Professor: Yu Zhang

Office: 201H HAS

Phone: 7399

Email: yzhang@cs.trinity.edu

Office hours: MWF 11:30am-1:30pm or by appointment Lab hours: MW 4:30-6:30pm, 228 HAS

TA: Michael Pellon Michael.Pellon@Trinity.edu

Course Pre-requisites

None.

Textbook

Forouzan and Gilberg, Computer Science: A Structured Programming Approach Using C, Third Edition, Thomson Course Technology, 2005.

Supplemental Readings

Schildt, C the Complete Reference, McGraw Hill, 2000, Fourth Edition.

Course URL

http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~yzhang/teaching/spring2008/CSCI1320/.

Goals of This Course

1. To understand organization and characteristics of computer science.
2. To learn fundamental problem solving methodology.
3. To apply problem solving techniques to algorithm design.
4. To build abstractions with procedures and data.
5. To develop good programming habits.
6. To learn programming in the C computer language.

At the end of this course you should

1. Be able to describe basic concepts, nomenclature, and history of computers and computing.
2. Be able to solve simple problems with a computer, using math and science skills.
3. Understand and be able to implement software design principles, including abstraction, modularity, data representation, and portability.
4. Be able to properly document program code.
5. Be able to describe and implement software engineering concepts, including requirements definition, analysis, design, implementation, testing, and maintenance considerations.
6. Be able to development and execute computer programs using structured techniques.

Email and WWW

We will be using an email list this semester to communicate pertinent messages to everyone in the class. I will put together the list of email addresses in the first two weeks of class. It is the student's responsbility to ensure that they watch for and read any messages throughout the semester. In addition, this web page will continually be updated with the class schedule, resources, and other information.

Late Turn-in Policy

The penalty for late assignments will be -10% per day (determined on a 24-hour basis relative the due-time, which is the start of class ), down to a minimum of 50% (you can still get 1/2 credit if you turn it in by the end of the semester).

Exams

There will be six homeowrk assignments, and several quizzes which will be given randomly in class.
There will be two mid-term exams (approximately in the end week of February and the early week of April) plus a comprehensive final.

Grades will be determined by the percentage of total points earned during the course of the semester. The total points will be computed according to the following approximate weighting scheme, though it is subject to slight adjustment as appropriate:

Grade Curving

Attendance Policy

Lecture attendance is encouraged, but will not be used for grades. Unavoidable absences are understood, but each student is responsible for any missed material. For excused absences, an opportunity will be provided to make up any graded work that was missed. For unexcused absences, a grade of zero will be assigned for in-class assignment. Missed exams will be rescheduled without penalty for an excused absence, or with a 25% penalty if the absence is not excused. If you are going to be absent when an assignment is due you should try to turn in the assignment early. If that is not possible, be sure to include a request for an extended turn-in time in your e-mail.

To request approval of an absence or late turn-in, send me an e-mail explaining the reason prior to the class or due date. Tell me if you believe it is a university excused absence. If advance notification is not possible (e.g. unexpected illness) send the e-mail within 48 hours of the absence and be sure to explain why you were not able to notify me in advance. For illness, follow-up the e-mail by submitting a note from a doctor or clinic to my office.

Miscellaneous Notes

All students are covered by Academic Honor Code. Do not copy anybody else's homework assignments, exams, quizes, source codes, and any material used in previous semesters. You are welcome to talk with each other about homework programs unless otherwise specified, but do not turn in syntactically similar work. Cheating will be dealt with according to the university's policies on academic integrity.

If you have a documented disability and will need accomodations in this class, please speak with me privately early in the semester so I may be prepared to meet your needs. If you have not already registered with Disability Services for Students, contact the office at 999-7411. You must be registered with DSS before I can provide accommodations.

Tentative Schedule

The following is a planning schedule. It may be modified as necessary during the semester. Students will be expected to have some familiarity with the material in the schedule at the beginning of the lecture.

Calendar

Details about lectures, homework assignments, exams etc. are added here.