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This section will contain numerous bits about how this course will be run.
The topics are presented below in no particular order...
CS 213 is listed as a 2 credit S/U course. To fully cover the C++
language, however, we must give a certain number of assignments,
tests and projects which may make the course feel more like a 4
credit course at times. On this page we will discuss specifics about
the following topics:
Your Grade
Your course grade will be made up of the following components:
| Assignments |
40% |
| Prelim #1 |
20% |
| Prelim #2 |
20% |
| Final Project/Exam |
20% |
You will receive numeric grades on all assignments, tests and your
final project. There will be 10 assignments--each assignment covers
a different area of the C++ language. It is to your benefit to put
your best effort into all of them. All assignments, the prelims,
and your final project will be graded on a scale of 0 - 100 points.
Your final numeric grade will be calculated with the following
formula:
(Assignment Average * 0.4) + (Prelim1 * 0.2) +
(Prelim2 * 0.2) + (Final Project/Exam * 0.2)
A grade of S will be given to those students with a final
numeric grade of 70 or above (roughly a C-). A grade of U
will be given to those students with a final numeric grade of 69
or below.
Assignments
Assignments will be given out every Thursday to be turned in at
the beginning of class the following Thursday. I do understand that
sometimes things come up which interfere with your ability to finish
assignments on time. You will therefore be permitted to turn in
assignments under my door (320 Upson) on the day they are due at
no penalty (up until midnight). Assignments will not be accepted
after this time and you will receive a "0" grade for any
assignment not turned in on time.
Except for the final project, all assignments will be handed in
on paper. When submitting an assignment you should include a 1 -
2 page write-up followed by a listing of each file containing source
code that you wrote to solve the problem. All source code submitted
as part of your assignment should contain your name and the assignment
number in a comment at the top of your source code. Finally, the
last page of your assignment should be a printout of your program
demonstrating the solution. There may be exceptions to this requirement
and they will be noted when an assignment is given. The purpose
of the writeup is to get you used to documenting the work you do
(another one of those "real world" things that is important).
Remember that you are submitting a solution, not just a program.
While I will not assign a formal format for the write-up, it should
touch on some of the following:
- What is the problem you are solving?
- How did you solve it?
- Why did you solve it this way (applicable only if there are
multiple ways to solve a given problem)
- What have you learned?
If you are still confused, check out this sample
assignment which is, of course, fictitious.
Assigments can receive a maximum of 100 points. 10 of those points
come from your write-up. You get 5 points just for trying and the
remaining 5 will be awarded based on how well you communicated what
you did in solving the assignment. Assignments turned in with no
write up will automatically lose 10 points. The remaining 90 points
are awarded for solving the assignment correctly according to concepts
covered in lecture. In general, you'll lose some points for solutions
that work but weren't done correctly given the concepts the assignment
is covering, and you'll lose more points for mistakes in code.
A word about comments
I am not going to require that every line of code you write be
commented. I will strongly suggest that most lines of code have
comments, especially where it might not be clear what you are doing
just by looking at it. You stand to lose a few points for not commenting
enough.
Code Warrior and Visual C++
All assignments will be done with either Metrowerks CodeWarrior
or Visual C++. The book for the course ("Absolute C++"
by Walter Savitch) comes with an "Introductory Edition"
of Visual C++. If you have a computer you can install this copy
of Visual C++ on, you may use it for your assignments. CodeWarrior
should be available in all of CIT's MacOS labs, and in CIT's Windows
labs in Upson and Carpenter.
Lectures
You are encouraged to attend all lectures. As the course progresses
there may be material covered in lectures that does not appear in
the text. While I will make every effort to post all lecture notes
on the web site there is no substitution for being present in class
when concepts are discussed. It also gives you the chance to ask
questions you might not otherwise think of when you do not come
to lecture.
Relax
WOW... That was a lot of information. The course won't be nearly
as scary as I may have just made it seem. The book we will be using
offers an easy-going approach to learning C++ which I hope will
make this course an enjoyable experience. I will do my best to conduct
lectures and give assignments in a similar fashion. This does not
mean that this class will magically be easier than it has been in
the past... the goal of teaching every corner of C++ remains one
that will require a lot of work on both of our parts. Hopefully
we'll be able to make it something you look forward to every day
(well, OK, maybe every other day). I'll see you all in class...
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