This web site contains a wealth of useful information that we have compiled for your benefit. Please take some time to review it and familiarize yourself with its contents so that you know where to find the information you need quickly when you need it. You will be responsible for following all the policies and procedures stated on this website.
| Name | COM S 211/ENGRD 211: Computers and Programming |
| Semesters Offered | fall, spring, summer |
| Credit Hours | 3 |
| Prerequisites | COM S 100 or an equivalent course in Java or C++ |
| Grade Option | Letter or S/U |
| Course Description | Intermediate programming in a high-level language and introduction to computer science. Topics include program structure and organization, modules (classes), program development, proofs of program correctness, recursion, data structures and types (lists, stacks, queues, trees), object-oriented programming, and analysis of algorithms. Java is the principal programming language. |
| Course Website | http://courses.cs.cornell.edu/cs211/ |
| Course Newsgroup | cornell.class.cs211 |
In CS211, you are expected to learn:
A complete listing of course topics can be found in the schedule.
Refer to http://www.cs.cornell.edu/ugrad/FirstCourse.html for information about other introductory programming courses if you need help in deciding whether or not to take CS211.
| Name | Phone | Office | Availability | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instructor | Mohan Rajagopalan mohan@cs.cornell.edu |
x41257 | Upson 4116 | Tues 2:00 - 3:00 pm Thurs 2:00 - 3:00 pm appointments: e-mail Mohan |
| TAs | Jeff Hartline jhartlin@cs.cornell.edu |
x45075 | Upson 5154 | Wed 2:00 - 3:00 pm appointments: e-mail Jeff |
| Peter Sirokman pfs at cs dot cornell dot edu |
x53009 | Upson 4143 | Thurs 3:00 - 5:00 pm appointments: e-mail Peter |
|
| Consultants | Mehmet Saglam ms444@cornell.edu |
Upson B7 | Tues 4:30 - 6:30 pm Thurs 4:30 - 6:30 pm Sunday 12:00-2:00pm |
|
| Alec Berntson ajb84@cornell.edu |
Upson B7 | Mon 1:00 - 3:00 pm Wed 3:00 - 5:00 pm Fri 1:00 - 3:00 pm |
Consultants are undergraduates who have excelled in their coursework and are employed as graders and tutors for CS211. They are available throughout the week to help with assignments and answer questions.
CS211 and many other CS courses are always looking for great consultants. In general, CS211 is the launch pad for many courses. In addition, our best consultants can become undergraduate TAs. If you get at least an A- in CS211, check out this website: http://www.cs.cornell.edu/ugrad/Consulting.html.
Reading assignments are posted along with the lecture notes and examples in Lecture Notes The sources listed here will be on reserve in the Engineering Library in Carpenter Hall.
This semester we will move to the Java 2 Platform Standard Edition (J2SE)
version 5.0. The J2SE consists of the Java Development Kit (JDK) and the
Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Previous semesters used version
1.4.2. The newer version is already installed in the CIT labs. We
will be using some features of the new version very early on, so if you are
running Java on your own machine, we strongly suggest that you upgrade as soon
as possible. You can find out which version you are running by typing java
-version on the command line. If you get something like
java version "1.5.0_01"you are good to go. Note that, although this message and the
installation directory say 1.5.0, the official version number is 5.0; see
http://java.sun.com/j2se/naming_versioning_5_0.html. The new features
of version 5.0 are described in
http://java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/releases/j2se15/ and
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/relnotes/features.html.
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.5.0_01-b08)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.5.0_01-b08, mixed mode, sharing)
The JDK 5.0 is already installed in the CIT labs. To install it on your own machine:
The best way to develop Java programs is with an Integrated Development Environment (IDE). We recommend DrJava, available free of charge from Rice University. DrJava is installed in the CIT labs. However, you may use any IDE that you like, or just a text editor if you prefer. Here are some links:
You are expected to attend all lectures.
We expect the following conduct of all students:
We prefer class participation, so please feel free to raise your hand to contribute to the class discussion.
We put most of our files for lecture notes, corresponding readings, and examples at Lecture Notes usually just before or after lecture. Not all material covered in lecture will necessarily be online, so please do not email us about it. On the other hand, sometimes the lecture notes will contain extra material for you to review outside of class, and you are responsible for this material.
You will have one assignment due every week. Assignments will generally be due on Tuesday at the beginning of class. Assignments will have a written portion, and a programming portion. You can find current and past assignments at the assignments page. You are allowed to work with a partner on the programming portion of an assignment. You may talk with your partner about the written part of an assignment, but you are responsible for your own write-up.
You must follow the rules of Academic Integrity (AI). In addition, you must follow these rules concerning partners, unless we post otherwise:
You must submit your assignments on time. We normally do not accept late submissions. Extensions will be granted only in exceptional circumstances, such as acute illness, and only with prior approval by one of the instructors.
The main assignments receive scores out of 100 points, divided between the programming and written portions. At the very least, all of your code must compile without warnings or exceptions. If it does not, we will not debug your code and you may receive a grade of zero. We also expect you to follow the submission format requirements that the CMS Info link summarizes. We try to finish grading each assignment a few days after the due date. We strongly recommend that you review the grading comments, which are posted on CMS. Each time you get something wrong, we label the mistake with a code. Codes will eventually be posted on the assignments page
You may receive bonus points for exceptionally fine work. If you receive any bonus points, those points are counted separately and accumulate in a single bonus score for the semester. Ask the instructor for an explanation of how bonus points can influence your grade.
If you feel we have made a mistake in grading, you may request a regrade. Refer to the Regrades section for details.
You will have two prelims (on Tuesday July 12th and Wednesday July 27th, in class) and one final exam (on August 9th). Before these exams, we will provide a link with times and locations, review information, topics, practice problems, and solutions. Talk to someone now if you think you will have a problem taking one of these exams.
Exams are graded out of 100 points. As with assignments, you may request a regrade. If we assign bonus points, these are added to your bonus point total for the semester.
For all graded work, you always have an opportunity to request a regrade if you feel we have made a mistake in the grading or simply to request a clarification. To make a regrade request, you need to explain in words what you feel is wrong or what you do not understand. For each assignment and exam, there is a deadline for regrade requests, normally one week after the grading guide and solutions have been posted. We will process the requests after the regrade deadline has passed and will write a response and update the score on CMS if necessary.
In regrades, the burden of proof is on you. You must adequately demonstrate how and why you deserve a higher grade.
We allow minor corrections to code in some cases. For example, if fixing a small piece of code demonstrates that your code really did work a lot better than we perceived, you might earn more points. However, we will usually apply a point deduction for such fixes, so only in some cases will you receive additional points.
For students with limited Java experience, we will hold a Java Bootcamp, which involves about three hours of training in Java. The Bootcamp will summarize key issues of Java's syntax that are usually covered in CS100. If you have never programmed in Java, have not programmed in a long time, or feel that your skills are a bit weak, we strongly suggest that you attend the Bootcamp.
| Place | Upson B7 |
| Dates | Tuesday 6/28 |
| Time | 7-10pm |
| Materials | [Updated Notes] [Updated Solutions] (updated 2/01/2005) |
You have the following responsibilities:
To reach a staff member, the best time is office hours. Please post general questions to the newsgroup so that others can benefit from your question. Someone will respond within one working day. Note that posts in USENET are subject to the rules of AI, so you should not post solutions. Generally, rough algorithms or non-solution-specific code fragments are ok if you need them to illustrate a point.
We try to reserve e-mail for emergencies and urgent matters. Something that is urgent is generally defined as something the instructors would find urgent. If you do need to e-mail the staff, please do not use HTML or MIME! Why? See this explanation.
We will be using the Cornell Course Management System (CMS) extensively for many administrative tasks, including posting of assignments, creation of partners, submission of solutions, grade reporting, and regrade requests. Please refer to the CMS page for information on the use of this system.
The utmost level of academic integrity is expected of all students. Please read carefully the CS211 Academic Integrity Page, which details the policies specific to this course, as well as the Cornell University Code of Academic Integrity and the Department of Computer Science Code of Academic Integrity.
Cornell Information Technologies (CIT) runs several computer labs across campus for all members of the Cornell community. The JDK 5.0 and DrJava are installed on these machines. Refer to http://www.cit.cornell.edu/labs/ for locations and times of operation.
You can also find the course software in the Academic Computing Center (ACCEL), located in the Engineering Library in Carpenter Hall. Any CS student may register for an account.
If you must miss any coursework due to illness or another university-excused conflict, you must contact course staff as soon as possible and provide formal documentation. If you miss a significant amount of coursework, you are strongly encouraged to drop the course. If you miss an exam due to documented illness, you must contact course staff as soon as possible to review the matter.
In compliance with the Cornell University policy and equal access laws, we are available to discuss appropriate academic accommodations that may be required for students with special needs and/or disabilities. Requests for academic accommodations are to be made during the first three weeks of the semester and must be accompanied by official documentation. Please register with Student Disability Services in 420 CCC to verify your eligibility.