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 address in life.

Instructor Information

• Instructor: Dave Musicant
• Office: CMC 326
• Email: dmusicant@carleton.edu
• Office phone: (507)222-4369
• Office hours: See my home page.

Student Assistants

• Prefect: Sam Wiseman (wisemans)
• Grader: Ethan Somes (somesb)

Textbook

Python Programming: An Introduction to Computer Science, 3rd ed by John Zelle. Franklin, Beedle & Associates.

Grading

• Assignments: 40%
• Tests: 45%
• Final project: 15%

Computer Usage

• 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 own computer and work there if you wish. If you do so, you are responsible for making sure that your programs work on the version of Python 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 computer, but this use is technically "unsupported."

Homework Policy

• Each assignment will have a specific time for which it will be due, and your electronic submissions are timestamped. You have four "late-days" that you can use at anytime during the term, with no explanation or request needed. If you are off-campus, if you are sick, etc., these are all exactly the sorts of situations for which these late-days apply. You automatically use up a late-day for every 24 hour period that passes when you turn in an assignment late. For example, if you turn in two assignments late, each 17 hours after the due time, that counts as two late-days. Likewise, if you submit a single assignment 30 hours after the due time, that also counts as two late-days. Assignments that are turned in late after your four late-days are used up will not receive any credit.

Getting Help

• If you need help with a project, you can consult with other students, talk to the prefect, ask a lab assistant, post to the course discussion forum, or come to me. I'm likely to ask about what you've tried first to solve your problem, so I can learn about how far you've got and where you're stuck or having trouble.
• If you have detailed questions about bugs, please bring them to me, the prefect, or lab assistants in person as opposed to email or other electronic means. I generally don't answer detailed questions about bugs via email, as it's much easier and more fun for me to answer those kinds of questions in person.

Working Together

• Each programming assignment will either be a "team" problem assignment or an "individual" assignment. You are most welcome to pick your own partner, or I will find a partner for you if you like. I might mandate a partner change partway through the term for everyone.
• When working on team problems, you and your partner should engage in the pair programming model, that is 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 are determined to work alone on the team assignments, that's fine. 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, Plagiarism, 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.
• You can by all means talk to each other, look at each others' programs to help fix problems, and share ideas.

Plagiarism

• Plagiarism is bad. DON'T DO IT!
• Any programs that you turn in should be your work.
• Even if you work with someone else and share ideas, you must still write your own program.
• If a piece of your program utilizes someone else's idea, you must make sure to give that person credit in program comments.
• Do not hand a printout of your program to other students. I encourage you to work together to help debug your code, but you should do so sitting together.

• Taking someone else's program, changing comments and variable names, 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 am compelled by Carleton policy to submit plagiarism cases that I find to the Dean of Students, who in turn brings the evidence before the Academic Standing Committee. The academic penalty for a finding of responsibility can range from a grade of zero in the specific assignment to an F in the course.