(This page last modified Thursday, January 8, 2009.)

CS180 Web Page

The class web page that contains this overview and more information is found at:

http://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/cs180

The Academic Integrity Policy for CS 180 appears at the bottom of this page.

The procedure for obtaining CS Department Computer Accounts for CS 180 students appears at the bottom of this page.

Course Personnel:

Instructor Instructional Coordinator Lab Administrator
Name Dr. Sunil Prabhakar
Phone: 49-46008
Office: LWSN 2142C
Dr. KC VanZandt
Phone: 49-46023
Office: HAAS 142
Mike Sholty
Phone: 210-2169
E-Mail Address sunil@cs.purdue.edu kvz@cs.purdue.edu msholty@cs.purdue.edu

Time/Location

Time: 3:30 pm - 4:20 pm, Monday and Wednesday
Location: 1136 Lynn Hall of Veterinary Medicine

Textbook:

We will be using a new textbook that is not available at regular bookstores.
Title: A Gentle Introduction to Concurrent Programming. The Raw edition.
Authors: Barry Wittman, Aditya Mathur, Tim Korb.
The book is available from Copy Mat.
Location:
135 S Chauncey Ave
West Lafayette, IN 47906-3722
(765) 743-5995
 

Slides and Class Notes

CS 180 -- Course Syllabus

IMPORTANT: We recommend that you print the "notes pages" version of the slides and use them to keep notes during lecture and recitation. You will want to use these modified slides to study for your exams and projects.

Directory of all the slides.
 

eInstruction CPS Pads

CS 180 uses eInstruction CPS Pads in the Monday and Wednesday class. (These are not used in labs or recitations.) These pads will be used several times each class for quizzes and short answer questions. If you do not have one already, obtain a CPS pad as soon as possible. Register it for CS 180 by following the link "Response Pad Registration & Blackboard -- For Students" on the page above. (The link you follow will say "Register your CPS pad for CS 180".) For Step 1 enter your CPS Response Pad Serial Number which shows on its screen when you turn it on. It will begin with the letter 'r'. You should not enter anything for Step 2. We have no Enrollment or Coupon Code. In Step 4 you are creating (or using again) your CPS Username and Password. Do NOT use your career account and password for this. We will begin using these CPS Pads the first day of class. You will likely use your pad for many classes here at Purdue.

Campus Emergencies

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. If such unusual circumstances arise, we will notify you via this Website.

Campus emergencies include pandemic disease outbreaks (e.g., H1N1 flu), weather extremes (e.g., tornado, blizzard), hazardous material spills or leaks (e.g., gas pipe break, chemical spill), infrastructure problems (e.g., electrical power failures, water quality problems), and general safety issues (e.g., person on campus suspected of violent behavior).

A special note about H1N1 flu -- We do not want ill students in class, recitation, or lab spreading the virus. If you are diagnosed with this flu or any other highly-contagious disease, contact CS 180 Instructional Coordinator Dr. KC VanZandt via email (kvz@cs.purdue.edu) to make arrangements.

Grades

Your grade in this course will be determined according to the following weighting factors:

IMPORTANT -- Exams can only be "made up" in extraordinary circumstances if arrangements are made with the CS 180 Instructional Coordinator. Such arrangements should be made at least one week before the exam. "Made up" exams must be taken BEFORE the time the rest of the class takes the same exam.

The grading for the course will follow a curve and is not fixed. If you are concerned about your grade, contact Dr. Prabhakar.
If you have a question about the grading of a lab, talk to your Lab Instructor about it. If you have a question about the grading of a project, talk to your Recitation Instructor.

Lecture, Lab, Recitation

LECTURE -- [Monday and Wednesday]
The instructor will discuss computer science concepts and illustrate them using the Java programming language. He will explain the relationship among items covered in CS 180 and other CS courses. He will not discuss labs or projects.

LAB -- [2 hours]
Your Lab Instructor (CS undergraduate student) will give you programming problems to complete during the 2-hour lab period and will help you complete them. Your Lab Instructor will not usually discuss the lectures or projects, but can certainly answer questions about them if time allows.

RECITATION -- [1 hour Thursday or Friday]
Your Recitation Instructor (CS graduate student) will explain any concepts you do not understand from lecture and will usually present additional examples. Your Recitation Instructor will also discuss project assignments. Your Recitation Instructor will not discuss labs.

Class Newsgroup

It is important that you learn how to use the CS180 news group (purdue.class.cs180) since answers to questions and announcements will be posted there.

The purdue.class.cs180 newsgroup is meant for technical issues only -- related to the class. That is, questions about labs, assignments, lectures, language features of Java, etc. It is NOT to be a place for flaming or complaining. If you have a problem with something in the class, please talk to your Lab Instructor, Recitation Instructor, Instructional Coordinator, or Lab Administrator.

Consulting

CS 180 Consultants will be available throughout the semester in CS LWSN B146 for help with the labs, projects, and to help explain items that you have not understood in class, recitation, or lab. Exceptions to the consulting schedule will be announced via the CS 180 news group.

Note: Starting your project early is always the best policy because ... the closer the deadline, the more crowded the consulting room.

Policies

(1) You should direct questions concerning a lab or project to a staff member, rather than a classmate. But, when you come to us, be sure that you have specific questions and can show evidence that you have spent some time on your own attempting to solve your problem.

(2) This is a four credit hour class. Purdue University regulations state that we may ask as much as 3 hours of your time per credit hour in an average week. Accordingly, you should plan on spending an average of TWELVE hours per week on this course. We are aware that this represents a large part of your available time, but we feel that it is worth it!

(3) ATTENDANCE IN CS 180 IS MANDATORY! You should plan on attending EVERY lecture, EVERY recitation, and EVERY lab meeting. Past experience has shown us that students who attend lecture, recitation, and lab regularly do better on labs, assignments, and exams -- even those who think they already know the material or who think they can learn it on their own. Missed labs and recitations CANNOT be made up, unless the absence is excused. Lab and recitation absences MAY be excused for reasons of serious illness, family emergency, or official university commitments, but only if appropriate documentation is provided to your Lab Instructor (for lab) or your Recitation Instructor (for recitation). For planned absences (band trips, other course field trips, etc.), you must inform your instructor ahead of time, or the absence will not be excused.

(4) You should read the material in the textbook according to the class syllabus. In most cases, you will read about a concept in the book, then we will cover it in class, then you will use it in lab, then it will be discussed in recitation, then it will be used on a project, and finally it will be tested on an exam.

(5) Computers may become heavily loaded as a project deadline nears. Waiting until the last minute to work on your project is dangerous! Our CS 180 policy is NOT to extend deadlines unless most available workstations are unavailable for an extended period (like 10-12 hours) near the end of a project.

(6) NO LATE projects or lab assignments will be accepted. There will be NO EXCEPTIONS to this rule except under extreme circumstances approved in advance by your Recitation Instructor or Lab Instructor. Failure to turn in a project results in a loss of all the points allocated for the project. The same holds true for a lab assignment.

(7) For each project, students are told to direct all project-related questions to one of the CS 180 Recitation Instructors using e-mail. That Recitation Instructor will answer all questions about the project and will post general interest questions and answers to the purdue.class.cs180 news group. We can answer questions asking for clarifications on the project. We can address problems that arise if the project handout is unclear or does not adequately address an area the project covers. However, that person should not be asked questions specific to your own individual program. Those kinds of questions should be taken to a CS 180 consultant or your own Recitation Instructor.

(8) In most cases no credit will be given for programs that do not compile (that is, execution is suppressed due to compilation errors). Programs which execute 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, and adhere to good programming style. Visit this link to learn about our Java Programming Standards.

(9) WE ALWAYS WELCOME YOUR CONSTRUCTIVE COMMENTS. Please do not hesitate to bring any shortcomings to our attention.

Academic Integrity Policy

All CS 180 course work must be done individually. We encourage discussion of any CS 180 topic including ideas about how to do the projects. But, under no circumstances will exchange of code via written or electronic means be permitted between CS 180 students. It is considered dishonest either to read someone else's solution or to provide a classmate with a copy of your work.

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. We are adamant that cheating in any form will not be tolerated. Even the most trivial assignment is better not done than if you cheat to complete it.

All students in CS 180 must read and "sign" the Purdue University Department of Computer Science Academic Integrity Policy. This is available on the CS Department Website at the Computer Science Resource Portal. Click on the link "Academic Integrity Policy". You will need your Purdue Career Account login and password to access this page. There, after reading the policy, you will indicate that you have read and understand both the policy and its consequences. There is also information about some implementation details.

IMPORTANT: CS 180 students will not be allowed to take Exam 1 if they have not "signed" this policy.

Penalties

In CS 180 a first instance of academic dishonesty will result in a zero for that assignment plus a letter grade deduction at the end of the semester.

A second instance of academic dishonesty will result in a grade of F.

In accordance with the Purdue University Department of Computer Science Academic Integrity Policy, any instance of academic dishonesty on an exam, project, or lab assignment will be reported to the Dean of Students Office.

Accounts

Every CS 180 student should go to the Computer Science Resource Portal prior to attending the first lab. On that page a student will use his/her Purdue Career Account (ITaP) login and password to obtain his/her CS Department Computer Account. Anyone who has not previously read and "signed" the CS Department Academic Integrity Policy form will be stepped through that first before being presented his/her CS Department Computer Account.


© 2009 by Purdue University Department of Computer Science.  All rights reserved.