TSYS School of Computer Science @ Columbus State University
Course Syllabus: CPSC 6138- Mobile Systems and Applications
Summer 2014
Instructor Information:
Radhouane Chouchane
Office: Center for Commerce and Technology, Room 430
Phone: (706) 507-8175
Email: chouchane@columbusstate.edu
Homepage: http://csc.columbusstate.edu/chouchane
Office Hours: TWR 12:30 pm - 4:00 pm
(via email and by appointment)
Course Title: CPSC 6138- Mobile Systems and Applications
(This is an online course, taught through CougarVIEW. Go to
https://colstate.view.usg.edu/ to access course material, complete assignments, take
exams, and view announcements.)
Official Course Description:
This course explores the post-desktop model of computing that makes use of mobile
systems. Topics include wireless communication protocols, mobile data and power
management, context awareness, privacy and security, mobile gaming, and the mobile
application development process.
Prerequisites: No formal prerequisites, but this class will assume that the students have
taken at least one graduate-level class in event-driven programming. Experience in Java
or in some other object-oriented programming language is a plus. We will be doing a lot
of Android programming in class. The class assumes that you have access to a computer
that is running Eclipse with the Android Plugin (see
http://developer.android.com/tools/sdk/eclipse-adt.html)
Required Textbook:
Android How to Program (2nd Edition) (Paperback)
By Paul Deitel, Harvey Deitel, and Abbey Deitel
Publisher: Prentice Hall; 2 edition (January 20, 2014)
ISBN-10: 0133764036
ISBN-13: 978-0133764031
Amazon link http://www.amazon.com/Android-HowProgram-2nd-Edition/dp/0133764036/.
Required Software:
 The most recent Eclipse IDE with the Android ADT (Available for free download
at: http://developer.android.com/tools/sdk/eclipse-adt.html) If you do not already
have this software, you will need to install it. You but are not required to, get your
own Android phone or table and run your programs directly on your Android
phone or tablet.
Supplementary Materials:
 Materials available on the course's CougarVIEW web site
 Software found on campus and on the Internet
 Online resources on writing secure software. These include
http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/~daw/research/ss/, and
http://www.mcafee.com/us/services/strategic-security-education/classroomtraining/writing-secure-code-java-j2ee.aspx.
Course Objectives:
 Students will program mobile applications (utilities and games) for Android
devices.
 Students will be able to optimize an Android application for user-friendliness and
for power consumption.
 Students will be able to implement and enforce access controls on data within
their Android applications.
 Students will be able to write networked Android applications that support such
features as in-app email and web-browsing.
Major Topics:
1) The Basics of Mobile Computing
2) Data Management on the Android
3) Power Management Issues on the Android
4) Security and Access Control Issues on Android Devices
5) Mobile Games for the Android
Instructional Methods and Techniques:
1) This course will be taught online via CougarVIEW. See
http://online.columbusstate.edu/ for general information on taking an online
course at CSU.
2) Students are expected to use their own licenses of the Eclipse IDE with the
Android ADT (available at http://developer.android.com/tools/sdk/eclipseadt.html) to complete their homework assignments and final project. If students
have no such licenses, students are welcome to come to campus to do their
Eclipse/Android programming assignments.
3) All students must have access to a networked computer to complete their
assignments and regularly visit the course website for new assignments, reading
materials, and announcements.
4) Visual and audio devices (diagrams, videos, etc.) will be used as needed to
support the text.
Assignments for Course:
 Readings from the textbook
 Several programming assignments for the Android, that will include a small
writing assignment on building secure software.
 A programming project due towards the end of the semester.
Assessment Criteria:
Students' performance will be evaluated using several programming assignments
(including a small writing assignment on building secure software) that will test the
students' grasp of the concepts covered in the weekly reading assignments, a project
proposal, and a working implementation of a substantial programming project. The
project, as well as all of the programming assignments, must be implemented using the
Android Development Toolkit as a plugin to Eclipse
(http://developer.android.com/tools/sdk/eclipse-adt.html). Project proposals must
submitted to the instructor for approval no later than July 07, 2014.
Assessment criteria will be weighted as follows:
Assignments
Final Project Proposal
Final Project
50%
10%
40%
Letter grades will be assigned as follows:
A (90%-100%); B (80%-89%); C (70%-79%); D (60%-69%); F (0%-59%)
Tentative Schedule (Subject to change as we progress through the course)
Date
Topic
Work Due
W01:06/16/14 Introduction
W02:06/23/14 GUI Design,
Layouts, Accessibility and
Internationalization
Program 1
(tentative)
W03:06/30/14 Event Handling and Defining App
Functionality with Java
Program 2
(tentative)
W04:07/07/14 Implicit Intents and Alert Dialogs
W05:07/14/14 Preferences and Layouts for Multiple
Device Orientations
Program 3
(tentative)
W06:07/21/14 Games, Animations, and Sounds
W07:07/28/14 Accelerometers and Multi-touch Events
Project (tentative)
General Policies:
Students are responsible for keeping pace with the progress of the course. Should any
concerns about the course’s contents be addressed, students should immediately consult
with the instructor by email or during office hours. In addition to regularly reading from
the text book, students must visit the course’s website at least once a day for recent
updates and announcements. Students must regularly check both their CSU and their
CougarVIEW email accounts for messages from the instructor. Announcements made on
CougarVIEW, and that are at least 24 hours old, will be assumed to have been read by
their recipient(s).
“I didn't know” is not excuse for not submitting an assignment in time or for not
having read an email/announcement from the instructor.
Unless untimely submission of an assignment is due to a documented emergency reported
to the instructor before the day on which the assignment is due, a penalty of 5% per day
will be incurred for late assignments. Assignments submitted more than 3 days after
their due date will be considered missed and will receive a grade of 0.
ACM Code of Ethics: http://www.acm.org/membership/COE_Flyer.pdf
Academic Dishonesty Policies
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, activities such as cheating and plagiarism. It
is a basis for disciplinary action. Collaboration is not permitted on assignments in this course,
unless a group project is assigned, in which case only group members are permitted to collaborate
as described within the project's description. Students may share ideas. but submitting identical
answers to any one non-group assignment question will be considered cheating.
Students may discuss course material and help one another with debugging, however, the
instructor expects any work that a student hands in for a grade to be the student's own, and
clearly indicate the student's contribution to any assigned group projects. Written and
programming assignments may not contain sections that have been imported verbatim from
an outside source, be it online (such as a web page) or offline (such as a book or an article).
The penalty for the first occurrence of this type of academic dishonesty is a zero grade on
the assignment; the penalty for the second occurrence is a failing grade for the course.
A simple way to avoid inadvertent plagiarism is to talk about the assignments, but students may
not read each other's work or write solutions together, unless they are reviewing or maintaining a
group member's solution. Students should consider keeping scratch paper and old versions of
assignments until after the assignment has been graded and returned to them. Should students
have any questions about this, they must see/contact the instructor immediately.
For non-group assignments and projects, access to notes, books and other publications is allowed.
Stealing, giving or receiving any code, diagrams, drawings, texts or designs from another person
(CSU or non-CSU) is not allowed. Having the access credentials (e.g., username and password) to
another person’s work on the system or giving access to the access credential's of one's work to
another person is not allowed. It is the student's responsibility to keep her/his work confidential.
For group assignments and projects, access to notes, books and other publications is allowed.
Stealing, giving or receiving any code, diagrams, drawings, texts or designs from a person (CSU
or non-CSU) that is not the student's group is not allowed. Giving or receiving code, diagrams,
drawings, texts or designs from from a group member is allowed as described within the
assignment or project. Having the access credentials (e.g., username and password) to another
person’s work on the system or giving access to the access credential's of one's work to another
person is not allowed. It is the student's responsibility to keep her/his work confidential.
No cheating in any form will be tolerated. The penalty for the first occurrence of academic
dishonesty is a zero grade on the assignment or project; the penalty for the second occurrence is a
failing grade for the course.
(http://ace.columbusstate.edu/advising/a.php#AcademicDishonestyAcademicMisconduct )
CSU ADA Statement
If you have a documented disability, as described by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (P.L.
933-112 Section 504) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and subsequent
amendments and would like to request academic and/or physical accommodations, please
contact the Office of Disability Services in the Schuster Student Success Center (room
221), 706-507-8755, as soon as possible. Course requirements will not be waived, but
reasonable accommodations may be provided as appropriate.