Class motto:
What’s this button for?
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CMSC104
Problem Solving and Computer Programming
Section 4, Spring 2012
Prof. Richard Chang
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Contact Information

Email: chang@umbc.edu

Office hours:
 ITE 326

Tues & Thurs: 2:00 – 3:00pm
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Am I in the Right Class?

CMSC 104
 Assumes NO programming experience
 Prepares you for CMSC 201
 Does NOT count towards the CS major
 Meets a requirement for other majors: i.e. Biology,
Physics, Financial Economics

CMSC 201
 Assumes some programming experience
 First CMSC course for CS majors
 More challenging
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CMSC100 vs CMSC104

CMSC100: less technical, less programming,
more overview of computer science.

CMSC104: concentrates on programming,
you have to learn programming to pass this
class.
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This is an ELECTIVE class
Main Objective:
Learn Programming in C
Strategy:
Classwork ⇒ Homework 1
⇒ Homework 2 ⇒ Quiz ⇒ Final
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Command Line Interface

Basic use of


an operating system (Linux)
a text editor
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Levels of Programming

typing: copy a program verbatim

coding: convert high-level solution
(pseudo-code?) into syntactically correct
program

design: producing a high-level solution to
original problem

debugging: oops!
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Debugging

bugs: mistakes in your program

debugging: removing bugs

Almost no one writes bug-free programs
on the first attempt

Programming is mostly recovering from a
series of bugs

Be resilient!
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Course Web Page

Location: http://umbc.edu/~chang/cs104

Announcements

Course Syllabus

Homework Assignments

Powerpoint? I hate Powerpoint
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Why do I hate Powerpoint?
The next slide
never has
what I want to say.
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Why do I hate Powerpoint?
Besides,
I’m not going to just stand up here
and
read the slides to you verbatim.
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Grading
•
14 Classwork: 14%, 1% each
•
13 Homework: 26%, 2% each
•
5 Quizzes: 30%, 6% each
•
1 Final Exam: 30%
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No Late Homework
•
Assigned on Tuesday
•
Due next Tuesday, 11:59pm
•
2 class meetings to ask
questions
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How hard is the homework?
•
10 minutes for C programmer
•
30-60 min for “good” student
•
??? for “less good” student
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Classwork
•
Must be done in class
•
Can “finish up” by next class for
10% improvement
•
Miss class ⇒ miss classwork
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Extra Credit
•
Must be “mostly” correct
•
Can only replace classwork and
homework scores
•
110% HW+CW & 80% Quiz+Final
= 100% x 40 + 80% x 60 = 40 + 48 = 88 = B
not = 110% x 40 + 80% x 60 = 44 + 48 = 92 = A
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Do No Classwork?
Classwork
0% x 14 = 0
Homework
100% x 26 = 26
Quizzes
100% x 30 = 30
Final Exam
100% x 30 = 30
86
Total =
=B
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“Outsource” Homework?
Classwork
100% x 14 = 14
Homework
100% x 26 = 26
Quizzes
50% x 30 = 15
Final Exam
50% x 30 = 15
70
Total =
=C
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Fall 2011 Grade Distribution
•
8 A’s
•
8 B’s
•
9 C’s
•
2 D’s
•
7 F’s (includes 3 final exam no shows)
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Academic Integrity
•
Do your own work
= nice, hard-working, diligent student
•
Do no work
= lazy / over-committed / forgetful student
•
Cheat
= pond scum
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Allowed
•
Help from Help Center & instructor
•
Help from other sources (incl. classmates)
•
Discuss assignment
•
Identify syntax errors
•
Identify simple logic errors
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Not Allowed (not exhaustive)
•
Someone else typing code in your program
•
Cut & paste more than 1 line of code
•
Looking at someone else’s program while
typing in your code
•
Receive someone else’s program by email,
text message, hard copy, …
•
Send program to another student …
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General Philosophy
This policy recognizes that students can learn productively
from many sources including from other students in the
class.
Thus, this policy allows small amounts of help but prohibits
outright copying.
Although, this leaves a gray area between "small amounts
of help" and "outright copying", it is better that we live with
some ambiguity than to have a clear-cut policy that deprives
the students of productive learning opportunities.
Students who have doubts about the propriety of an activity
should consult the instructor.
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Academic Integrity
•
Do your own work
= nice, hard-working, diligent student
•
Do no work
= lazy / over-committed / forgetful student
•
Cheat
= pond scum
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Scenario #1
Classmate: “My program won’t compile. It
says ‘missing semi-colon’ !”
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Scenario #1
Classmate: “My program won’t compile!
It says ‘missing semi-colon’ !”
OK to help point out location of missing
semi-colon. (Yes, you can look at his/her
program to find it.)
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Scenario #2
Classmate: “Why won’t this print statement
execute??? #@!#$!# !”
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Scenario #2
Classmate: “Why won’t this print statement
execute??? #@!#$!# !”
OK to look at his/her program to help find
logic error.
NOT OK to tell him/her how to rewrite the
program.
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Scenario #3
Classmate: “I don’t know how to get started
on this homework. Can I see what you did?”
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Scenario #3
Classmate: “I don’t know how to get started
on this homework. Can I see what you did?”
NOT OK to show him your program.
“Good thing you started the program when it
was assigned. Ask Chang in class tomorrow,
he’ll give us some hints.”
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Cheat “legally”??
How can one student show his
completed program to another student
“legally”??
Still won’t learn much, still pond scum.
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This is an ELECTIVE class
Manage your own learning experience!
Remember:
Classwork ⇒ Homework 1
⇒ Homework 2 ⇒ Quiz ⇒ Final
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“Outsource” Homework?
Classwork
100% x 14 = 14
Homework
100% x 26 = 26
Quizzes
50% x 30 = 15
Final Exam
50% x 30 = 15
70
Total =
=C
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Scenario #4
It is one hour before homework is due.
You can’t get homework finished in time.
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Scenario #4
It is one hour before homework is due.
You can’t get homework finished in time.
NOT OK to have your CS major
boyfriend/girlfriend/roommate/parent/sibling
do it for you in 10 minutes.
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Scenario #4
It is one hour before homework is due.
You can’t get homework finished in time.
•You
won’t die, HW is only 2%.
•Do
as much as you can in one hour and submit it for
partial credit.
•Start
•Do
on next week’s HW so this won’t happen again.
extra credit to make up the points.
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Academic Integrity
•
Do your own work
= nice, hard-working, diligent student
•
Do no work
= lazy / over-committed / forgetful student
= at least he/she didn’t CHEAT!
•
Cheat
= pond scum
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How to make this class harder
•
Skip class
•
Come to class but spend the whole time
checking email, facebook, shopping, ...
•
Come to class late all the time
•
Come to class, don’t ask any questions
•
Ignore the textbook
•
Wait until the last minute to start HW
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Computer Science at UMBC

CSEE Student Services Office (Advising)


CSHC (Computer Science Help Center)


ITE 203 - 206
ITE 201E
Linux Users Group (LUG)

http://lug.umbc.edu
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DoIT Labs



The Dept of Information Technology is responsible
for all lab computers.
On Web at: http://www.umbc.edu/doit
Labs with PCs:




ENG021, ENG104, ENG122, ENG122A, ENG333
Labs may be on reserve for classes, so plan ahead!
Print Dispatch -- ENG 019 (10? cents/page)
Hours of Operations
 DoIT will post outside of labs or go to:
https://wiki.umbc.edu/display/doit/Computing+Labs+and+Facilities
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Consultants vs. Tutors

OIT labs are staffed by consultants
using software (pine, Internet
Explorer, etc.)
 some text editors (xemacs)
 operating system commands (Linux)
 communicating with UMBC
computers (TeraTerm)

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Consultants vs. Tutors (con’t)

CSHC is staffed by student tutors



Help with homework and projects
xemacs and Linux questions
ITE 201E – Hours TBA
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Hardware and Software Needs

Do I need my own computer?


If I have my own computer, can I use it?


No, but it is more convenient for you.
Yes, but there’s limited help for using your own.
Do I need a C Compiler?

Don’t buy one, the GNU C compiler is free.
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Hardware and Software Needs

Windows: TeraTerm (from OIT), WinSCP,
NotePad++

Mac: Developer Tools (free), Terminal + Unix
commands, TextWrangler

Linux: Installation is on your own

More later...
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Class motto:
What’s this button for?
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Getting a myUMBC Account

You MUST have a myUMBC account

You can get one by going to:
http://accounts.umbc.edu (NO www.)

Your account can be used in ~½ hour

Grades, etc.
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Booting into Linux
Modify instructions posted on the walls:

press CTRL-ALT-DEL

select “Restart” from pop-up menu next to
the shutdown button on bottom right

select “Linux” using arrow key

log in using usual password
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Reduce Firefox Cache Size
You have a disk quota of
100MB.
Set Firefox cache size to be
5-10MB.
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