CS 140 Syllabus Fall 2008

Instructor

  • Ed Harcourt
  • Office: Valentine 210
  • Phone: x5444
  • edharcourt@stlawu.edu
  • Office hours: Monday - Thursday 10AM - 11AM. If the scheduled office hours don't work for you I will normally be in my office in the mornings Monday through Thursday. I will be unavailable on Fridays and most afternoons are pretty booked up with teaching.

Course Info

CS 140 - Introduction to Programming

This is a first course in computer programming. There is no prerequisite for this course. The course web site is accessible here.

There is no required textbook for this course, that makes it imperative that you attend every class and take careful notes.


Required Software

If you want to be able to do the programming assignments on your own computer you'll need the software listed below. Install them in the order listed.

  1. The Java SDK (Software Development Kit). There is a copy of this in T:\harcourt\Fall2008\CS140\downloads\jdk-6u7-windows-i586-p.exe. Copy this to your desktop and double click on it. It is big and may take a while to install. Once it is done installing you can remove the file you copied to your desktop.
  2. DrJava. There is a copy at T:\harcourt\Fall2008\downloads\drjava.jar. Simply copy this to your desktop. Double click on it to make sure that DrJava comes up. Be patient, it might take a few seconds.

If you have a Macintosh stop by and see me.


Grading

Grades are based on a 100 point scale and are derived from the following.

It is imperative that you keep copies of your graded work. Mostly these will be useful for studying, but occasionally we'll need to reconcile a grading difference and I'll need to see your graded copy.

Calculating your grade

To determine your exam average add up the total number of points you have received on exams and quizzes and divide by the total number of possible exam points.

To determine your lab average add up the total number of points you have received on in-class labs and divide by the total number of possible lab points.

To determine your homework average add up the total number of points you have received on homework assignments and divide by the total number of possible homework points.

The 100 points above translate to the following GPA points.

Click here to toggle displaying the grade table.

In Class Labs

Just about every class period will have an in class lab for you to work on. You may work with a partner if you wish. You do not have to. There is only one possible grades for a lab, its either done or not done. You must be present in class to get credit for the lab. You can not make them up.

Exams

There will be two mid-term exams and a final exam.

  1. Exam 1: Tuesday September 30
  2. Exam 2: Tuesday November 4
  3. Final exam: Wednesday December 17, 1:30 - 4:30.

There will be an occassional fifteen minute quiz as well, probaly 3 or 4 during the semester.

Homework

You will have regular homework assignments normally due at the beginning of every class. These assignments are designed to reinforce something you learned in a previous class and also to prepare you for the next class.

Attendance

Attendance is mandatory. You will be allowed two absences during the semester. After that your final grade will be reduced by two points per absence.


Topics

In this course we teach introductory programming use Multimedia (image and sound) as a context. For example, we'll learn how to write a Java program to process an image to turn it into black and white, rotate it, or enlarge or shrink the image. We'll cover much of the textbook in order.


Academic Integrity

Please read the university's academic integrity policies in your student handbook. For in in class labs you will normally work with a partner. Also, I don't mind if you work with your lab partner on homeworks assignments as well. However, this does not not mean that yo ucan just copy your lab partners homework for the day. You must work on it together as equals.