CS 162
Introduction to Computer Science
Chapter 1
The Instructor and You
Herbert G. Mayer, PSU
Status 11/16/2014
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Who is Your Instructor?
 Instructor is a German immigrant to the USA, who
worked in the US computer industry and academia
 Immigrated to the USA in 1975, due to marriage
with US citizen in Berlin
 Became naturalized US citizen in 1995
 MS EECS (electrical engineering an computer
science) UCSD 1983; beautiful beach & campus!
 PhD CS (“Informatik”, equivalent to Computer
Science) TU Berlin 1995; awesome city, now
united! Dissertation published as book at Springer
Verlag © 1996
 Professional focus at Intel on compiler
optimization, HW validation, alias analysis,
programming languages, VLIW, multiprocessing
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Who is Your Instructor?
 PhD Thesis on automatic generation of MP-object
code via alias analysis of source program
 Retired in 2011 after 24 years at Intel Corp.
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Implemented Compilers for systolic array architecture
1980s
Managed Intel CPU tuning lab & CPU validation in new
Intel processors
 Teaching computer science since 1983 at SDSU
San Diego, and since 1987 PSU
 Teaching experience 2004 in Shanghai, at IIIST
 Loved China and teaching in China that I
volunteered to participate in CCUT + PSU
cooperation
 Committed to academic year 2014-2015
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Goals of CS 162
 Building on CS 161:
 Strengthen your programming skills using C++
 With long-term focus on high-level, machineindependent programming to write reliable, portable
software
 Improve CCUT students’ command of English, in
preparation for possible studies in the US
 Lightly acquaint CCUT students with the American
CS culture, to reduce culture-shock in case of
studies in Portland, OR
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Goals of CS 162
 Focus on key programming paradigms that make
students highly skilled programmers, including:
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ASCII to integer conversion and other numeric problems
Clarify Reference- vs. Value parameters vs. pointers
Nested function calls
Recursive function calls
Loops, arrays, and matrix manipulation
Recursion, simulation of arithmetic operations via recursion
Classes, constructors, destructors
 Occasionally contrast C++ with other languages, e.g.
C, Fortran, Ada, Prolog, etc.
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Conventions for CS 162 at CCUT
 From time to time, I pose a logical puzzle at the start
of class to ensure you are fully awake, and pay total
attention to the class material: Wake up puzzle
 Wake-up puzzle is limited to very few minutes
 You should ask question in class, every time an idea
is not understood; this way you are always “in
synch” with the instructor
 This may not be a typical custom in the Chinese
culture, but will help you solidify understanding
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Conventions for CS 162 at CCUT
 At start of class, we discuss key English language
terms used in the near future: vocabulary intro
 Being a non-native English speaker I know how
important language is for communication
 Vocabulary exercises intro Limited to few minutes
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Grading, Homework, Late Hand-In
 Acquire up to 200 points total = 100%
 Upper and lower 15% yield a + or – grade variation
 2 homeworks at 100 points each = 200 points
 Homework to be emailed before the start of class on
the due date
 Homework emails should be sent on time and you
should use the subject line “CS 162 HW x”, where ‘x’
is the homework number
 Work that is handed in 1 second up to a day late
experiences 10% deduction of the total points
 Each additional day late: another 10% deducted
 A Homework that is 5 days late or later is not
accepted
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Silver Bullet
 One single time each student is allowed to hand in
homework up to 3 days late without penalty
 This is called the CS Silver Bullet
 Silver Bullets cannot be split, traded, or sold on the
black market
 If in the end you did not consume the silver bullet,
you cannot trade it in for cash  or a better grade
 While tracking homework grades, consumption of
the silver bullet is tracked
 Note that the maximally 3 late days worth of Silver
Bullet cannot be applied to 2 different late
homeworks, even if they are both, say, just 1 day
late each
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Extra Credit
 Extra Credit: is a way to improve your grade by up to
a half grade, i.e. up to a maximum of 50 points total
 Extra Credit is granted for good ideas expressed in
class, constructive questions and contributions in
class, identifying errors in class material
 Volunteers may present the HW or select topics in
class, 10 min. each for a few extra credit points
 Any error in class material, even the slightest typo –
but only pointed out the first time– is worth some
extra credit
 Presenting smart homework solutions in class can
deserves extra credit; you need to volunteer for such
presentations proactively
 Each time you catch and correct an error made by
the instructor you receive extra credit, though the
instructor will claim: “This was a deliberate error to
test your alertness!” 
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Overall CCUT Context
 My portion of CS 162 is only a small part of your 16week long semester at CCUT
 Hence this portion is only one part for your final
grade, to be assigned by your class teacher
 CS 162 portion will be a significant part of the final
grade
 Hopefully, you learn a lot and enjoy my personal
delivery method, refined by me in a quarter century
of teaching Computer Science
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Who are You?
Briefly, 2-6 students volunteer to articulate in class,
explaining:
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Your name, Chinese and English, if you use both
Your field of study, major, and current progress
Why do you take CS 162?
What is your expectation of this class?
What is your minimal goal for this class?
Which is your ideal learning goal?
Have you worked in the computer industry?
Which computer subjects are you interested in?
Anything else relevant to this course
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