Welcome to CS 3810/381

An introduction to the modern theory of computing: automata theory, formal languages, and effective computability.

The lectures and homework involve mathematical proofs. We expect everyone to be comfortable reading and writing proofs at the level of CS 2800/280.

Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation (2nd or 3rd Edition) by John E. Hopcroft, Rajeev Motwani, and Jeffrey D. Ullman. This text is available at the Campus Store.
Note that there will be topics covered in lecture that are not in the text and there will be topics in the text that are not covered in lecture. You are responsible for topics covered in lecture and for any assigned reading in the text.
The following is also a useful reference: Automata and Computability by Dexter C. Kozen.
Both textbooks mentioned above are on reserve in the Engineering Library.

CS 3810 STAFF	Name	Email	Phone	Office	Office Hours
Instructor	Paul Chew	chew@cs.	255-9217	494 Rhodes	MWF 10:00 – 11:00 TR 2:30 – 3:30
Grader	Di Wang	dw236@	607-379-1538
Course Administrator	Kelly Patwell	patwell@cs.	255-7790	5147 Upson

Course Website: http://www.cs.cornell.edu/courses/cs3810/2008su/
Check the website often. This is the central repository for all the information available about the course including the latest homework assignment, scheduling changes, and important announcements.
Office Hours: See above table.
Email: Questions about the course can be emailed to the Instructor or the Course Administrator. Questions about the homework can be emailed to the Instructor.
Appointments: The best way to set up an appointment is via email.

Problem sets are due approximately every other lecture. The summer session moves fast --- it's a good idea to start on your homework as soon as you can.
Late Homework Policy: It is expected that homework will be turned in in class and on time. Late homework will not be be accepted except in emergency situations. If a genuine emergency situation exists you must inform the Instructor or the Course Administrator as soon as possible.
Returning Homework: Homework will be returned in class. The current plan is to return it on the day after it was turned in.
Warning: It is unlikely that you will learn the material in the course unless you do the homework. Those who skip a significant number of them are likely to earn poor grades on the exams as well as receiving a low homework grade. Note that homework makes up a significant portion of your final course grade.

Your course grade will be based on homework, quizzes, a midterm exam, and a final exam. Your lowest quiz grade and your lowest homework grade will be dropped when computing your final course grade. Weighting will be roughly as follows:
- 25% homework
- 25% quizzes
- 20% midterm
- 30% final exam
Grading Criteria: For the most part, you will be asked to provide proofs and explanations. (There will not be any programming assignments.) Grading is based on both correctness and clarity.
CMS: We are using the CS course management system at http://cms.csuglab.cornell.edu/ to manage course grades. Please check your grades regularly and let us know if anything is recorded improperly. The system also provides some grading statistics.
Regrade Policy: Regrade requests must be made within three lectures of the time that homework or exams are returned to the class. This rule prevents a pileup of such requests at the end of the semester.
Regrade Process: If you believe your solution to a question was correct and it was marked incorrect then you should write up an explanation of the grading error, attach it to your homework, and bring it to the instructor. Note that we're talking here about correct work that was treated as incorrect; in general, we will not look at regrade requests that are simply arguing about the amount of partial credit assigned. Regrade requests will be handled periodically in batch mode rather than on-the-spot.

For this course, we encourage students to discuss the course content, including homework. As a rule of thumb for such cooperation, your should not be writing while discussing homework. Cooperation should never involve a student possessing a copy of all, or a portion of, someone else's work, regardless of format. You are expected to write up (and understand) the homework on your own.
Computer Science Department Policy on Academic Integrity: http://www.cs.cornell.edu/degreeprogs/ugrad/CSMajor/index.htm
Cornell's Code of Academic Integrity: http://www.cuinfo.cornell.edu/Academic/AIC.html
Violations of academic integrity are severely penalized. Respect yourself and your classmates by maintaining a high standard of integrity.
If you are unsure about any questions of academic integrity, please ask.