Course Introduction
for ENCM 339 Fall 2014 Lecture Section 01
Steve Norman, PhD, PEng
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Schulich School of Engineering
University of Calgary
8 September, 2014
ENCM 339 Course Introduction
Today’s lecture
Course organization.
Key points from the course outline.
Brief introductory comments and examples related to
programming in C and C++.
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ENCM 339 Course Introduction
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ENCM 339 Instructors
Steve Norman: L01 (this lecture section, MWF 1:00pm),
tutorial section T01, lab sections B02 and B04.
Mahmood Moussavi: L02 (the other lecture section), tutorial
section T02, lab sections B01, B03 and B05.
ENCM 339 Course Introduction
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Contacting Steve Norman
Office: ICT 411. This is near the north end of the 4th floor.
You should be able to use your U of C ID cards to access the
hallways outside academic offices on the 4th floor—ask at the
ECE main office (ICT 402) if have trouble.
I haven’t set up any office hours yet. When I have them ready,
I will post them on the Web.
Email: norman@ucalgary.ca
Please try to come up with a detailed subject line. “Question
about ENCM 339 Lab 2 Exercise C” is a good example.
“ENCM 339” and “Problem with course” are examples of
what not to do!
I will try to answer all emails within 24 hours, except weekends
and holidays.
ENCM 339 Course Introduction
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Course Web site
Most course information will be on Desire2Learn (which is the
replacement for Blackboard).
However, material specific to lecture section 01 will be posted
outside of D2L at
http://people.ucalgary.ca/~norman/encm339fall2014
ENCM 339 Course Introduction
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In the Classroom
Lectures will start at 1:00pm sharp (except today). Please try
hard to be on time, and enter quietly if you’re late.
If you need to leave early, pick a seat that allows an easy exit.
Please, no conversations!
Please ask questions! Call out, “Question!” if I don’t see
your raised hand.
ENCM 339 Course Introduction
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Tutorial Periods
Tutorials start this week: Thursday, September 11.
There will be several small pencil-and-paper exercises each
week.
There are NO marks for tutorial exercises, but the exercises
will be helpful toward labs, the midterm test, and the final
exam.
ENCM 339 Course Introduction
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Lab Periods
These start next week, not tomorrow!
Lab periods are for help with lab assignments.
A lab instructor—either me or Dr. Moussavi—and some TAs
will be available to answer questions.
Lab assignment instructions will be posted on D2L.
Pay close attention to instructions about what parts of
assignments are due when!
ENCM 339 Course Introduction
The ENCM 339 Course Outline
A link to the complete course outline can be found on the
course D2L site.
Please read the whole thing carefully!
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ENCM 339 Course Introduction
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Course Outline: Exams
Midterm test: Tuesday, October 21, 2014, from 7:00pm to
9:00pm. Locations will be announced well in advance.
The midterm test will be closed-book and closed-notes.
There will be a common test for sections 01 and 02.
Final examination: Duration 3 hours, to be scheduled by the
Registrar’s Office. The final examination is closed-book and
closed-notes.
ENCM 339 Course Introduction
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Course Outline: Grading
Lab assignments: 20%
Midterm tests: 30%
Final exam: 50%
Attention:
I A mark of 40% or higher on the final exam is needed to
pass the course as a whole.
I An average of 50% or higher on lab assignments is
needed to pass the course as a whole.
Read the Course Outline for more details about how letter
grades will be determined.
ENCM 339 Course Introduction
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Course outline: Textbooks
Two textbooks are recommended, not required:
I C in a Nutshell, by Peter Prinz and Tony Crawford.
I C++ Primer, fifth edition, by Stanley B. Lippman, Josée
Lajoie, and Barbara E. Moo.
Reasons these books were chosen:
I clear explanations for all key features of C and C++;
I texts are good references for advanced concepts you
might want to know about for 3rd & 4th year courses and
at work;
I authors were very careful to get things right;
I prices are reasonable, compared to many other books.
ENCM 339 Course Introduction
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Free online access to textbooks
This works for both ENCM 339 textbooks, and also for the
ENEL 353 textbook . . .
I Use your web browser to get to library.ucalgary.ca
I Choose “Ebooks” from the “Search Collections” menu.
(If you are off-campus, you may have to log in for access.)
I Click on “Safari Tech Books Online”.
I Use the search tool to find the book you want.
ENCM 339 Course Introduction
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Course Outline: Missed or Delayed Term Work
Contact your lecture instructor (NOT a TA) as soon as is
reasonably possible.
See the Course Outline for more information.
ENCM 339 Course Introduction
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Get Help, but Don’t Cheat
It’s easy to copy somebody else’s assignment, and it’s easy to
let somebody tell you what to type to get your code to work.
Don’t do it!
But do talk about your assignments with fellow students, and
with your TAs and instructors. Discussion and debate are
great ways to learn!
When you hand in your assignments, ask yourself two
questions:
1. Do I understand all the material I am handing in?
2. Could I do this assignment over again without any help?
The answer to both questions should be YES.
ENCM 339 Course Introduction
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Why C? Why C++?
The number of useful programming languages is large and
growing. Why are C and C++ the two languages chosen for
ENCM 339?
A few reasons . . .
I Both are in wide use for wide ranges of current
applications. (Example: the Linux kernel, one the most
important pieces of software in existence, is written
almost entirely in C.)
I C, the older, simpler language, has been tremendously
influential in the design of other languages.
I C++, newer and more complicated, has features
well-suited for building large applications and getting best
performance from modern hardware.
ENCM 339 Course Introduction
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But what about other languages?
C and C++ have some serious flaws. The designers of C and
C++ have admitted that.
C and C++ have succeeded not because they’re perfect
(they’re not), but because they have strengths and have
often been the best tools available for important projects.
Even if you never get paid a dollar to develop in C or C++, a
good working knowledge of both langauges will be a big help
to you if you get paid to write code in other languages.
ENCM 339 Course Introduction
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Example C and C++ programs
The next two slides show a C++ program and C program that
does the same thing as the C++ program.
The C++ code should serve as a quick review of some things
you learned in ENGG 233.
The C code makes a couple of points:
I C and C++ have a lot in common.
I In ENCM 339, you will need to learn some features of C
that don’t get used much by C++ programmers.
ENCM 339 Course Introduction
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// A simple C++ program.
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
void say_hello(int course);
int main()
{
say_hello(339);
return 0;
}
void say_hello(int course)
{
cout << "Hello, " << course << " students!" << endl;
}
ENCM 339 Course Introduction
// C code that does what the C++ code does.
#include <stdio.h>
void say_hello(int course);
int main(void)
{
say_hello(339);
return 0;
}
void say_hello(int course)
{
printf("Hello, %d students!\n", course);
}
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