Computer Science 162[M]: Computer Science I
Fall 2009

with Professor McGuire

The process of preparing programs for a digital computer is especially attractive, not only because it can be economically and scientifically rewarding, but also because it can be an aesthetic experience much like composing poetry or music.
--- "The Art of Computer Programming", by Donald Knuth ().

This course is an initial college course serving as an introduction to programming and computer science through lab and lecture. Topics comprise simple and structured data types and program control structures. Work includes problem analysis, algorithm design, and computer implementation.

The programming-language taught here is Java.

Course Web-site: http://www.cis.gvsu.edu/~mcguire/teaching/162/ Course-materials are available there.

Instructor: Hugh McGuire

E-mail: mcguire@cis.gvsu.edu
If your e-mail comprises just generic questions about things such as assignments and course-material — like questions that students pose during lectures — then as in lectures where everyone can hear students' questions and the instructor's responses, I may forward the e-mail and the response to all the students in the class. This is useful because after that, I won't need to respond repeatedly to other individual e-mails asking the same questions. BUT in case the sender of the e-mail might not want such publicity associated specifically with them, when I do this forwarding, I remove information in the e-mail that identifies the sender.
Office: Mackinac C-2-316
Telephone: 331-2915
Office-hours: MW 5:00-5:50 p.m., and R 1:30-2:20 p.m.
And actually, I'm happy to discuss course-matters with you outside of those hours; those office-hours are simply the official hours when I definitely should be available in my office. You're likely to find me in my office just generally; come on by! (OK, outside of those official office-hours, maybe e.-mail or telephone first to be sure that I'm there.)

Assistant(tentatively):

to be announced

Tutors: GVSU has many resources to facilitate your work; for a schedule for tutors, see http://www.gvsu.edu/tc/ .

Re being with people working on computers such as course-staff at office-hours, here's a little note about computer etiquette: To be polite, when someone is typing a password, look away from their hands at the keyboard.

Another detail about getting help involves e-mail: I generally let the entire class see students' questions and my answers, just as during lectures everyone can hear other students' questions and my answers. (But just in case, with these e-mails, I do remove information identifying students, in case they might want to be anonymous.)

Class Sessions

Lectures Lab session

M 6:00-6:50 p.m. and W 6:00–7:50 p.m. at MAK B-1-124 M 7:00-8:50 p.m. at HRY 115

Lectures	Lab session
M 6:00-6:50 p.m. and W 6:00–7:50 p.m. at MAK B-1-124	M 7:00-8:50 p.m. at HRY 115

Prerequisite: MTH 110 (or equivalent preparation, such as may be typical in high school)

Textbook

You need the following:

Objects First with Java: A Practical Introduction using BlueJ by David J. Barnes & Michael Kölling.

If the campus bookstore sells out of an item, then naturally ask them to get more for you.

Optional books

The Java Programming Language by Ken Arnold, James Gosling, and David Holmes.
I recommend this book for authoritative answers about Java. (It's somewhat more clear than The Java Language Specification).
The Java Language Specification (Second Edition) by James Gosling, Bill Joy, Guy Steele, and Gilad Bracha
and The Java Class Libraries (particularly Volume 2) by Patrick Chan and Rosanna Lee (and Douglas Kramer).
(More authoritative reference-material. This material is online; but it can be a convenient to have a printed book.)
Java in a Nutshell and Java Foundation Classes in a Nutshell by David Flanagan.
(Another great set of reference-material — (but) in two separate volumes.)
Core Java^TM 2 Volume 1: Fundamentals by Cay S. Horstmann & Gary Cornell.
(A thorough presentation of fundamental Java; alternative convenient printed reference-material.)
Java^TM 2 for Dummies by Barry & Burd.
(What can I say about this? ;-) But really, this is a nice introductory presentation of Java.)
Effective Java (Programming Language Guide) by Joshua Bloch.
(Guidelines for good programming which you'll appreciate at intermediate to advanced levels.)
The Elements of Java Style by Alan Vermeulen et al.
The Practice of Programming by Brian Kernighan and Rob Pike.

Further Resources

Consider the following if you want further resources:

The main source of reference-material re Java is the Sun Microsystems Inc. Java Language Documentation, which is online via http://java.sun.com/javase/6/docs/#api .
Sun Microsystems Inc. Java Demos, Tutorials, Training, and Reference http://java.sun.com/javase/6/docs/#demos
(From the source of Java, sample code for applets and applications, training, courses, and tutorials for the Java Software Development Kit (SDK); Demonstration Applets and Applications; The Java Tutorial, A quick start to learning the Java programming language; Directory of various training resources; Code examples for the Java 2 Platform Application Programming Interface (API); Code Conventions for the Java Programming Language, Standards and styles for coding Java programs)

Systems

First, you'll need a GVSU student e-mail account; see http://www.mail.gvsu.edu/ . I e-mail announcements, clarifications of assignments, summaries of scores, etc. to this account of yours. If you want such e-mails from me to go to you somewhere beyond your GVSU student e-mail, e.g. to a different e-mail account that you already have with Yahoo or Hotmail or such, try to arrange that with GVSU's Student E-mail service (and/or GVSU's records/Banner system, http://mybanner.gvsu.edu/).

Then, the software we'll be using to develop Java programs is BlueJ. We have it available on all GVSU computers inside the folder "CIS" (which stands for "Computing and Information Systems) which is inside the folder "...". There are labs in HRY 112–117, and further places around campus. Or if you want, you can also access BlueJ directly yourself (on your own computer) via its Web-site, http://www.bluej.org/ .

Work

Weighting of Work (tentative)
Participation: 2%, Lab Assignments: 15%, Quizzes: 10%, Project Assignments: 30%, Midterm examinations: 25%, Final examination: 18%.
Within each category of work, individual items (individual assignments, or individual quizzes) have weights depending on their importance.

Tests
The (first) midterm examination will be tentatively on October 14 (Wednesday). The final examination should be 9:00–10:50 a.m. on December 12 (Saturday), probably in a room on the ground floor of Manitou Hall (which is adjacent to Mackinac). You shouldn't need to bring any 'scantron' forms or 'blue-books' for tests: I'll provide spaces for you to write your answers.

Home-/Lab-Assignments:
You'll have assignments, some exercise-sets and some projects, due each week at lectures. At the top on the front of your submission, you should identify your work with your name and your e-mail account-name etc. — see "General Course Policies". I need you to submit printed a.k.a. 'hard' copies of your work (because having hardcopies facilitates grading in various ways).

Special Needs?
If there is any student in this class who has special needs because of a learning, physical, or other disability, please contact me and Disability Support Services (DSS) (via 616.331.2490). Furthermore, if you have a disability and think you will need assistance evacuating our classroom and/or building in an emergency situation, please make me aware so I can develop a plan to assist you.

Drop Deadline
Just in case, note that the deadline to drop a course this semester is 5:00 p.m. on October 30 (Friday). If you remain enrolled past that deadline, then you will definitely get some grade for this course recorded in your transcript.