Syllabus
CSSE 220 – Object-Oriented Software Development
Winter, 2007-08 (a.k.a. 200820)

Prerequisites and Course Content

Prerequisites

The formal prerequisite is: CSSE 120 – Introduction to Software Development .
Either the Fall 2007 version (Python and C) or an earlier version (Java) should suffice.

The main things you should bring into this course include:

Course catalog description

Object-oriented programming concepts, including the use of inheritance, interfaces, polymorphism, abstract data types, and encapsulation to enable software reuse and assist in software maintenance. Recursion, GUIs and event handing. Use of common object-based data structures, including stacks, queues, lists, trees, sets, maps, and hash tables. Space/time efficiency analysis. Testing. Introduction to UML.

CSSE Department's Official Learning Outcomes for CSSE 220

Students who successfully complete this course should be able to:

1. Develop software that incorporates the following techniques:
      a. Inheritance and class hierarchies
      b. Interfaces
      c. Polymorphism
      d. Casting
      e. Exceptions
      f. Function objects
      g. Generics
      h. Collections
      i. Event-driven graphical user interfaces
      j. Exploring and using large-scale API packages such as Java's Swing
      k. Recursion

2. Perform the following steps of the software development cycle effectively:
      a. Design expressed as UML class diagrams
      b. Documentation before coding
      c. Unit and system testing

3. Explain the implementation of sequential and linked lists

4. Analyze the asymptotic worst, best, and average case run times of simple algorithms including search and sort

5. Select basic data structures (e.g. arrays, sequential lists, linked lists, stacks, queues, hash tables and trees) based on the time and space complexity of typical operations.

Course meetings, Contact info, Outside Help

Class Meeting Times and Places

Instructor

Claude Anderson – Professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering

Email: anderson@rose-hulman.edu  
Office phone: x8331
Office address: Moench F-210
Home page: http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~anderson
Office hours: I am usually  on campus from about 7:45 AM until 5:00 PM. When I am not in class or meetings, I am usually in my office, and happy to talk with you.  Sometimes I will be in the F-217 lab working with students. Feel free to look for me there.
Link to my Online Calendar: click here You can also open my calendar directly from Microsoft Outlook:
Go to Calendar, then click Open a Shared Calendar.

Course Assistants

Molly Richardson richarme@rose-hulman.edu
Chris Riley rileycr@rose-hulman.edu
David Loughry loughrdj@rose-hulman.edu
Will Anderson anderswc@rose-hulman.edu
Michael Mrozek mrozekma@rose-hulman.edu
David Korff korffds@rose-hulman.edu
Corey Kump kumpct@rose-hulman.edu

The Big Email Address

If you send mail to csse220-staff@rose-hulman.edu, it will go to all instructors and student assistants for the course. You are more likely to get a quick answer by sending to this address than to any of us individually.

Other Sources of Help

The CSSE lab, F-217, should staffed Sunday through Thursday, 7pm–9pm, and some afternoon hours MTWR (times to be announced), to assist students taking courses in the CSSE Fundamentals sequence, including 220.

Besides the instructors and assistants, other students in the course can often be a great source of help. And they will learn more if they explain things to you.

Don’t try to be the Lone Ranger in this course, especially if you do not find the course easy. If you find that you have worked on something for 30 minutes without making any progress, it’s probably time to seek help!

Books

Required text

Weiss 3E Cover Art

Data Structures and Problem Solving Using Java, 3rd edition by Mark Allen Weiss
Hardcover: 960 pages
Publisher: Addison Wesley; (February 14, 2005)

Links: Errata     Source code

 

"From the Source" Reference

Java Logo

The Java™ Tutorials, Sun Microsystems.

On-line: http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/
Publisher: Sun Microsystems (November 10, 2006)
Language: English

Another rich online source of books for learning and reference

Safari Logo

Safari Books Online – On-line access to Java (and other) books through the Rose-Hulman Logan Library web page

On-line: http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com/?uicode=rosehulman/

On-line books that may be helpful for CSSE220 include:

How to Access Safari Tech Books Online These on-line books are only accessible from on-campus or via the Rose-Hulman VPN.
Off-campus: See IAIT for more information on connecting to the VPN
                      Once VPN is connected, find Safari Books Online by following these steps:
  1. Go to the Logan Library page. (You can also get there from the Rose-Hulman homepage, by choosing “Logan Library” from the QuickLinks menu.)
  2. On the Logan Library page, go to the Databases drop-down list at the top, and choose Safari Tech Books online.
  3. You may have to click Go.
  4. Look for the books you want. If you don't see any books, click Library near the top of the page.

Course Materials Online

I will  use ANGEL to post grades and materials that require restricted access (like quizzes and homework solutions), All materials for the course will be in ANGEL, linked from ANGEL, or in Subversion repositories that I will create for you. 
Many of the materials in ANGEL are actually links from ANGEL to AFS files, and are thus they are available via several mechanisms for accessing public AFS data. You can get to these materials:

Homework and Projects

When I give a reading assignment, I seriously expect you to read it. In-class discussions will assume that you have done the reading and understood the “easy stuff” before class. You may of course ask about any details that you do not understand. I strongly believe that reading the textbook will help you. (You may possibly be able to “get by” without reading the textbook. But did you come to Rose-Hulman to “get by” or to be the best?).

Often reading assignments will be accompanied by open-book ANGEL quizzes over the basics of the reading, before we discuss the harder parts in class.

Your solutions to programming problems should be well-designed and well-documented. I will suggest working on some programming problems with another person; however I will designate most problems as individual assignments.

I will assign several written homework problems and in-class exercises. They will usually be short thought problems, mathematical analyses, or algorithm-design exercises. I expect you to think through them carefully and write your answers legibly and clearly (if you can’t write it neatly, type it). On some problems, not only the correctness but also the quality of your solution will determine your grade. Some of the problems will be straightforward practice with concepts from the course; others will require creative solutions. Don’t put them off until the last minute!

When problems are designated as allowing you to work with a partner, if you need help finding people to work with, let me know, and I will put you in touch with other students who indicate a similar need. If you do an assignment with someone else, it is your responsibility to not allow anyone’s name (including your own) to be placed on the submitted program if that person does not understand the solution.

Each submitted program file should include your name(s), and a description of the file’s contents in comments at the top of your files. They should have reasonable and consistent comments, style, and indentation. They should not contain lines that are more than 80 characters long (causing wraparound and general unreadability of printouts).

Grades for programming problems will be based on correctness, style, and efficiency.

Late Assignment Policy

Unless I offer a "grace period*" for a particular assignment, all assignments not designated as "programming assignments"  must be turned in before the due time if you want credit for them. This includes written assignments (which may have a small programming component), ANGEL quizzes, and in-class exercises designated to be completed as part of the homework. 

We all have days when we are extremely busy, or times when a program takes longer to complete than we expect it will. I am making an allowance for this, as long as you don't do it too often. You are allowed three "Late Days" for programming assignments.  Until you use up all of your late days, you may turn in any programming assignment up to 24 hours after the time it is due. If the due date is Friday, the late day extends to 8 AM Monday.  

If you want to use a late day for an assignment, you must complete the Late Days Survey on ANGEL before that assignment is due. That is so I can know when it is okay to post a solution or discuss an assignment in class.

Some particular assignments may be designated as "no late days" assignments.  Example reasons:

Bonus: If you complete all of the programming assignments (complete means earning at least 50% of the credit) without using any of your late days, I will give you a 50-point homework bonus at the end of the term.  This will be true "extra credit".  I will set the cutoff numbers for lowest A, lowest B, etc. before adding in these points for those who earn them.  Thus there is no penalty for using late days, but a bonus if you do not.

*grace period;  Occasionally, I will allow extra time for everyone to complete a particular assignment without "extending the due date."  The difference is subtle. If you are working on an assignment during a grace period, you should do so with the recognition that you are behind, and you need to quickly finish it and move on to the next assignment.  If there is a grace period for an assignment, I will explain the reason for it.

 

Grading

Weight Criteria
40% Homework, programming problems and projects, quizzes, in-class exercises
10% Team mini-project
5% In-class quizzes
12% Exam 1 (Dec 20)
12% Exam 2 (Jan 31)
16% Final Exam
5% Citizenship

Final grades are also contingent on the following:

I will do my best to conform to the Rose-Hulman definition of the various grades, as described in the Academic Rules and Procedures. Note in particular that the phrase “thorough competence to do excellent work” appears there in the description of the “B” grade (not “A”), and it further states that “B” and “B+” will not be given for mere compliance with the minimum essential standards of the course.

Citizenship Counts!

I may adjust your overall average up or down by up to 5 percent, based on your citizenship in the CSSE 220 learning community. This includes attendance, promptness, preparation for class, positive participation in class and the online discussion forums, constructive partnership in pair and group assignments, timely completion of various surveys, and peer evaluation of other students’ code and of your team members for group projects.

The in-class time in this course constitutes an important learning experience. You should be there,  Two unexcused absences will affect your Citizenship grade. Three or more unexcused absences may result in failure of the course.  I will use the ANGEL attendance manager as a record of your attendance.  Be sure to record your attendance each day.

Bug Reports

If you find errors in the textbook or any of my course documents, please report them via the bug reports discussion forum on ANGEL. I will give a small number of extra credit points to the first person to report a given bug. The number of points will depend on the severity and subtlety of the bug that you report. I recommend that you subscribe to that discussion forum.

Communication

I usually check email several times per day, and do my best to respond quickly. It is a good way to get answers to simple questions. I expect you to check your email daily (not necessarily on weekends, although even that is not a bad idea). When I send mail to you, I will use your Rose-Hulman address. If you do not currently read mail that is sent to that address, please have it forwarded to wherever you do read mail.

When you send course-related email directly to me, please include 220 in your Subject: line (and include a real subject line), so that I can quickly pick it out from among the dozens of daily email messages that I receive. Then I can respond to you more quickly.

Bad: When is Assignment 1 due? 
Bad:CSSE 220
Good:CSSE220: When is Assignment 1 due?

Don't forget the csse220-staff@rose-hulman.edu address. Your mail will go to me and to all of the student assistants.  There is no need for a special subject line for these messages, since the Mailman list system inserts the subject.

Discussion forums on ANGEL are a place where you can discuss various aspects of the course, including the assignments, with other class members.  The student assistants and I will read the discussions and sometimes respond to your posts.  One way to enhance the Citizenship part of your grade is to post thoughtful questions, answers, and comments to the forums.

I welcome your suggestions for the course.  Please tell me about things in the course that help you to learn, and things I might do to improve the course for you. If there is something that you'd like to tell me, but don't feel comfortable with me knowing who it comes from, you can use the Anonymous Suggestion Box survey that I have provided on ANGEL.

Electronic Distraction

I will do my best to keep the class interactive and relevant. But I recognize that sometimes it is hard as a student to stay focused on the class. With laptops in class, there are many more ways to become distracted. Unfortunately these distractions are much more pernicious, since it is very easy to get drawn into things like IM conversations or RSS feeds.

In the classroom I strongly encourage you to turn off IM and email software and only use other software for things directly related to class. If you must use non-class-related software during class, then you should sit in the next-to-last row (no one should sit in the last row). Doing so will keep you from distracting your classmates with what is on your screen.

Academic Integrity

Recall the Institute policy on academic misconduct:

“Rose-Hulman expects its students to be responsible adults and to behave at all times with honor and integrity.”

Exams and homework will be done on an individual basis. The simple rule of thumb for individual work is:

Never give or use someone else’s code or written answers.

Such exchanges are definitely cheating and not cooperation. The departmental statement on academic honesty has more detailed advice.

We encourage you to discuss the problems and general approaches to solving them with other students. However, when it comes to writing code, it should be your own work (or the work of your group if it is a group or partner assignment). If you are having trouble understanding how some library code works or pinning down a run-time or logic error in your program, by all means talk to someone about it.

If you use someone else’s ideas in your solution (or any other work that you do anywhere), you have to:

If you are ever in doubt about whether some specific situation violates the policy, the best approach is to discuss it with your instructor beforehand. This is a very serious matter that we do not take lightly. Nor should you.

In general, you should not look at another student’s code to get ideas of how to write your own code. Beginning the process of producing your own solution with an electronic copy of work done by other students is never appropriate.

Plagiarism or cheating will result in a negative score (i.e., less than zero) for the assignment or exam. Egregious cases will result in a grade of “F” for the course. More importantly, such dishonesty steals your own self-esteem. So don’t cheat.