Course Objectives:

CS 159 introduces the tools of software development that have become essential for creative problem solving in Engineering. We
believe that it is important for future Engineering professionals to be able to function as part of a technical team and will require
students to work in assigned teams for lab assignments. Educational research informs us that structured collaboration leads to
increased learning gains for students participating in an introductory programming course.

 Collaboration is a requirement of the course.  You will be assigned to your teams by your lab instructor. 

CS 159 explores programming concepts in computing environments that are new to most students and will require implementation of
solutions in more than one programming language. Our goals are for you to recognize how programming concepts are common to a
variety of programming languages and how those concepts can be used to solve a problem.

Pre-requisites/Preparation:

The University asks students to place 2-3 hours outside of class per week in preparation for each credit hour of a course.  The key to
success in this course requires preparation and taking initiative.  The most successful students in previous offerings of CS 159 report
habits such as reading the text, attending every lecture, and daily code writing that goes beyond the minimum of completing
assignments.

 CS 159 does have a co-requisite of MA 161/165 and ENGR 132.  Authorized equivalent courses or consent of instructor
may be used in satisfying the course co-requisite.
 What do the co-requisites mean?  In terms of math we assume that you are familiar with Algebra and Trigonometry.  ENGR
132 as a co-requisite would imply that you are (1) enrolled in a course that will expose you to the fundamentals of MATLAB
or (2) have had some previous programming experience in a language such as C, C++, or JAVA.  Most students in CS 159 will
be enrolled ENGR 132 and will be introduced to writing programs in MATLAB using selection and repetition programming
constructs.

Course Staff:
 
Instructor: William Crum Instructor Office Hours (HAAS G-26): Additional TA Office Hours (HAAS G-24):

Office Location: HAAS G-26 Monday 1:00-2:30 (on days HW is due) Monday 3:00-5:00
 Tuesday 10:00-11:30
Wednesday 9:30-11:00 Friday 9:00-11:00
Thursday 1:30-3:00

TA Evening Hours: Sunday through Thursday 7:00pm - 9:00pm   Location: SC 189

 

 Please visit during office hours for any administrative concerns regarding the course. 
 Note that the phone number and e-mail address of the instructor are not listed above.  If you have a concern that is of
importance to you it is expected that you make the effort to visit office hours.

Important Dates:
 
Midterm Exam #1 Midterm Exam #2 Final Exam Academic Calendar
Date: Tuesday February 22 Date: Tuesday April 5
Time: 6:30 - 7:30pm Time: 6:30 - 7:30pm Date and Location: Last Day to Drop:
TBA Monday March 21, 2011
Location: Hall of Music Location: Hall of Music

 Please make your travel arrangements accordingly.  The final exam may be on Saturday May 7th from 3:20 - 5:20pm. 
Requests for alternative exam offerings will not be considered for reasons not outlined by the regulations of the university.

Blackboard:

All relevant class information, updates, and announcements will be available on the CS 159 Blackboard site. Regular announcements
will be posted on the "message of the day" which is visible when you log into your UNIX account. It is expected that you check both
frequently for updates.

In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines, and grading percentages are subject to changes that may
be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or other circumstances.
  In case of campus emergency, check Blackboard, do not email or call course staff.
 The instructor reserves the right to revise the syllabus with notice. 

Course Required Materials:

 Computer Science, A Structured Programming Approach Using C, Forouzan and Gilberg, THIRD EDITION, ISBN: 0-534-
49132-4
 Programming Applications for Engineers Course Packet (Spring 2011 edition)
 OPTIONAL, MATLAB for Engineers, Moore (second edition), ISBN: 0-13-60442-20
 iClicker response pad

Assignments:

Lab Assignments (12 total, 5 points each):

Lab assignments are to be completed collaboratively in your assigned lab groups and each of these lab assignments will be due 30
minutes prior to your next lab meeting.

 Collaborative groups are expected to communicate who will submit the assignment and how successful submission will be
confirmed with all participating group members.

Lab Quizzes (12 total, 5 points each):

At the end of every lab there will be an individual assessment of your knowledge related to the topics implemented in the most recent
assignments.  Knowledge of course standards and good programming practices will be evaluated throughout the semester.

 The best way to prepare for lab quizzes is to actively participate with your team during the lab session.

Homework Assignments (7 total, 5 points each):

The homework assignments are individual efforts designed to Homework Due at 11pm on
give you the opportunity to solve problems on your own without Assignment
the assistance of other students. 1 January 24
2 February 7
All assignments will be posted on Blackboard 10-14 days before 3 February 21
they are due.
4 March 7
Please review the course policies as they relate to academic 5 March 28
integrity found later in this document. 6 April 11
7 April 25

Lecture Quiz (50 total points possible): 

Dates of in-lecture quizzes will not be made known in advance, you should assume a quiz will take place at each and every lecture
meeting.  Quizzes may take place at the start of lecture, in the middle, and/or at the end of lecture. 

iClicker response pads are required to participate in lecture quizzes.  You should bring your response pad to every lecture.  Should
your pad fail, or if you forget your pad, you may submit a written quiz using the form found in the back of your notes packet.  You
may only utilize this method once during the semester.  Only the form provided in the course notes packet will be accepted.

 Please review the academic integrity policies regarding the misrepresentation of identity as it relates to taking a lecture quiz for
another student.

Exams (two midterms 100 points each, one final exam 150 points):

Exams will be individual assessments of your knowledge.  Exams will consist of multiple-choice problems. You will notice from the
point distribution of the course that we feel being competent on exams is very important. You need to be able to communicate
intelligently with others, including supervisors, on this topic without needing to be in front of a computer to demonstrate what you
know.

Lecture Policies:

You are expected to arrive to lecture on time and to remain attentive. Disruptive students will be excused from lecture and asked to
meet with course staff before returning to class. Please silence your cell phone during lecture. Lecture seats will be assigned by section
and group. Check Blackboard for your seat assignment.
Lab Policies:

CS 159 labs will meet weekly (see lab schedule). You are expected to attend and to participate in every lab this semester. All lab
assignments (as described previously) will be completed in collaborative teams assigned by your lab instructor. Lab assignments will
be due 30 minutes before the start of your next lab and may require that your team meet outside of lab to complete the assignment.

Because of our use of teaming, no points will be given to a student who is absent from, or late arriving to, a lab. If you are going to
have a regular conflict with your lab time, please change sections.

 Any student missing more than two labs (unexcused) will receive a failing grade for the course.  We feel that you must be
present in lab as you are expected to function as part of a team.  Secondly, you are receiving one credit (of the three for the
course) based on the laboratory component of the course. 

Grading:
 
Assignment Points
Homework 35
Lab Tasks 60
Midterms 200
Final 150
Lecture Quizzes 50
Lab Quizzes 60
Total: 555

Grades:
 
Grade Points Required
A 470
B 415
C 360
 D 305

 An equivalent number of points to earn a C are needed to receive a Pass if taking the course Pass/No Pass.  It is recommended
that graduate students in the course elect this option (see your advisor).
 The instructor reserves the right to lower the minimum score required for each letter grade. If such a move is made it will not
be announced until after the final exam. At no time during the semester will it be speculated on if this will be done or "how
much" any given cutoff will be lowered.  You should have no expectation that all cutoffs if moved will be moved by an equal
amount.
 If you want to guarantee yourself a letter grade then earn more points than required as listed above.

Our expectation of your lab instructor is that he/she grades your assignment in a timely manner and provides you with adequate
feedback.  If you feel this is not the case please address your concern to your lab instructor and the lecturer of the course.  Typically,
your lab instructor should be returning assignments 4-6 days after a given assignment is due.
 

Re-grade Request Policy:

To request a re-grade on any assignment you must formally make your request in writing to the instructor during office hours. You
have five days to appeal any grade from the day the assignment is returned to you. After that period the grades are frozen and no
appeal will be considered.

A re-grade request must include the following:

 The originally graded assignment that was returned to you (if applicable).
 The reason you feel a re-grade is warranted. (What do you feel was overlooked in the original evaluation of your work?)
 Note: A re-grade isn't a second chance to complete an assignment. It isn't a means to challenge posted policies, such as the
acceptance of late work or the submission of un-testable work.

Absences:

Only documented serious hardships will be considered for any make-up work.
If you have documentation of what you consider to be a serious hardship then you should contact the instructor in a timely manner
during office hours. Any student who knows in advance of a coming absence must make a request for consideration one week prior to
the planned absence.

 University policies on absence and absence reporting are available here: http://tinyurl.com/classabsence
 Do not expect assignment deadlines to be altered for reason of personal travel or vacation.
 Make-up requests for reasons of illness MUST be accompanied by a physician’s note stating the dates you were under their
professional care and the date you were cleared to return to school/work.

Important Assignment Guidelines:

All assignments must abide by the programming and documentation standards of the course.  In ALL cases no credit will be given
for programs that do not compile (that is, execution is suppressed due to compilation errors) or are un-testable (MATLAB). Programs
that execute and meet minimum assignment requirements but are not correct or complete will be considered for partial credit. To
receive full credit, your program must produce correct results, be well-designed, be efficient, follow assignment requirements,
and adhere to course programming and documentation standards.
 

An assignment that is not submitted as expected cannot be considered for a grade.  Only work submitted correctly prior to the
assignment deadline can be considered for grading.  Late work is not accepted.
 

Resources and course staff may become heavily loaded as an assignment deadline nears. Waiting until the last minute to work on your
project is dangerous! Our policy is NOT to extend deadlines unless campus resources (not your local ISP) are unavailable for an
extended period near the deadline for an assignment.

ITaP’s Outage (scheduled and unscheduled) Notification RSS Feed:

http://www.itap.purdue.edu/web/infrastructure/operations/change/unscheduled/unscheduled_RSS.xml

You are responsible for knowing how to use the technology utilized by the course, this includes but is not limited to UNIX and related
course tools such as the assignment submission script.
 
Plan to submit work early!  Allow sufficient time to seek assistance should you experience any difficulties with assignments or
submitting an assignment.
 

Collaborative Learning/Teaming/Participating as a Member of a Technical Team:

Here are our expectations of you and your group:

1. Make time to meet with your group regularly.  There are 168 hours in a week, finding some common time for two or three
people to meet should not be that difficult.  It is acceptable for just part of the group to meet some of the time if everyone
cannot attend every meeting.  It is the responsibility of each individual to plan their contribution to the group effort
accordingly.
o A group may exclude the name of a member from the lab assignment header as a means of indicating a lack of
satisfactory contribution to the group assignment.
2. Allow everyone an opportunity to express their ideas on how to approach an assignment.  One benefit of collaborative
teaming is that everyone brings a different idea to the group and the resulting effort should be a stronger one than if it was
completed individually.
o When a group member becomes unresponsive to requests to meet or to update the other members of the goup then
those contributing members must continue without unresponsive member.
3. All group members must be satisfied with the final submission.  It is not acceptable for a group to submit an assignment
that is not approved by all group members.  "It is good enough" may be true for you but it is unfair for the others in the group
who aspire for the strongest grade possible.
o Likewise, each group member must be satisfied with your contribution to the group effort.
4. Each group member must fully understand the entire assignment submitted.  Do not start your group meetings by trying
to delegate the tasks to the different group members.  Everyone must understand and contribute to every aspect of the
assignment and its development.
o Assignments are an opportunity for you to demonstrate your knowledge of the topic. Additionally, an assignment can
be a measure of what you don't know.
5. Designate who will turn in the assignment, when it will be turned in, and how successful submission will be
communicated with the rest of the group.  Only one person from the group will submit the assignment.  Set a goal to submit
the assignment well in advance of the due date to avoid any last minute problems related to group communication.
 o All groups are encourage to exchange that work which was developed in lab before leaving.  Should a group member
be unresponsive outside of class the remaining group members can proceed without starting over.
6. You will work with the group assigned.  There is no other option in this course.  Please see us with concerns you may have
with your group.  Take a professional approach with your group experience as similar to what you may experience at an
internship or co-op experience.
o Groups will be re-assigned after every four labs.

Academic Integrity:

CS 159 applies very strict set of criteria regarding academic integrity and the consequences for violating course policies are serious.

You are encouraged to discuss any CS 159 topic including ideas about how to complete assignments. But, under no circumstances
will exchange of code via written or electronic means be permitted between teams for collaborative assignments or individuals for
individual assignments. It is considered dishonest either to read another team's solution or to provide anyone with a copy of
your work.  Be very careful when working with others on individual assignments as this is generally discouraged.  The work you
submit must be your own original effort.
 

When is it no longer acceptable to discuss an assignment with another student or someone not from my group?  Discussions
with peers are most appropriate during the early phases of solution development.  Once you begin to implement your solution or have
constructed detailed flowcharts or structure charts you should be referencing course staff members exclusively for assistance.
 
Every student is responsible for protecting his/her own work.  Do not make the assumption that roommates, neighbors, significant
others, or other "trusted" individuals would not take advantage of knowing your password, having access to your computer (use a
password protected screen saver, logout when done), or finding a stray copy of your work left on a printer.  You are responsible for
such events that leave your work unprotected.

Do not make the mistake of thinking that superficial changes in a program (such as altering comments, changing variable names, or
interchanging statements) will avoid detection. If you cannot do the work yourself, it is extremely unlikely that you will succeed in
disguising someone else's work as your own. We are adamant that violations in any form will not be tolerated. Even the most trivial
assignment is better not done than if you violate course integrity policies to complete it.
 

As easy as it is to share an electronic copy of a file, to gain access to a file through account sharing, or sharing a hard copy of your
work, it is as just as easy to analyze and detect such sharing as it results in similar efforts being submitted.
 

Assume that every submission you make during the semester will be analyzed by a software similarity service.  This service will
return the percentage of similarity between your solution and those submitted by others in the course.  The service indicates the
number of lines matched.  You will be solving problems this semester that have no unique solution and your solution is expected to be
uniquely yours.  Concerns regarding any of our policies should be addressed during office hours.
 

The software service utilized is not for profit.  The service does not retain your file.  The course will retain your files for the purpose of
record keeping for the current semester and may retain your files for similarity comparisons in future semesters.
 

Minimum consequences for violating course policies will include:

 First offense, a zero for the assignment, a reduction of one letter grade at the end of the semester, AND a referral to the Office
of the Dean of Students for disciplinary action.
 Second offense, a zero for the assignment, a failing grade for the course, AND a referral to the Office of the Dean of Students
for disciplinary action.
 o Penalties for being found in violation from the Office of the Dean of Students will typically range from disciplinary
probation, to probated suspension, to dismissal from the University.

Exceptions to the minimum consequences:

 Any violation on an exam will result in a failing grade for the course and a Dean of Students referral.
 Acts such as a misrepresentation of identity will result in a failing grade for the course and a Dean of Students referral. (This
includes lecture quizzes.)

Schedules:

CS 159 Lab Schedule

All assignments due 30 minutes before the next lab begins.
 
Week of Lab Assignment
January 10 Lab #0
January 17 Lab #1
January 24 Lab #2
January 31 Lab #3
February 7 Lab #4
February 14 Lab #5
February 21 OPEN
February 28 Lab #6
March 7 Lab #7
March 14 SPRING BREAK
March 21 Lab #8
 March 28 Lab #9
April 4 Lab #10
April 11 Lab #11
April 18 Lab #12
April 25 OPEN
May 2 Finals Week - No Lab

 Labs will NOT meet during "open" weeks unless warranted by an extenuating circumstance.

CS 159 Topic Schedule

All reading is a reference to the Gilberg/Forouzan text

Last Revised -
 
Week of Tuesday Thursday
January 10 Introduction UNIX and Chapter1
January 17 Chapter 1 & 2 Chapter 2 & 3
January 24 Chapter 2 & 3 Chapter 3
January 31 Chapter 4 Chapter 4
February 7 Chapter 4 Chapter 4
February 14 Problem Solving Techniques Problem Solving Techniques
No Lecture - Midterm #1
February 21 Chapter 5
Compensation
February 28 Chapter 5 Chapter 6
March 7 Chapter 6 Chapter 6
March 14 SPRING BREAK
March 21 MATLAB File I/O MATLAB File I/O
March 28 MATLAB File I/O Chapter 8
No Lecture - Midterm #2
April 4 Chapter 8
Compensation
April 11 Chapter 8 Chapter 8
April 18 Chapter 8 Chapter 11
April 25 Chapter 11 Chapter 9 & 10
May 2 Final Exam Week

 All chapter references are to the Forouzan and Gilberg C Programming text.

Course Syllabus Subject to Change with Notice - Last Edi