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 text for the course:
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
Labs
Although this is a course in computer science, there is a substantial amount of programming in the way of data structure implementation and
applications of the various data structures we will be covering. While you should develop your code in your choice of IDE, you will be submitting
your working results to CodeLab — an online, interactive programming exercise system — that will also test
your code, and provide (hopefully) informative feedback as to any problems or issues. There may also be an occasional non-full program exercise
that you may be asked to write; I will often provide driver code, so you can develop it in your IDE as well (or in that case, you can usually simply
submit it to CodeLab directly).
You can find more about CodeLab here
Assignments
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 of 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
A substantial portion of of each exam will be taken directly from the assignments and multiple choice problems.
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. 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, please inform me of that
in advance of the exam.
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 both exams, you cannot pass the course and should withdraw.
Grading:
- 20% Labs
- 25% Each of two exams
- 30% Final exam
Remember, you must receive a C or better to continue onto any course for which this course is a prerequisite.
Incompletes (INC)
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.
For the past several years, students have been permitted to withdraw from a course without grade penalty up to the
last day of class. By that time, you have had sufficient exam and assignment feedback to have some idea of your standing.
Please do not ask me to give you an INC because you have not completed your 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.
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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.
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