CS211: Archived Announcements

[Aug-Sep] [Oct] [Nov] [Dec]

Aug-Sep

Date Topic Description
9/30 Mon A2 solutions, regrades I just posted the solutions and grading guide. The regrade period ends Mon 10/7 at end of consulting for all A2s.
Prelim 1 It's coming up. See Exams and Syllabus for policies and other info.
Prelim 1 conflicts Just in case you ignored the above announcement, you need to follow the policies stated in the syllabus if you have a university-excused conflict, which usually means another exam.
9/29 Sun A1 regrades Piti is dropping off the regraded A1s tomorrow. Remember that CMS still can't show some entries, but we do maintain a separate spreadsheet.
9/27
Fri		 A2 updates 
  • People who submitted things in "weird" ways (e-mailing cs212@cs, e-mailing staff, etc) will have to wait before we can grade your work. Next time we will not accept such submissions.
  • The grading guide and solutions will be up soon. (I'm waiting for revised GG.)
  • Regrades: I'll announce due date after I get to post the GGand sols.
  • Request from consultants: I'm updating the CMS instructions--submit only the Java files that your program uses. All the extra project/mcp/jar/etc files from CodeWarrior are slowing the graders down, since they do not use them. You should also not include extra material that has nothing to do with the project.
9/26 Thu Bowling The ACSU is welcoming freshmen to CS! They're inviting you to come to Freshman Bowling Night at Helen Newman!
  • Date : Friday, September 27th
  • Time : 5:00-6:30pm
  • Place : Helen Newman Bowling Alley
Free food, free drinks, and best of all - FREE ENTRANCE.

Visit us at www.acsu.cornell.edu or send email to Jason (jck29), Gary
(gdc7) or Robert (hl273) for questions.
9/25 Wed Thursday section We'll be in Upson B7 on 9/25. We return to normal room next week.
A2 Is due *tonight* at 11:59 PM!!!!
9/24 Tue submission formats for A2 We're still getting a number of questions on this. Problems 7 and 8 should be in separate text files (Problem 7 as a separate Java program and Problem 8 in a txt file). The remaining problems can be text, PDF, or PS. Zip all of these together and submit.
A2 due date reminder Remember that the assignment is due 11:59PM *on* Weds 9/25.
common answers on A2 Remember that we've answered most common questions in the "a2faq" on the Assignments page. I actually I posted the formats question in there, too.
ACSU Programming contest This Sunday 9/29, 9:15am-2pm, Upson 315/317!
For details, see http://www.cs.cornell.edu/kempe/contest/default.html.
BOOM contest The Bits On Our Mind (BOOM) student project fair is seeking a logo. You can win a 20GB iPod! See http://www.cs.cornell.edu/boom for details.
9/23 Mon CMS for A2 The Course Management System (CMS) is ready to receive your assignment 2. Form your groups now! Both partners need to log on, so do not wait until the last minute.
A1 grades on-line Some have asked... Helene will be entering them this Thurs. We still have e-mail copies and even a hard copy, so your grades are safe.
SaM link I created a new document that collects *all* of the SaM files, documents, CS212 material, CS211In, CS211Out, etc. Go to CS212's website and click on SaM on the left.
9/22 Sun section notes I posted my S3 notes. Sorry about the delay.
math and typing... No hardcopies. But PDF and PS are acceptable. You may have to go the labs to print in those formats.,,,,,,,, 
9/20 Fri submission rules I'm not sure if anyone realizes that I posted instructions for all future submissions in the Course Management document. Read that before submitting anything!
9/18 Wed Updated SaM and CS211In Prof Pingali added another SaM instruction and wrote some examples and updated CS211In to handle command-line arguments a bit better. I added a couple of examples from Part 1 (CS212) and zipped the whole thing together. You can grab the new files from Section Notes or the left navigation bar on CS212's website.
9/17 Tue grades/submission system I got some questions about this.... The submission system's grades portion is in flux. It will be ready later this week I hope. Until then, we've kept copies of all the e-mails and created a separate spreadsheet for grades. The system's grades part is ready, the staff will post your grades there.
no grade by e-mail? If f you did not receive a grade by e-mail, you were either exceptionally late or didn't submit a file to the course management system (csm). If so, e-mail your name (and your partner's) name and net-ids to Liviu, who will retrieve your work from cs211@cs. DO NOT E-MAIL ANY FURTHER FILES. You have until Fri 9/20 noon to do so.
9/14 Sat A1 solutions and grading are posted
A2 the assignment has been up since thursday (I just changed the file name).
a2faq As an experiment to reduce "noise" in the newsgroup, I created a file called a2faqcs211fa02.txt which is stored with assignment 2. Each time the TA supervisors discuss a major clarification or specification "enhancement" they'll copy the notes there so you don't miss a post in News. Milind will gain access to the file later on Monday, so please be patient.
regrades on A1 Due by end of consulting on Monday 9/23. I gave an extra day to account for the holiday. (Rem that I will be out!). How to submit a request? See the *on-line* syllabus. I needed to make a few changes because of the new grading system. Do not e-mail any of the graders. They have been instructed to give a reminder to follow the requred procedure.
CodeWarrior help? Some people have asked more instructions, so I updated the CW Resources document.
Course Management System I create a new document, which links from the CMS link on the left. Yes, lots of webpage editing for DIS!
9/13 Fri e-mailing grades... Some people might be curious what the codes in the e-mails mean. We're getting the code posted hopefully tomorrow. It will be announced when they go up. 
regrades We will post specific instructions on doing regrade requests when the grading codes get posted. It turns out the new submission system does have a facility, but I don't know how reliable it is, so I'm likely going require the policy mentioned in the syllabus. Stay tuned.
9/12 Thur lateness on A1? This should answer most e-mails I've gotten: Anyone who submitted their assignment *on-time* to cs211@cs and valiantly tried to use the submission system will have their counted as on-time. For people who didn't, I (DIS) will post an announcement later (namely, Fri or early next week). For future assignments, we may choose not to continue this policy since everyone will have plenty of time now to make sure they're entered and resolved remaining problems.
"I" I should mention...If you see an "I ..." in Announcement, that means DIS. I guess most people figured that out by now :-)
Mon office hours Let's test the above announcement.... I will not be here Mon because of YK.
Free book! Let's see if anyone is reading the announcements. The first person who posts a message on the newsgroup with a subject line that has the correct office number of Helene Croft wins a free book of their choice from my collection of extras (I have quite a few).
Wed 9/11 assignment
submission
(step 2)
(valid as of 2:25 AM)		 We're debuting the new CS Dept course management system! It's a bit new, but pretty well test for a few other courses. Here's what you need to do:
  • Zip your solution files together. Include every Java file, even those that we give to you. If you wrote your solution as one big Java file, make only the main class public. All other classes should be default (blank) visibility. Also, if you put everything in one file, make sure that all answers to discussion questions are comments! We will be running all of your code, so you better make sure that it all works!
  • Store a backup of your solution with us, as specified in Step 1 (see 9/10). This backup proves you finished your work on time for this assignment if something goes wrong with the real submission system.
  • Run Side Car  (needed for authentication). See Bear Access. (You might still be able to get in, but we don't recommend it.)
  • In "modern" browser, access http://www.csuglab.cornell.edu/courses. I will link that in Topics in the navigation bar. 
  • Select CS211 in the small scroll list.
  • Press the View Course button.
  • Potential problems: 
    • (1) you didn't submit a waiver, so you weren't entered. You must fill one out (see Syllabus "What To Do First" and submit to Helene Croft (see Staff) before 4pm.
    • (2) you cannot access CS211. There are some students that the staff didn't get to yet because of the late start. I left a rather urgent message for this to be resolved early Weds morning.
  • Assuming all is well, you will the Student Home Page.
To form a group (only if you're working with a partner):
  • Select  the current assignment.
  • Read the instructions for creating groups.
  • Click on Create Group.
  • You have to either identify who will work with (if you're the first one to do this) or confirm that you're joining someone else's group.
To submit a file:
  • Click on current assignment.
  • Click on Submit Files.
  • If prompted to accept certificates and press OKs, do so.
  • Ensure that the field in (3) says Upload. If it says Restore, you will take a previously submitted file and make that your submission!
  • Browse for your file. Submit only one file! See the first instruction above for desired formats. Clicking on the file you want. You may only submit one file!
  • You may store only one backup file. To do so, upload another file. To make the backup your "real" submission, use the Restore feature.
Grades:
  • We're going to store your grades on the same site.
  • Log onto the site again and go to the grades section.
  • For regrades, we're likely going to use the old system (see the Syllabus). If we use the on-line version, we will let you know.
  • We might also be e-mailing extended grading comments if the submission doesn't give us enough space.
  • There will be more information on this coming up!
Tue 9/10 assignment
submission
(step 1)		 Everything is pretty much set up on the new system, but we need to write instructions (DIS is doing that tonight). In the meantime, DIS developed a backup system that everyone is required to use in addition to the main system just to be safe. For each group:
  • Zip all of your solution files, including CS211In and CS211InInterface, together.
  • Name the file <your net-id(s)>.zip. For example, KP and DIS would create kkp3dis9.zip.
  • E-mail the zip file as an attachment to the e-mail address cs211@cs.cornell.edu.
Do not e-mail your work to anyone on the course staff! Also, you may only submit *2* copies to the cs211@cs.cornell.edu address. We will likely not need these files, but just in case, we will have them.
Mon 9/9 Office Hours They're mostly set in Staff. Because the TAs are adjusting their own course schedules, you should check the Staff page in case of small changes. Prof Pingali will have his posted very soon. Note that to make an appointment with DIS *this* week, e-mail him. When Ms. Howard returns, she'll be making appointments. Remember that you can make an appointment with *anyone* on staff by e-mail.
Consultants They're in Upson 304 waiting to help you! Just a friendly reminder from DIS :-)
Sun 9/8 Section 1 notes DIS posted his section notes in (you guessed it) Section Notes. The formatting might look a little odd because he needs to chop the pages into 55 cols x 43 rows (long story). These examples give the JDK 1.4 versions of the CS211In notes, plus a bit more about switch statements.
Wed 9/4 Section 11 Moves to Upson 111 due to low enrollment. If the numbers warrant it, we'll split the group later.
Consulting Starts this week on Thurs. See Staff for times (forthcoming). Although you will see TBAs, all the slots except for Thurs 7-9pm are staffed.
Tues 9/3 Bootcamp Reminder: It's tonight! See syllabus for details. I have some copies, but if you want your own, click here.
Sat 8/31 Lecture Notes We posted the entire collection of lecture notes for the semester. Each file corresponds to about 1-2 lectures. Start with printing "Ur-java.pdf" for Tues 9/3 and work your way downward. Occasionally we'll post some additions, which we will announce.
Thu 8/29 What To Do First You need to the items listed in "What To Do First" on the syllabus. Review the on-line version is the syllabus to see all the links on the document.
hours/consultants We're finalizing office hours and consultants this week. The info should be posted by Monday.
Syllabus updates We had some late-breaking news, which didn't make it onto the copies that will be handed out in lecture on 8/29. CS211 has an AEW that you might be able to join! See the "Academic Excellence Workshop" portion of the new syllabus.
Sections Sections start on Tue 9/3. Sections on Thu 8/29 are cancelled. We're also in the process of updating the teaching assignments for the sections.
Mon 8/12 Development The website is mostly alive but subject to change.

Oct

Date Topic Description
Mon 10/28 CS314 COM S/ECE 314 will have two lectures in Spring 03: TR 10:10-11:25 and TR 11:40-12:55.   The second lecture has not been put into the system yet. We advise you to not lock in your pre-enrollment until you are able to add the lecture of your choice.  Keeping your schedule unlocked does not affect your placement in your other spring courses.  You will not be cut from the other engineering courses you have entered on your schedule. Also, note that COM S 212 has been dropped as a prerequisite for COM S 314.
Thu 10/24 reupdate SaM Ivan caught a bug -- whatever you downloaded as of 4pm is wrong. The version posted now is correct (thanks Ivan!).
A5 posted (except FAQ -- Milind will start that up)
Wed 10/23 SaM I needed to update the SaM files for A5 and to help with CS212 students. Instruction.java and SaMmy.java are both updated. I included them in sam.zip. See the Sam link on CS212 to download. I stripped out the versions on CS211 to prevent confusion.
Tue 10/22 CMS I have my access back! Hooray for DIS! I was able to fix A5. Be careful not to submit A4 to A5!!! (Why not just delete it? I can't. Long story.)
S8 notes I've posted my early versions. There's a couple typos pointed out in Janet's section (I covered for her today...I'm still at my reg Thurs slot, too). I still need to post a bit more material on sorting, plus people have been asking about a few other things, which I'll try to include. NOTE: My notes contain quite a bit more math than you are required to know. I included it so that you could see why f(n)=O(g(n)) does not mean that f(n) "equals" O(g(n))!
more colors Due to populardemandmentionedinJanet's section, here's amulticoloredannouncement.
Mon 10/21 Prelim 1 mean 67.7 -- Why CMS doesn't show it? Not everyone took Prelim 1 (mostly people who dropped). So, I need to delete them, which is something I would rather wait a bit longer to do to prevent deleting some who's actually still in the class....
A4 extension 10/29, 11:59PM -- see Newsgroup, A4faq, Assignment. The only place that doesn't (besides the PDF file) is "frelling" CMS, because I lost all my access! Should be fixed by tomorrow.
Sun 10/19 Prelim 1 GG and sol; regrades Merged into same file -- posted on Exams. Regrades are due at end of consulting on Fri 10/25.
Fri 10/18 Prelim 1 info You might already realize that we posted the grades at 1 am this morning (as in Thursday night!). Pick up your graded prelims at the consulting office. I'm waiting for the updated gg and sols files to post. After the files get posted, you'll have about 1 week for regrades (I'll announce the deadline after I post the files).
Thu 10/17 Prelim 1 reminder It's tonight! See Exams for times/places.
Prelim 1 grades We grade the same night and put the grades (hopefully) on CMS.
S7 I posted my remaining notes. The other section instructors will likely be posting their own notes, so you'll have a variety of examples to check out.
Tue 10/15 Prelim 1 review session I updated the information on Exams. I needed to adjust the times a bit because of the TA scheduling.
Thu 10/10 need partner? If you would like for us to assign you a partner, please give DIS your name and net-ID at the end of lecture. You can also pass along your name and net-ID to your section instructor or a consultant.
A3 regrade deadline Because of Fall Break, we're giving you until end of consulting Mon 10/21.
Tue
10/8		 Section Notes Due to demand from TAs and students for a place for more section notes, my other assistant is currently putting together a new system. Currently it's a little messy, but should be cleaned up in a day or so. My own notes are now linked off of my name on Section Notes.
Fri 10/4 TA Evaluations Starting Mon 10/7-Sun 10/20, you need to evaluate our TAs. They're giving away randomly chosen prizes as an incentive to fill out the survey.
section notes I posted a blizzard of notes (Sections 4 and 5) from my section. One of my assistants is currently making yet more webpages for the other TAs to post their notes as well.

Nov

Date Topic Description
Fri 11/22 Prelim 2 I posted a merged Prelim 2 with its sol and gg. Regrades are due Tuesday Dec 3, end of consulting.
A6 The staff caught the bug for the script -- everyone gets an auto-regrade on Problem3. So, grades will be done by Mon 11/25. Regrades will be due by end of consulting on Weds 12/4.
Prelim 2 mean Helene added the numbers up again -- 67 is the mean, not 75
S12 I'm back to posting my notes.
Thu 11/21 A7  posted
Wed 11/20 A7 news KP tells me that A7 will be relatively small, something shorter akin to the degree of A3 and A4. I'm not sure when it's getting posted but that's happening soon.
Mon 11/18 A6 FAQ very updated -- lots of hints and help, summarized from News, some new things as of 9:30pm today
Fri 11/15 need partner? someone just emailed me asking for a partner -- I asked him to post on News -- in lecture on Tues, talk to me afterwards -- maybe there others in a similar situation?
Thu 11/14 A5 update sol, gg, and regrade period posted
Wed 11/12 Prelim 2 review session Sunday, 11/17, Kimball B11, 2-3:30
Mon 11/11 A6 posted -- the due date is the same (Nov 20 11:59pm), but KP greatly shortened the assignment.
Prelim 2 reminders Prelim 2 is on Nov 19.
Check the Exams page for a link to check for conflicts.
Contact DIS by e-mail ASAP if you have a conflict.
Check exam page for upcoming review material and session.
Exam room is now the same for everyone.
Topics, sample exam and solutions posted.
Tue 11/5 Regrades Regrades up to and including A3 and T1 are done. The TAs are dropping off the papers if they haven't done so already.
Papers Actually, this reminds me -- if you haven't picked up your prelim 1 or a completed regrade, please do so. Less papers in our office means quicker retrieval time for other papers....
Vote! Please remember to vote. [I did -- they gave us special stickers as a way of saying thanks.]
Mon 11/4 A4 & "Doc" files Although some people submitted doc files, a few consultants went ahead and graded them. To be fair, anyone else on the *this* assignment who didn't get graded for submitting doc files (the written part of A4) should do a regrade request.  You do not need to include your submission.
CMS and file formats People are not following our instructions. No RAR, gzip, tar, or whatever else you think is good! Please refresh your memory with the CMS instructions before submitting A5....
Sun 11/3 A4 info I just posted sol, gg, and regrade period in Assignments.

Dec