In CSCI 1320 (CS1) we introduce students to the basics of traditional UNIX command-line tools. These tools may seem clunky and primitive compared to the GUI-based tools students are more apt to be familiar with. But behind the clunky-seeming interface there is a lot of power and flexibility, in part because this traditional environment includes a number of ``power tools'' that can be great timesavers for the not-so-novice user. In this course we will look at some of these tools and also at the underlying UNIX philosophy/culture.
The following are some topics we will discuss; others will be included as time and students' interests permit.
A current schedule of office hours can be found on my home Web page (http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~bmassing). If I'm not in my office during office hours, I should be somewhere in CSI, perhaps in one of the labs helping another student, and there will often be a note on my door saying where to find me.
In addition to scheduled office hours, you're welcome to drop by and see if I'm in my office and free to talk, or you can make an appointment by calling me or sending me e-mail.
E-mail is almost always a good way to reach me; I normally check it fairly often and reply promptly.
There is no required textbook for this course. The course Web page will have links to some useful on-line reading, parts of which you will be expected to read/skim/consult. If you want something hardcopy, here are two books I have recommended in past years:
I did not ask the bookstore to order copies, but they should be available from your favorite purveyor of technical books.
Most course-related information (this syllabus, homework and reading assignments, etc.) will be made available via the Web. The course Web page is a starting point for Web-accessible course material; you can find it linked from my home page (http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~bmassing) or directly at http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~bmassing/Classes/CS3194_2014fall/HTML/.
Any bookstore with a sizable technical-reference section will likely have many introductory books on UNIX or Linux, such as the two mentioned as optional textbooks for the course. The list of references below includes another such book (UNIX for the Impatient), plus an assortment of books about UNIX philosophy/culture that make for interesting reading. If you like the O'Reilly ``In a Nutshell'' books, you may want to acquire UNIX in a Nutshell or Linux in a Nutshell. O'Reilly also publishes many books on UNIX-related tools, which are good to have on one's bookshelf as one's interests and finances dictate.
Grades in this course will be determined on the basis of class attendance/participation and several homework assignments and a project, weighted as follows.
| Component | Maximum points |
|---|---|
| Homework | about 120 |
| Project | 40 |
| Class participation | 20 |
Numeric grades will be calculated as a simple percentage, by dividing total points earned on the above components by total points possible. These numeric grades will then be converted to letter grades based on a curve, but in no case will the resulting letter grades be worse than students would receive based on the following scheme.
| Numeric grade | Letter grade |
|---|---|
| 90 - 100 | A-/A |
| 80 - 89 | B-/B/B+ |
| 70 - 79 | C-/C/C+ |
| 60 - 69 | D/D+ |
| 0 - 59 | F |
There will be frequent short homework assignments. Detailed requirements will be provided as part of each assignment, and due dates will be announced via the course Web page.
As part of the course, students must also complete a project approved by the instructor and present it to the class. Detailed requirements for the project will be described separately and will include program code (or scripts, makefiles, etc.), a short written report, and a presentation to the class.
Notice that although there are no exams in this course, we will use the time scheduled for a final (December 12 at 7pm) for project presentations. Please plan accordingly (i.e., avoid scheduling anything else for that time).
Regular class attendance is strongly encouraged; class participation grades will be based largely on attendance.
Course-related announcements will sometimes be made by sending e-mail to the Trinity e-mail addresses of all registered students. Students are strongly encouraged to read mail sent to their Trinity addresses frequently.
Unless otherwise stated for a particular assignment, homework will be accepted up to one class period late, but no more, at a penalty of 10 percent off per working day. This penalty may be waived or additional time allowed at the instructor's discretion in cases of illness or conflict with a university-sponsored activity or religious holiday.
If you have unusual circumstances (as we all sometimes do), please discuss these with me as far in advance as possible.
All students are covered by a policy that prohibits dishonesty in academic work. Under the Honor Code, a faculty member will (or a student may) report an alleged violation to the Academic Honor Council. It is the task of the Council to investigate, adjudicate, and assign a punishment within certain guidelines if a violation has been verified. Students who are under the Honor Code are required to pledge all written work that is submitted for a grade: ``On my honor, I have neither given nor received any unauthorized assistance on this work'' and their signature. The pledge may be abbreviated ``pledged'' with a signature. For electronically submitted work, you should include the text -- either the full version or just ``pledged'' -- somewhere in what you submit.
Unless otherwise specified, all work submitted for a grade (homework assignments and projects) must represent the student's own individual effort. Unless otherwise stated all submitted work will be considered pledged work.
Discussion of homework assignments and course material among students is allowed, but not to the point where detailed answers are being written collectively. If you are working with another student in a lab, seeing another student's answers may be unavoidable, but please do not share answers electronically. If you are uncertain about whether a particular level of collaboration is acceptable, please ask for clarification. Graded papers and sample solutions from previous years are off limits. Answers that are identical beyond coincidence (either to another student's work or to a sample solution from a previous year) will be considered to be in violation of the Honor Code, and will result in appropriate action. You are responsible for the security of your work, both electronic and hard copy.
Please also note when you turn in an assignment whether you sought help with it from other students or faculty (e.g., ``J. Random and I worked on this assignment together'' or ``I got help with this assignment from one of the ACM tutors'').