CSC 171
Introduction to Computer Programming

Fall, 2002

Syllabus

Calendar

Homework Assignments

PSP

Downloadable Examples

Getting Help

My office hours (in Alumnae Hall 113A; if I'm not there, look around the corner in 112) are

Tuesday/Thursday 11:00-12:00
Tuesday/Thursday 2:00-5:00
Wednesday 9:00-11:00
Other days and times by appointment.

We also have several tutors capable of helping with this course:

Textbook

Due to circumstances beyond our control, the instructor and textbook for this course have changed at the last minute. Do not buy the old textbook C++ How to Program, by Deitel & Deitel. Instead, we'll use The Object of Java (BlueJ edition), by David D. Riley.

An optional supplementary text is Introduction to the Personal Software Process, by Watts Humphrey. This book isn't about how to program in C++, or how to program in Java, but rather how to be a programmer: how to study your own capabilities, productivity, strengths and weaknesses in programming, in order to produce better results more quickly, without staying up until dawn the night before the program is due.

Recipes and Syntax Rules

You'll get through this course a lot more easily if you follow the design recipes! Here are the recipes and syntax rules we've seen so far.

Software support

To do programming assignments on your home computer, you'll need to download and install the Java Software Development Kit (SDK, not JRE!), and then download and install BlueJ.

I've set up some forms for entering and viewing PSP data. You may use these forms to record defect and time information. To use the forms successfully, make sure your browser accepts JavaScript and cookies. (For those with a moral opposition to cookies, I assure you that they're all "temporary" -- they disappear as soon as you quit the browser.) (For more information about PSP, read Watts Humphrey's Introduction to the Personal Software Process.)

The version of aLibrary on the CD in the textbook was compatible with Java version 1.3, but not with Java version 1.4 (which we have installed). And the version we downloaded in mid-September has a null-pointer problem with BlueJ and Windows/NT. So rather than using either of them, please use the following:

aLibrary.zip (the compiled library)
aLibrarySource.zip (the source code for the library)

Note that the DrawingTool class in some of the examples (e.g. c2_Draw1) relies on aLibrary, so it will have to be re-compiled; if you have a project that contains DrawingTool, just choose "Rebuild Package" from the Tools menu.

Reading List

Read (and use!) the Design Recipe(s).
See my folder of programming examples on composing functions, working with booleans, writing with conditionals, defining and using structs, mixed-type data, etc.
Skim my Adages on Software Engineering and Object-Oriented Programming; in particular, read the few paragraphs about "the joys (and woes) of the craft".
On Pair Programming: read All I Really Need to Know about Pair Programming I Learned in Kindergarten , and
the Extreme Programming page on Pair Programming
More generally, skim through the various sections of Extreme Programming

Who should take this course?

This course assumes that you have either done a little bit of computer programming (say, half a year with decent grades) or have a strong mathematical background. (The course doesn't require that you know a lot of math, but it uses "mathematical thinking".) It is open to CS/CIS majors, minors, and people who just want to learn a little more about programming. For non-majors, this course counts towards your math/science distribution requirement. If you have never written a program before, and don't have "a strong math background", you may be better off in CSC 160, "A First Course in Computer Programming"; consult with the instructor.

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Last modified:

Stephen Bloch / sbloch@adelphi.edu

CSC 171 Introduction to Computer Programming