The formal prerequisite is: CSSE 120 – Introduction to Software Development
.
Either the 2007-2008 versions (Python and C) or an earlier version (Java)
should suffice.
The main things you should bring into this course include:
Object-oriented programming concepts, including the use of inheritance, interfaces, polymorphism, abstract data types, and encapsulation to enable software reuse and assist in software maintenance. Recursion, GUIs and event handing. Use of common object-based data structures, including stacks, queues, lists, trees, sets, maps, and hash tables. Space/time efficiency analysis. Testing. Introduction to UML.
Students who successfully complete this course should be able to:
1. Develop software that incorporates the following techniques:
a. Inheritance and class hierarchies
b. Interfaces
c. Polymorphism
d. Casting
e. Exceptions
f. Function objects
g. Generics
h. Collections
i. Event-driven graphical user interfaces
j. Exploring and using large-scale API packages such as Java's Swing
k. Recursion
2. Perform the following steps of the software development cycle effectively:
a. Design expressed as UML class diagrams
b. Documentation before coding
c. Unit and system testing
3. Explain the implementation of sequential and linked lists
4. Analyze the asymptotic worst, best, and average case run times of simple algorithms including search and sort
5. Select basic data structures (e.g. arrays, sequential lists, linked lists, stacks, queues, hash tables and trees) based on the time and space complexity of typical operations.
Matt Boutell– Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering
| Email: | boutell |
|---|---|
| Office phone: | x8534 |
| Office address: | Moench F-224 |
| Home page: | http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~boutell |
| Office hours: | I am usually on campus from about 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM. When I am not in class or meetings, I am usually in my office, and happy to talk with you. |
| Amanda Stephan | stephaap |
| Tony Ferrell | ferrelaj |
| Molly Richardson | richarme |
| Jon Nibert | nibertjw |
In addition, any of the lab assistants (below) should be able to help you.
The CSSE lab, F-217, should staffed at the following times to assist students taking courses in the CSSE Fundamentals sequence, including 220.
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6th period | Rex Chappell | Rex Chappell | ||||
| 7th period | Rex Chappell | David Loughry | Molly Richardson | Rex Chappell | ||
| 8th period | David Loughry, David Korff, Tony Ferrell | David Loughry, David Korff | David Loughry, Tony Ferrell | David Loughry, David Korff, Molly Richardson | ||
| 9th period | David Korff, Tony Ferrell | Rex Chappell, David Korff | David Loughry, Tony Ferrell | David Korff, Molly Richardson | Rex Chappell | |
| 10th period | Tony Ferrell | Rex Chappell | Tony Ferrell | Rex Chappell | ||
| 7pm–9pm | Will Dombrowski, Mark Jenne | Will Dombrowski, Mark Jenne | Corey Kump, Molly Richardson | Corey Kump, Molly Richardson | Will Dombrowski, Mark Jenne |
Besides the instructors and assistants, other students in the course can often be a great source of help. And they will learn more if they explain things to you.
Don’t try to be the Lone Ranger in this course, especially if you do not find the course easy. If you find that you have worked on something for 30 minutes without making any progress, it’s probably time to seek help!
Data Structures and Problem Solving Using Java, 3rd edition by
Mark Allen Weiss
Hardcover: 960 pages
Publisher: Addison Wesley; (February 14, 2005)
Links: Errata Source code
The Java™ Tutorials, Sun Microsystems.
On-line: http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/
Publisher: Sun Microsystems (November 10, 2006)
Language: English
Safari Books Online – On-line access to Java (and other) books through the Rose-Hulman Logan Library web page
On-line:
http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com/?uicode=rosehulman/
On-line books that may be helpful for CSSE220 include:
| How to Access Safari Tech Books Online |
These on-line books are only accessible from on-campus or
via the Rose-Hulman VPN. Off-campus: See IAIT for more information on connecting to the VPN Once VPN is connected, find Safari Books Online by following these steps:
|
I will use ANGEL to post grades and materials that require restricted
access (like quizzes and homework solutions), All materials for the course
will be in ANGEL, linked from ANGEL, or in Subversion repositories that I
will create for you.
Many of the materials in ANGEL are
actually links from ANGEL to AFS files, and are thus they are available via several mechanisms for accessing
public AFS data. You can get to these materials:
When I give a reading assignment, I seriously expect you to read it. In-class discussions will assume that you have done the reading and understood the “easy stuff” before class. You may of course ask about any details that you do not understand. I strongly believe that reading the textbook will help you. (You may possibly be able to “get by” without reading the textbook. But did you come to Rose-Hulman to “get by” or to be the best?).
Often reading assignments will be accompanied by open-book ANGEL quizzes over the basics of the reading, before we discuss the harder parts in class.
Your solutions to programming problems should be well-designed and well-documented. I will suggest working on some programming problems with another person; however I will designate most problems as individual assignments.
I will assign several written homework problems and in-class exercises. They will usually be short thought problems, mathematical analyses, or algorithm-design exercises. I expect you to think through them carefully and write your answers legibly and clearly (if you can’t write it neatly, type it). On some problems, not only the correctness but also the quality of your solution will determine your grade. Some of the problems will be straightforward practice with concepts from the course; others will require creative solutions. Don’t put them off until the last minute!
When problems are designated as allowing you to work with a partner, if you need help finding people to work with, let me know, and I will put you in touch with other students who indicate a similar need. If you do an assignment with someone else, it is your responsibility to not allow anyone’s name (including your own) to be placed on the submitted program if that person does not understand the solution.
Each submitted program file should include your name(s), and a description of the file’s contents in comments at the top of your files. They should have reasonable and consistent comments, style, and indentation. They should not contain lines that are more than 80 characters long (causing wraparound and general illegibility of printouts).
Grades for programming problems will be based on correctness (mostly), efficiency (some), and style.
Quizzes (reading and in-class) and written assignments must be completed on time if you want credit for them.
However, we all have days when we are extremely busy, or times when a program takes longer to complete than we expect it will. To account for this, I give each student a "late day bank account" that starts with two late days.
Notification for a deposit or withdrawal: just complete the Late Day Bank Survey on ANGEL before the assignment is due. That is so I can know when it is okay to post a solution or discuss an assignment in class.
Some particular assignments may be designated as "no late days" assignments. Example reasons:
| Weight | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 40% | Homework, programming problems and projects, quizzes, in-class exercises |
| 10% | Team mini-project |
| 5% | In-class quizzes |
| 12% | Exam 1 (March 28) |
| 12% | Exam 2 (May 2) |
| 16% | Final Exam |
| 5% | Citizenship |
Final grades are also contingent on the following:
I will do my best to conform to the Rose-Hulman definition of the various grades, as described in the Academic Rules and Procedures. Note in particular that the phrase “thorough competence to do excellent work” appears there in the description of the “B” grade (not “A”), and it further states that “B” and “B+” will not be given for mere compliance with the minimum essential standards of the course.
I may adjust your overall average up or down by up to 5 percent, based on your citizenship in the CSSE 220 learning community. This includes attendance, promptness, preparation for class, positive participation in class and the online discussion forums, constructive partnership in pair and group assignments, timely completion of various surveys, and peer evaluation of other students’ code and of your team members for group projects.
The in-class time in this course constitutes an important learning experience. You should be there, Two unexcused absences will affect your Citizenship grade. Three or more unexcused absences may result in failure of the course. Be sure to record your attendance each day.
I usually check email several times per day, and do my best to respond quickly. It is a good way to get answers to simple questions. I expect you to check your email daily (not necessarily on weekends, although even that is not a bad idea). When I send mail to you, I will use your Rose-Hulman address. If you do not currently read mail that is sent to that address, please have it forwarded to wherever you do read mail.
When you send course-related email directly to me, please include 220 in your Subject: line (and include a real subject line), so that I can quickly pick it out from among the dozens of daily email messages that I receive. Then I can respond to you more quickly.
| Bad: | When is Assignment 1 due? |
| Bad: | CSSE 220 |
| Good: | CSSE220: When is Assignment 1 due? |
Don't forget the csse220-staff@rose-hulman.edu address. Your mail will go to me and to all of the student assistants. There is no need for a special subject line for these messages, since the Mailman list system inserts the subject.
Discussion forums on ANGEL are a place where you can discuss various aspects of the course, including the assignments, with other class members. The student assistants and I will read the discussions and sometimes respond to your posts. One way to enhance the Citizenship part of your grade is to post thoughtful questions, answers, and comments to the forums.
I welcome your suggestions for the course. Please tell me about things in the course that help you to learn, and things I might do to improve the course for you. If there is something that you'd like to tell me, but don't feel comfortable with me knowing who it comes from, you can use the Anonymous Suggestion Box survey that I have provided on ANGEL.
I will do my best to keep the class interactive and relevant. But I recognize that sometimes it is hard as a student to stay focused on the class. With laptops in class, there are many more ways to become distracted. Unfortunately these distractions are much more pernicious, since it is very easy to get drawn into things like IM conversations or RSS feeds.
In the classroom I strongly encourage you to turn off IM and email software and only use other software for things directly related to class. If you must use non-class-related software during class, then you should sit in the next-to-last row (no one should sit in the last row). Doing so will keep you from distracting your classmates with what is on your screen.
Recall the Institute policy on academic misconduct:
“Rose-Hulman expects its students to be responsible adults and to behave at all times with honor and integrity.”
Exams and homework will be done on an individual basis. The simple rule of thumb for individual work is:
Never give or use someone else’s code or written answers.
Such exchanges are definitely cheating and not cooperation. The departmental statement on academic honesty has more detailed advice.
We encourage you to discuss the problems and general approaches to solving them with other students. However, when it comes to writing code, it should be your own work (or the work of your group if it is a group or partner assignment). If you are having trouble understanding how some library code works or pinning down a run-time or logic error in your program, by all means talk to someone about it.
If you use someone else’s ideas in your solution (or any other work that you do anywhere), you have to:
If you are ever in doubt about whether some specific situation violates the policy, the best approach is to discuss it with your instructor beforehand. This is a very serious matter that we do not take lightly. Nor should you.
In general, you should not look at another student’s code to get ideas of how to write your own code. Beginning the process of producing your own solution with an electronic copy of work done by other students is never appropriate.
Plagiarism or cheating will result in a negative score (i.e., less than zero) for the assignment or exam. Egregious cases will result in a grade of “F” for the course. More importantly, such dishonesty steals your own self-esteem. So don’t cheat.
Written by Matt Boutell, based on format and lots of wording by Claude Anderson.