Automated Cheating Detection

We use an automated system that uses sophisticated artificial intelligence techniques combined with program analysis tools to notice unusual similarities between programs turned in by different people. These tools really work and are quite hard to fool. So, while it might seem tempting to borrow a solution from a buddy, change the variable names and comments, or reorder the statements, the tools would be very likely to figure out what you did.

The tool we use, called Moss, was developed by a Cornell PhD, now a professor at Stanford, over 20 years ago.

We take cheating seriously, and cheating with an attempt to cover it up is grounds for failing the course outright. Realistically, it is much easier to just do the assigned problems than to get away with handing in code someone else wrote, because short of rewriting that code completely from scratch, we’ll catch it.

So you’ve been warned: It is difficult to get away with cheating in CS2110. Please do your own work, and talk to an instructor or TA as often as needed if you get stuck and need help. We’ll get you back on track. If you're unsure whether something constitutes cheating, ask us!