NVCC CSC 130-001A – Scientific Programming – Spring 2011
When: Tuesday 7:30PM-10:10PM
Where: Alexandria campus, AA-0156
Instructor: Joel Lepak
Email: jlepak@nvcc.edu
Course website: http://ilzd.org/teaching/2011spring/csc130
Important dates
- Last day to drop with tuition refund: Jan 27
- Last day to drop with W: Mar 25
- Other dates: see academic calendar
Course description
Textbook
Horstmann, Cay S., Java for Everyone, John Wiley & Sons, 2010
We’ll also work out of:
Casey Reas and Ben Fry, Getting Started with Processing, O’Reilly Media, Inc., 2010,
which is available through Safari Online.
Grading
Your grade will be based on the following components:
- Weekly homework: 30%
- Project (may be group or individual): 20%
- Midterm: 25%
- Final: 25%
The grading scale is:
- 90-100%: A
- 80-89%: B
- 70-79%: C
- 60-69%: D
- under 60%: F
There is no curve or extra credit.
Homework
Homework will be assigned at the end of class, and due by email one hour before the next class. Late homework gets a zero. Every weekly homework will have a graded component, but the entire homework set will not always be graded.
You are expected to write all your own answers, code, and comments for homeworks. Working together is permitted (and encouraged), but each person must write (and explain) the final solution alone. You will be expected to be able to explain all details of every homework assignment you complete.
Use of books and websites for help with homework solutions is permitted, but you must cite any sources you use. Lack of citation will be treated as cheating.
Project
You will choose (or be assigned one if necessary) and complete an open-ended project. You can work alone or in groups of up to 3. The project work will include:
- Defining the project scope.
- Defining responsibilities (only for a group project).
- A significant programming task (for all group members).
- A short class presentation. If working in groups, all members must participate (and describe how they satisfied their responsibilities).
Exams
You may bring one 8.5 by 11 inch sheet of paper filled with whatever notes/formulas/prayers/etc. you want to the exams. Make-up exams are permitted only with a good excuse (travel plans are not accepted as an excuse), and the make-up exam may differ from the original.
Ethics
Any ethics violation will be reported to the Dean, and result in an F for the course. Ethics violations include:
- Cheating on exams, or helping others cheat. You are responsible for ensuring no one else can see your work.
- Copying or sharing copies of homework solutions (before the due date).
- Using outside sources on homework or projects without citation.
Et cetera
The syllabus is subject to change. I’ll give notice and a good reason if any changes are necessary.
No audits will be permitted – the class is full and there are other students waiting to take the class for full credit.
If you are seeking accommodations based on a disability, you must provide a disability data sheet, which can be obtained from the counselor for special needs, who is located in Room 185 of the Bisdorf Building, telephone number (703) 845-6301.
Schedule
The exam and project dates are set, but the specific topics are only a rough guess.
- Week 1 (Jan 11): Introduction; computer and programming overview; some math; introduction to Processing.
- Week 2 (Jan 18): Data types, variables, preview of functions.
- Week 3 (Jan 25): Boolean logic; control flow; more functions.
- Week 4 (Feb 1): More control flow; applications of what we’ve done so far.
- Week 5 (Feb 8): Loops. Random numbers.
- Week 6 (Feb 15): More Loops.
- Week 7 (Feb 22): Exam review.
- Week 8 (Mar 1): Midterm exam (beginning of class). Intro to Java.
- Week 9 (Mar 15): More Java; differences from Processing; arrays.
- Week 10 (Mar 22): Functions.
- Week 11 (Mar 29): Project idea review.
- Week 12 (Apr 5): Project ideas due. Higher-level stuff: computer system overview, testing, design.
- Week 13 (Apr 12): Project plan (and responsibilities for group members) due.
- Week 14 (Apr 19):
- Week 15 (Apr 26): Projects due by email one hour before class. Project presentations.
- Week 16 (May 3): Final exam