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Syllabus, Fall 2008 CSci 1103: Introduction to Java

Instructor: Carl Sturtivant, carl@cs.umn.edu

Textbook: Absolute Java, Walter Savitch, Third Edition, Addison-Wesley, 2006

Read this document very carefully, as it defines what is required to perform effectively in this class. Course description: CSci 1103 is an introductory programming course for students who are not Computer Science majors or majors in another IT discipline (though a few allow CSci 1103 to satisfy the programming requirement). This course is appropriate for students with little or no programming experience. Problem solving and program design will be an important focus of the course. In addition to programming, the course will introduce basic information about how computers are organized in order to execute programs, and the system software needed to translate and run programs. You must have an ITLabs account. See http://www.itlabs.umn.edu for setting up your account. You will need your general student account user name and password in order to set up your IT Labs account. Course content very approximately in temporal order: the course will follow the content of the book. Read the book following each class to consolidate your understanding of that class.

Ch. 1: Running a Java program, expressions, assignments and strings Ch. 2: Console Input/Output Ch. 3: Control Structures Ch. 4, 5: Classes and Objects Ch. 6: Arrays Ch. 7, 8: Inheritance and Polymorphism Ch. 9: Exception Handling Ch. 10: File Input/Output Ch. 11: Recursion

Evaluation: The following rules will be strictly enforced. Evaluation will consist of lab assignments (13), programming assignments (7), and midterm and final exams. Exams are open book and notes. Lab assignments are completed in the lab with a lab partner. Attendance of lab is mandatory: anyone missing more than one lab assignment will receive an F for the course. An exception may be made for anyone who is already an experienced programmer in another language: email the instructor if you are such a person and make a case for this; the instructors decision in this matter will be final. Due dates and times for all assignments are strict: programming assignments and unfinished labs are submitted electronically. Programming assignments will be due at 11:59pm on the due date. Labs not finished during the designated lab time will be due the following Friday by 11:59pm. Note that electronic lab submission is contingent upon lab attendance. If you have an unexcused absence in lab you will not get credit for any electronically submitted work. Grading is absolute (i.e. not on a curve). The overall grade will be based upon: 2% for each lab assignment, 4% for each programming assignment, 11% for the midterm and 35% for the final. A minimum of 60% is necessary for an S or C- grade. Grading will be as follows: 95.0% or above yields an A, 90.0% an A-, 85% = B+, 80% = B, 75% = B-, 70% = C+, 65% = C, 60% = C-, 55% = D+, 50% = D, and less than 50% yields an F. Percentages are not rounded when using this scheme, because this would be tantamount to moving all of the grade boundaries down by 0.5%. Grading is performed by the TAs. If you have a question about grading, address it to the TAs. Only if something wholely unreasonable has occurred will the instructor intervene. And this has not yet proved necessary. Furthermore, there is a limit of ten days from when an assignment or quiz grade is assigned and available on GRIT (the online grade system) for grading problems to be dealt with. After that period, such will not be considered. The sole exception to this rule is the final examination. Incompletes (or make up exams) will in general not be given. These options will be considered only when a provably serious family or personal emergency arises, proof is presented, and the student has already completed all but a small portion of the work. Scholastic conduct must be acceptable. Specifically, you must do your homeworks, programming assignments and examinations yourself, on your own. The only exception to this is lab assignments which may be completed with a lab partner. Do not search for answers on the world-wide-web. This policy is not meant to block general discussion of HOW to tackle homework problems, which you will also get if you come to office hours, but you must declare with your work with whom you discussed it. Do not write any notes or code when having such discussions, and be alone (i.e. uncommunicative) when programming. The instructor may at his discretion at any time give any student a short oral quiz on the student's submitted answer to any assignment or lab to determine whether the student understands the text they have supplied. Failure to supply an adequate response will be deemed evidence for academic dishonesty (plagiarism), which may lead to failing the course and disciplinary action from the university.