putting your name at the top, and turning it in.
• Finding a similar program in a book, changing the variables and comments around, putting your name at the top, and turning it in.

I will be using software to discover plagiarism if it occurs, and I am compelled by Carleton policy to notify the College if I find evidence of plagiarism.