The current time at the submission server at merlot.usc.edu is 21Dec2024-09:55:37 (refresh this page to see the current time).

When you are ready to submit it for grading, here is what you should do:

1. Create a gzip compressed .tar file containing all the source files needed to compile your project. Do not add .o files, executables, or core files to the .tar file. Please note that including .o files, executables, or core files will result in an automatic deduction of as much as 10% of the points allocated to the corresponding project. For example, if your project (with Makefile, README, some .c and some .h files) resides in a directory named, for example, proj1 in your home directory, this must be done by (if your source code filename extensions are not .c and .h, you should replace .c and .h by what you want to submit):

       % cd ~/proj1
       % /usr/usc/bin/gtar cvzf proj1.tar.gz Makefile README *.c *.h

   Please note that the 2nd commandline argument of the gtar command above is the output filename of the gtar command. So, if you omit proj1.tar.gz above, you may accidentally replace one of your files with the output of the gtar command. So, please make sure that the first commandline argument is cvzf and the 2nd commandline argument is proj1.tar.gz.

   If for some reason you cannot run the commands above and decide to use another method, you must inform the TA and the instructor through e-mail as soon as you submit your assignment. Also, you will be doing this at your own risk!

   If you submit through e-mail, please note that it can take a lot of time for the e-mail to get delivered to the instructor's mailbox. Depending on your e-mail client and your service provider, an e-mail can take anywhere from seconds to hours before it is delivered. Unless you know your e-mail server well, it's probably a good idea to submit early this way. Also, since the header of e-mail messages can be spoofed easily, the only timestamp the instructor can use (in order to be fair to all) in an e-mail submission is the time the e-mail arrived into the instructor's mailbox.

   For homework assignments, the only acceptable formats are ASCII text, PDF, Postscript, and HTML. All other formats will receive a score of zero. If you are planning to submit PDF, Postscript, or HTML files, please make sure in advance that your machine is capable of generating files in the format you want and that you are familiar with the procedure.

   It is recommended that you extract the .tar.gz file you created to a temporary directory somewhere else, and try compiling and running your code there. This will provide some assurance that your project submission will work at grading time. Please see the verify your submission section below.

2. Submit the .tar.gz file you created, use the bsubmit executable in the ~csci551b/bin directory on nunki.usc.edu (or any Solaris machine which you can find ~csci551b/bin/bsubmit). The syntax is:

       ~csci551b/bin/bsubmit upload -email your_email -event event_id -file submission_file

   Please note that this bsubmit submission software is new and behaves very differently from the old submit program you are used to.

   Please see the Submission section in the specification of each assignment to see what event_id you need to use.

3. Check the output of the bsubmit program carefully. It should tell you:
   • where a copy of your submission is stored,
   • where the upload ticket is stored,
   • where the receipt is stored,
   • and at what time did the server received your submission.

   By default, these files are stored in:

       ~/.bistro/tickets/$evid

   where $evid is the event_id for the corresponding event.

The bsubmit program can be used multiple times for a given assignment. By default, we will grade your last submission. Therefore, a later submission is considered to supersede previous submissions. If you would like us to grade an earlier submission instead of the last on time submission, you need to send e-mail to the instructor within 12 hours after the original submission deadline. We will use the timestamp of the submission which we grade to determine if you get extra credit for early submission or get penalty for late submission.

    % cd ~/proj1
    % mkdir xyzzy
    % cd xyzzy
    % gunzip -c ../proj1.tar.gz > proj1.tar
    % tar xvf proj1.tar
    % [ follow the steps in the grading guidelines to build the executable ]
    % [ follow the grading guidelines and re-run all your tests to make sure that they all work ]
    % [ make sure your README file is perfect and contains no "?" in required sections ]
    % [ check against the "minus points" section of the grading guidelines to make sure that you won't get any deduction ]
    % cd ..
    % rm -rf xyzzy

    scp proj1.tar.gz YOURLOGIN@nunk.usc.edu:proj1.tar.gz

    ssh -X -Y YOURLOGIN@nunki.usc.edu

1. If the gunzip command failed, the proj1.tar.gz file your've submitted is not properly gzipped.
2. If the tar command failed, the proj1.tar.gz file your've submitted is not properly created.
3. If the make command failed, you probably forgot to include something in your submission. Please remember that if this does not work, you may lose quite a few points.
4. If any of the above failure occurs, you must recreate your submission and submit again and verify again. If you are not sure how to do something, please contact the instructor or the TAs.