CISC 1115
Introduction to Programming Using Java
Syllabus

The Official Syllabus

An official detailed course syllabus can be found at the department's CISC 1115 web page.

Text

Here is the web page of the recommended text for the course:

Think in Java, 2nd edition, Downer & Mayfield:w

You can download the free PDF or purchase a hardcopy from Amazon

Readings From the Text

At the beginning of each lecture page is a listing of readings from specific chapters/sections. These readings correspond to material covered in that lecture.

Note: The lectures drive the course and do not follow nor use examples from the text — the main purpose of the text is as a second perspective on the material, and something to supplement my lectures. You should be able to read the referenced sections without too much difficulty

Topics List

Here is an overview of the topics we will be covering

Java program structure; developing and testing Java programs
Basic input/output
Data, variables, expressions, types, operations
Conditionals
Iteration
Methods; procedural decomposition
Arrays
Techniques
Sorting and searching

Code Presented or Related to the Lecture

The last section on the Lecture page will often have link to code presented or otherwise contained in the lecture. Feel free to study, or use that code in any manner you feel fit. In particular, if you find it useful, you can copy it into any of your assignments. There is also typically a link to the Labs associated with the lecture.

Class Calendar

The Class Calendar is the main resource for all material related to the course: lecture notes, exams, lab, and administrative dates, etc. It is the 'official' repository of all such information for the course.

Lectures

You are expected to attend all lectures; simply reading the lecture notes will probably not provide sufficient information for you to perform well on the exams, or complete the assignments. As with everything else, the lecture notes can be found on the Class Calendar

Assignments: Exercises and Labs

Programming requires practice, and in this course such practice comes in two forms: short exercises, and labs/projects. The short exercises typically consist of a few lines of code and are very narrowly focused on a topic covered in class. The labs/projects are larger, often complete programs, usually incorporates several topics, and gives you a better taste of 'real' programming.

You will be using CodeLab — an online, interactive programming exercise system — for both types of assignments. You can find more about CodeLab here

The exercises — being rather short and not full programs — are completed directly in CodeLab. Your labs, on the other hand should be coded and tested in the IDE of your choice (e.g. IntelliJ) prior to submitting it to CodeLab.

CodeLab Information

To Register:

Go to turingscraft.com
Click "Register" and follow the instructions
- When you fill out the forms, use your Best Email Address and Actual Name
- When asked for a Section Access Code, use the one in the email you will receive from me a few days before class begins.
To Login: Same URL, click "Login" and use your username (email) and password

Grading of Assignments

When you submit an exercise or lab to CodeLab, it checks that your code is correct, by running it against various test cases. If your code fails, CodeLab will often provide feedback or hints to help you correct your mistake. For the short CodeLab exercises, it is sufficient to simply get a correct response from CodeLab. Many of your labs will be that way as well; all you need is a correct response from CodeLab.

For several of the labs however, I will mark the exercise as 'For Approval', which means that I will be performing a final review and check of your code after CodeLab has determined that it passes the test cases. This 'instructor check' looks for style, format, and documentation of your code — all things we will discuss in class. I will then approve or deny your submission; in the latter case that means you must fix your code based on my comments, and resubmit. Once approved, you are done with the assignment.

Your score on this practical portion of the course will be straight percentages of the number of labs completed and the number of CodeLab exercises completed, with the final 'labs & assignments' average being calculated as 40% CodeLab exercises, and 60% labs.

The labs and CodeLab exercises are posted in CodeLab in separate sections. They are all assigned deadlines, and the other two two weeks after their assignment As they correspond to the lectures, I will post them on the day the lecture is posted (so you can get a head start on them if you are so inclined) , they are then officially assigned the day the lecture is finished (my lectures do not typically correspond to class meetings, but rather span several lectures), and the deadline is calculated from that day.

You can find out more about CodeLab's feedback, and Approval Exercises on the Labs Home page here.

The Exams and Assignments

50% each exam will be taken directly from the assignments. This means several things:

you should make sure you do the assignments (and by 'you', I mean you)
reviewing the labs and exercises is a great way to study for the exams
when calculating the time it will take you to complete the exam, I will be taking into account that you have seen and coded many of the exam's questions before (as opposed to 'new' questions which would take longer to answer).

The Exam

The exams will be on paper, closed book, no cheat sheets. Please make sure to come on time, and place all books, paper, phones, watches in your bag. You should go to the bathroom prior to the exam. If you have an accommodation from Disability Services or a medical issue, please inform me of that in advance of the exam.

Grading:

Assignments: 20%
Two Exams: 25% each
Final: 30%

Your work on the assignments is probably the best assessment of how well you have mastered the topics of this course. While the exams assess your knowledge — in particular conceptual information — writing working Java code is crucial to your being able to show that you have become proficient in the material. Unfortunately, it is all too easy to acquire these assignments in a manner other than doing the work yourself. My grading policy is therefore designed to attempt to incorporate your work on the assignments into your grade, while at the same time maximizing the probability that that work is indeed your work.

As stated above, a substantial portion of each exam will contain material straight out of the assignments (not inspired by, not somewhat like, but exact specs from the assignments).

Missing an Exam (Other than the Final)

There are no makeup exams. If you miss an exam, you must provide some form of written reason (simply deciding not to take the exam is not an acceptable reason):

If you are absent from the first exam, the grade on the second exam will be used in its place.
If you are absent from the second exam, the grade on the final will be used in its place.
If you are absent from the final, see the section below titled Incompletes
If you are absent from two or more exams, you cannot pass the course.

Incompletes (INC)

For the most part, I do not give a grade of Incomplete.

Paraphrasing from the Bulletin (page 57), a grade of incomplete (INC) may be assigned at the discretion of the instructor under one of two conditions:

The student is absent from the final, but is passing the course in all other respects
- Evidence must be presented documenting the reason for the absence
- The INC may then be changed once a final is taken
The student is passing the course and has completed most, but not all of the requirements.

Only one of the above two conditions (not both) may apply in order to receive an INC. Please do not ask me to give you an INC so that you can submit a semester's worth of assignments.

If an INC is not resolved, a grade of FIN is eventually assigned.

The faculty and administration of Brooklyn College support an environment free from cheating and plagiarism. Each student is responsible for being aware of what constitutes cheating and plagiarism and for avoiding both. The complete text of the CUNY Academic Integrity Policy and the Brooklyn College procedure for implementing that policy can be found at this site: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/policies. If a faculty member suspects a violation of academic integrity and, upon investigation, confirms that violation, or if the student admits the violation, the faculty member MUST report the violation.

In order to receive disability-related academic accommodations students must first be registered with the Center for Student Disability Services. Students who have a documented disability or suspect they may have a disability are invited to set up an appointment with the Director of the Center for Student Disability Services, Ms. Valerie Stewart-Lovell at 718-951-5538. If you have already registered with the Center for Student Disability Services please provide your professor with the course accommodation form and discuss your specific accommodation with him/her.

CISC 1115 Introduction to Programming Using Java Syllabus