Course Description - CSCI 102L, Spring 2012, Section 30349R

• Basic UNIX usage (ssh, vi/emacs/pico, g++)
• Basic stream usage (cout & cin)
• Control structures (if/else if/else, switch, for/while/do-while, etc.)
• Defining & using functions (modularization of code)
• Basic use of strings
• Basic use of arrays & vectors
• Basic use of structs & classes

• D. S. Malik, C++ Programming Program Design Including Data Structures (5th Edition), Course Technology, 2010.

• G. T. Heineman, G. Pollice, and S. Selkow, Algorithms in a Nutshell [Paperback], O'Reilly, 2008. (Chapters 4 & 5 are used as reference material)

• Basic Data Structures
  • Strings
  • Arrays
  • Vectors
• Memory management
  • Reference Variables
  • Pointers
  • new/delete
  • Automatic vs. Static variables
  • Stack allocation vs. Heap allocation
• Input/Output Streams
  • Console (cin, cout, cerr)
  • Files
• Exception Handling
• Object-Oriented Design
  • Structs
  • Classes
  • Composition
  • Inheritance
  • Polymorphism

• Advanced Programming Topics
  • Recursion
  • Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs)
  • C++ Standard Template Library (STL)
• Algorithmic Complexity (Big O notation)
• Algorithm Design
  • Search
  • Sorting
• Data Structures
  • Linked Lists
  • Stacks, Queues, Deques
  • Binary Search Trees
  • Heaps, Priority Queues
  • Sets, Maps, Hashtables
  • Graphs

• Making the transition from programmer to software engineer
• Writing software other developers can (re)use
• The power of data representation and abstraction
• The beauty and potential of object-oriented design
• Writing clear, efficient and maintainable code
• Becoming a better all-around software developer

Reading Assignments: Readings from the book and other sources form the base of the pyramid. These readings contain theoretical concepts, examples and usable code that will be very helpful for all the work in this course.

Lab Assignments: The lab assignments are designed to provide you with fundamental programming techniques that important to all of your software engineering endeavors. Labs will be assigned on a weekly basis and will focus on implementing various topics discussed in lecture. It will be difficult to succeed in this class without doing the weekly labs on time.

Homework Assignments: The homework assignments will utilize the techniques, and in some cases the code, from the labs. The labs are like miniature homework assignments and students will use what they learn in labs to complete the larger homework assignments. If students neglect to do the labs, they will find the homework assignments much more difficult.

Exams: The exams are the top of the pyramid. Students will be expected to know the material from the assigned readings in the book, the labs and the homeworks. The exams are a student's chance to demonstrate that they fully understand the course material.

• Ability to choose appropriate and efficient data structures and algorithms to solve a problem
• Ability to compare data structures and algorithms for efficiency using algorithm analysis
• Ability to program wiith a container-class library
• Ability to design, document, and implement classes
• Ability to program with pointers and dynamic data
• Ability to write recursive functions and understand when recursion is appropriate to a problem
• Ability to use or implement linear data structures, including stacks, queues, lists
• Knowledge of search structures and algorithms including binary search, search trees, and hash tables
• Knowledge of sorting algorithms
• Ability to apply tools and techniques for program correctness, such as unit testing, use of a symbolic debugger, and assert statements
• Ability to convert a small to moderate-sized problem into a program in an object-oriented language
• Ability to write readable and maintainable code
• Ability to use or implement other data structures such as (non-search) trees, heaps, and graphs

It is your responsibility to make sure that your mailbox is not full. If you miss some important announcements because your e-mail service provider is dropping your messages on the floor, it cannot be used as an excuse.

Unless otherwise specified, each weekly lab will require a design writeup to be written and turned in at the start of the lab for that week. These are worth 3 points. You cannot get the 3 points unless you turn in your writeup at the beginning of lab. You can find a template for your design documents here.

You must finish your current lab and get it graded during your lab time. Late lab will get a zero. When you are ready for grading, append your name to the list on the board and wait your turn.

In case your lab cannot be graded during your current lab. You may get your lab graded during your lab TA's office hour or by appointment (you cannot just show up at the TA's office hour to get your lab graded) and grading must be completed before the beginning of your next lab. But please note that you can only do this if you have pre-approval from your TA. Your TA will only give you pre-approval if both of the following conditions are satisfied:

1. You were working on the lab the whole time during your lab session, and
2. The TA is convinced that you have completed a reasonable amount of your lab work.

If you have legitimate reasons why you cannot make it to your lab but would like to attend a different lab, you need to make a request to your lab TA and get it approved. If there is room and you have not done this for more than two times, your TA will approve it and inform the other lab TA. You can do this at most two times (your lab TA will keep track). Afterwards, your request will be denied.

[BC: paragraph added 1/21/2012]
As mentioned in Slide 2 of Lecture 2 on 1/12/2012, to encourage you to do your HWs early, you will get extra credit if you turn in your programming assignment 2 or 3 days before the deadline. If your submission (the one we end up grading) is more than 72 hours before the submission deadline, you will get an extra 10% or your score. If your submission is between 48 and 72 hours before the submission deadline, you will get an extra 5% of your score.

IMPORTANT: All assignments will be graded on the aludra/nunki UNIX systems. Before you submit your code, MAKE SURE that your code compiles and runs properly on aludra/nunki because that's where it will be tested and graded. An excuse such as "It runs just fine on my computer!" will not be accepted. If we have to grade your assignment on any machine other than aludra/nunki (e.g., your laptop, a lab machine, etc.), we will deduct 35% from your grade.

Please also note that you must submit your code using the USC Blackboard System since the Blackboard System timestamps your submission. You should also verify what you have submitted is what you intended to submit by following the Verify Your Submission procedure. Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure that you have submitted valid submissions.

Late Policy

If you are unable to complete a homework assignment due to illness or family emergency, please see the instructor as soon as possible to get an extension. A doctor's note is required as proof of illness or emergency. In general, when you get sick, it's best to see a doctor and get a note just in case you may need it later.

Modifications after Deadline

One line (128 characters max) of change is defined as one of the following:

• Add 1 line before (or after) line x of file y
• Delete line x of file y
• Replace line x of file y by 1 line

Please note that this applies to code and documentation files. (It may not be worthwhile to modify a documentation file at the cost of 20% per line of modification.)

Please also note that if you submitted a file you did not meant to submit, or if you have submitted a broken submission file, or if you have forgotten to include a file in your submission, the only way to change your submission is to use the process described right here.

The exams are usually closed book, closed notes, and closed everything (and no "cheat sheet"). Also, no calculators, cell phones, or any electronic gadgets are allowed. There will be assigned seating.

Old Exams

• Fall 2011 (by Bill Cheng): Midterm #1, Midterm #2, Final.
• Spring 2011 (by Brent Nash & Bill Cheng): Midterm #1, Midterm #2, Final.
• Fall 2010 (by Brent Nash): Midterm #1, Midterm #2, Final,

Assignment	% of Final Grade
5 Homeworks	30%
12 Labs	20%
3 Exams	50%

Percentage	Letter Grade
95% or higher	A
90-95%	A-
87-90%	B+
83-87%	B
80-83%	B-
77-80%	C+
73-77%	C
70-73%	C-
67-70%	D+
63-67%	D
60-63%	D-
below 60%	F

Pleaes also note the following:

• Your assignments are your own work! No group assignments are allowed or will be tolerated. You are free to talk to other students about assignments but no actual material (files, code fragments, etc.) should be shared or copied. We will act harshly at any sign of copying.

• We will not assign incompletes unless it is for a documented medical reason (in accordance with USC policy).

So, if you visit a doctor at the Student Health Center, please make sure you fill out one of these forms, check the "limited discussion with faculty" checkbox, get it stamped, signed, and dated by someone there (a clerk/receptionist would sign at the "witness" line), and bring it back to me. This would satisfy the "note from a doctor" requirement so that you can get an extension.

If you visit a doctor somewhere else, please either bring a "note from the doctor" or a similar authrozation letter so I may contact them.

For exams, in order to be eligible for regrades, you must write your entire exam in ink.

You are strongly encouraged to come see the instructor if you feel that you are in trouble with anything related to the course. Don't wait till the deadline gets close.

In this class, we will use sophisticated automated program checkers to detect cheating. Be aware that the program checkers have demonstrated very good results and are widely used within the academic community. Any student caught cheating will be given zero credit and will be disciplined.

It is the students responsibility to submit their assignments in time.

Students are expected to be familiar with programming in C/C++ on the UNIX platform. No special assistance or consideration will be offered if your background is inadequate.

Programming:

• C Programming (by Steve Holmes at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, England) - includes notes on make, separate compilation, file I/O, etc.
• Makefile tutorial (at Colby College)
• Makefile tutorial (at Indiana University)
• Steve's Software Trek (by Steve Karg) - includes some useful C/C++ source code for string manipulation, INI file manipulation, etc.
• C Examples - lots and lots of sample C code for basic stuff.
• C/C++ at USC from USC ITSWeb

• cygwin (BSD system with X11R6 on Windows XP)
• Some Often-used UNIX Commands
• Unix commands (more complete, from University of Utah)
• UNIX Shell Programming (Chapter 2 of this book gives a good introduction to UNIX)
• UNIXhelp for Users from the University of Edinburgh
• C/C++ Documentation (compiling, linking, additional libraries, include files) from USC ITSWeb
• UNIX Documentation (concepts, commands, X-Windows) from USC ITSWeb
• Emacs Documentation from USC ITSWeb
• Vi Text EditorDocumentation from USC ITSWeb
• General information on operating systems, productivity applications, Internet connectivity, e-mail and web publishing at USC, can be found at the ITS software site. You can click on your operating system and download useful software from there. For example, for the Windows platform, you can find things like X-Win32, FileZilla, and PuTTY there.