C/C++ Programming (810:036), Fall 2004

Time and Place: 2:00-3:15 Tuesday and Thursday in Wright 105

Web-site: www.cs.uni.edu/~fienup/cs036f04/

Instructor: Mark Fienup (fienup@cs.uni.edu)

Office: Wright Hall 321

Phone: 273-5918 (Home 266-5379)

Office Hours: M 9-10, 2-3; T 9:30-10:30; W 9-11, 2-3; Th 9:30-10:30; F 9-11

Prerequisite: None - no previous programming experience is expected!

Goals: The goal of this course is to teach you the skills necessary to design, read, and write simple C and C++ programs. Both the procedural and object-oriented design paradigms will be covered.

Text: "C How to Program" by Deitel & Deitel, fourth edition, Prentice-Hall, Inc., ISBN 0-13-142644-3.

Assignments: Assignments will consist of mainly weekly or bi-weekly programming assignments.

Scholastic Conduct: You are responsible for being familiar with the University's Academic Ethics Policies (http://www.uni.edu/pres/policies/301.html). Copying from other students is expressly forbidden. Doing so on exams or assignments will be penalized every time it is discovered. The penalty can vary from zero credit for the copied items (first offense) up to a failing grade for the course. If an assignment makes you realize you don't understand the material, ask a fellow student a question designed to improve your understanding, not one designed to get the assignment done. The solutions to assignments should be individual, original work unless otherwise specified.

Any substantive contribution to your solution by another person or taken from a publication should be properly acknowledged in writing. Failure to do so is plagiarism and will necessitate disciplinary action. In addition to the activities we can all agree are cheating (plagiarism, bringing notes to a closed book exam, etc), assisting or collaborating on cheating is cheating. Cheating can result in failing the course and/or more severe disciplinary actions.

Remember: Discussing assignments is good. Copying code or test-question answers is not.

Pedagogic Approach: In class, I'll tend to break up the lecture with active and group learning exercises to aid learning. While this is not formally graded, part (9%) of your grade will be based on your participation of these in-class activities. Students benefit by (1) increased depth of understanding, (2) increased comfort and confidence, (3) increased motivation, and (4) being better prepared to work in groups on the job. This might sound great, but it will require you (and me) to work differently to prepare for class. Before the class, you must read the assigned reading and think about it; otherwise you won't be able to effectively participate in your group during class.

Grading policy: There will be three tests (including the final). I'll announce tests at least one week in advance to allow you time to prepare. Tentative weighting of course components is:

In-class Work: 9 %

Assignments: 22 %

In-class Test 1: 22 % (September 30)

In-class Test 2: 22 % (November 9)

Final: 25 % (1 - 2:50 PM Wednesday, December 15)

Grades will be assigned based on straight percentages off the top student score. If the top student score is 92%, then the grading scale will be, i.e., 100-82 A, 81.9-72 B, 71.9-62 C, 61.9-52 D, and below 52 F. Plus and minus grades will be assigned for students near cutoff points.

Special Notice: The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) provides protection from discrimination for qualified individuals with disabilities. Students with a disability, who require assistance, will need to contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS) for coordination of academic accommodations. The ODS is located at 213 Student Services Center. Their phone number is 319/273-2676.