For all work other than exams, getting help and working with others is encouraged. Just follow these three rules for all work that you turn in as your own:

• Rule 1: Attempt the problem yourself first (or with your partner in a pair exercise).
  • It is NEVER right to begin by copying someone else's solution.
  • If you find a complete solution on the internet to the very same exercise that you are doing, you may NOT use that solution in any way. Just ignore it!
• Rule 2: Make a sincere effort to understand the concepts behind the problem on which you are getting help.
  • If you do NOT understand your own code, ask your instructor or a course assistant for help!
• Rule 3: When you get help from the internet (or other such electronic or printed resources), say so, as follows:

  You can use the following resources without telling us or doing anything special:

  • Any materials that your instructor supplied.
    • For example, you may copy an example from code that we supplied when you are working on your own code, modifying the example as needed.
    • Warning: Be cautious about doing such copying too much. There is a lot to be said for typing (rather than copying) your code, to help develop “muscle memory”.
  • Any explanations (but NOT examples of code) from any source.
  • Small snippets of code (say, fewer than 10 or so lines of code) from any source.
    • But remember Rule 2 above. Do not use a snippet of code if you do not understand it!

  When you use any help from the internet OTHER than the items explicitly listed above, say so:

  • In code, put a comment that includes the URL (or other appropriate indication) of the source and the tag GOT_HELP
  • In other materials submitted, indicate the source of help in any appropriate way.