CS 1713 and CS 1711 Syllabus
Spring 2012

• Students should use object-oriented design to develop and implement computer-based solutions to problems.
• Students should apply the steps necessary for software development with classes including using and extending existing classes as well as developing new classes to solve problems.
• Students should use and master the essential features of Java including control (sequential, selection, repetition, recursion and exceptions), parameter passing, arrays, vectors and strings.
• Students should learn to implement elementary search and sorting algorithms
•  Students should be introduced to elements of GUI design and event-driven models of execution.
• Students should create applets that can be inserted into Web pages.
• Students should gain experience both in individual program development and in group design and collaboration.

Course Schedule: An approximate schedule of topics, readings, labs and due dates can be found at schedule.html.

• 30% Three in-class exams (Section 1: Jan. 27, Feb. 24, Apr. 6, Seciton 2: Jan., 26, Feb. 23, Apr. 5)
  
• 30% Final exam (Section 1: Tuesday, May 8 at 7:30 am, Section 2: Monday, May 7 at 10:30 am)
• 20% Recitation (CS 1711 recitation) (usually due the Friday of the week following lab)
• 15% Individual programming projects (3 projects due Mar. 2, Mar. 30, and Apr. 27)  
  
• 5% Quizes and classroom participation

Blackboard:

The course will be using Blackboard (http://bb.utsa.edu) for project and recitation hand-ins and grade reporting. The course calendar is also maintained there.

Computer Accounts:

You will have an account on the CS network as long as you are enrolled in CS courses at UTSA. This account gives you access to Windows and Linux machines in various CS laboratories. You may also access your account from off-campus via the Internet using secure shell. A free version of secure shell is available at http://www.cs.utsa.edu/~javalab/lab/SSHSecureShellClient-3.2.0.exe if you wish to install it on your home machine. Your account name will usually be your first initial followed by up to 7 letters of your last name. However, account names sometimes vary because of name conflicts. You can find out your account name by looking at the list posted on the lab door during the first week of class. Your initial password is your 8-digit student ID without the leading @ sign.

Recitation (CS 1711):

The lecture (CS 1713) and the recitation (CS 1711) are considered to be two parts of the same course. The lecture and the recitation carry different course numbers as an administrative convenience. You must be enrolled in a recitation section of the course that is associated with the lecture section that you are enrolled in. You will receive the same grade for both the lecture and the recitation. The recitations provide reinforcement, teach you specific skills related to topics introduced in the lectures, and help prepare you to do the individual programming projects.  You will receive grades for approximately 11 recitation exercises. The lowest grade will be dropped. There are no make-up recitations. Attendance in the recitation is required in order to receive credit for the recitation. It is your responsibility to check in with the TA at each recitation session. If you have to miss a particular recitation, you may attend another session if that session can accommodate you. However, in addition to checking in with the TA, you must send an email to your lecture instructor explaining the reason for attending the other section. An outline of what will be expected of you in a recitation will be posted on the class web page usually the week prior to the recitation. You are expected to read the exercise before coming to recitation and to do the section Before the Recitation. Your recitation instructor will work through the first part of the recitation exercise with you during the recitation period and will answer questions. The better prepared you are, the more you will accomplish during the recitation session In addition to attending the recitation session, you must upload the deliverables for the recitation in Blackbaord by the due date to receive credit for the exercise. Late assignments and recitation exercises will not be accepted unless you have made advanced arrangements with your lecture instructor.

Individual Programming Projects:

While you may ask for assistance in debugging, these projects are to be ENTIRELY your own work.

Lecture Attendance and Make-up Exam Policy:

You are expected to attend each lecture and recitation. Attendance will be taken in both the lecture and the recitation. If you miss more that 15% of the lecture class meetings without a formal excuse from your instructor, your grade in the course (both lecture and recitation) will be reduced by one letter. No make-up exams will be given except for university sanctioned excused absences. If you must miss an exam (for a good reason), it is your responsibility to contact your lecture instructor BEFORE the exam, or as soon after the exam as possible.

Drop Date:

Monday, April 30, 2011 is the last day for an undergraduate to drop this course.

Programming Environment:

We will be using the eclipse development system along with Java version JDK 1.5 or later. This software is available on the machines in all of the student computing facilities. However, the primary computing facility for the course is the CS Main Lab in room 3.02.04 SB. This room is open for a number of scheduled hours outside of class time and staffed with tutors who can assist you with account and programming problems (except for your individual assignments of course). The schedule for this room can be found at http://www.cs.utsa.edu/~javalab/lab/schedule.html . Schedule changes and notices are posted here, so be sure to check this schedule on a regular basis. An additional schedule for the downtown campus will be posted shortly. You will have an individual account on the CS Sun Network which gives you access to both XP and Unix machines in the Department of Computer Science. Through this account you will have disk disk space for storing your files as well as email and a personal web page. You can access your files from home through this account. However, you should also back up your programs on a floppy. This account is for coursework only. You are expected to take care in maintaining the security of this account. Do not give your password to anyone. Your instructors will be regularly contacting you by email with information about the class. You MUST read your email several times a week. The class email alias is for the course instructors' use ONLY.  If you have a suitable PC at home, we encourage you to install both eclipse and a current Java Development Kit (JDK). The simplest way to get them is here.

Scholastic Dishonesty:

The integrity of a university degree depends on the integrity of the work done for that degree by each student. The University expects a student to maintain a high standard of individual honor in his/her scholastic work. In this course, you may collaborate on the recitation exercises, but direct copying is not allowed. You may NOT collaborate on any of the individual programming assignments. In particular, copying other people's code with minor modifications on individual projects is regarded as a serious case of cheating. You must write your own code. Because patterns of cheating do not always become apparent until after several assignments have been completed, you will be asked at the end of the course to hand in all of your source in electronic archival form. Instructions for doing this will be given at the end of the course. Each project should be kept in a separate directory as specified in the project description and should not be deleted.

Fine print:
This Syllabus is provided for informational purposes regarding the anticipated course content and schedule of this course. It is based upon the most recent information available on the date of its issuance and is as accurate and complete as possible. I reserve the right to make any changes I deem necessary and/or appropriate. I will make my best efforts to communicate any changes in the syllabus in a timely manner. Students are responsible for being aware of these changes.