Course Objectives

Problem-solving methods and algorithm development. Computer programming with a high-level language. Design, coding, debugging, and internal and external documentation of programs. Emphasis on developing good programming style. Programming projects of increasing complexity. Recommended for students in mathematics and the natural sciences. Three hours of lecture and one hour of laboratory per week.

More generally, the purpose of CS 173 is to give students a sense of what the field of Computer Science is about, as well as the relationship of technology to today's society. Students will develop skills that will be useful throughout their studies, and probably throughout their lives. In this course we will learn by doing; you will write many programs in the C++ language, each of which incorporates the concepts discussed in class and builds upon previous knowledge. The course also requires participation in a series of labs. These labs are designed to enhance your general understanding of the computer world, while providing you with the tools that will help you build solid computer programs.

Labs

Each week at 9am in Pfahler 209 there will be a 1-hour weekly lab associated with the course. In these labs we will explore topics discussed in class more deeply, as well as other topics designed to enhance your understanding of computers. The content of the labs will be assigned at the start of the lab and will also be available online at http://webpages.ursinus.edu/rliston/cs173/labs.html. All labs are due by class time on Friday. Your assignments will be posted with brief comments for viewing by the entire class.

Attendance Policy

Grading

Grades for labs, homeworks and projects will be assigned as follows:

0	Assignment not received on time
1	Assignment attempted but displays minimal effort
2	Assignment works for some cases, but has bugs or coding style is substandard
3	Assignment works properly and employs good coding style

These points will be averaged at the end of the course and multiplied by 10 to determine the contribution to your final grade. For example, if your average at the end is 2.5, then you have earned 25 of the 30 percent allocated to this portion of your grade. Extra points may be awarded for assignments that exhibit creativity but still work according to the specification.
Grades for each exam will be scaled to 100 points, with the final grade weighted as indicated above. The final grade will be out of 100 points, with the letter grades assigned as A=90-100, B=80-89, C=70-79, D=60-69, F=below 60. A plus (+) or minus (-) may be added to the grade for work that is at the top or bottom of the range. The Criteria for Software Evaluation describes expectations for programs. The professor reserves the right to raise the final grade of students who have demonstrated earnest attempts at achieving the objectives of the course.
Late Assigments: Projects, homeworks and labs that are not turned in on time may be turned in up to 24 hours after the due date for a maximum of 1/2 credit. To be fair to students who have met the deadline, the posted due date and the 24 hour grace period are firm unless you have received prior approval. This policy is solely intended to accomodate extreme circumstances. Handing in late assignments delays returning the graded material to the rest of the class. It is highly recommended that you turn in all assignments on time.
Office Hours: Please make use of my office hours for any reason at all throughout the course. Chelsey Morien (chmorien@ursinus.edu) is also available for assistance during and outside the labs. Also note that several of the students in the Math Help Room have taken CS 173.

Coding Style

Academic Integrity

Unless otherwise stated you will turn in all your homeworks and code individually, and everything you turn in must be your own work. All code turned in must be commented with your name, the date, the course number and name, and a short description of the file. When you sign the code you are saying that you wrote it all and that you can answer detailed questions about every line. Do not try to disguise the fact that you are turning in someone else's code. It is better to turn in a non-working project than to risk dismissal. Refer to the handout, Academic Integrity in Computer Science at Ursinus College for more information, and ask me if you have any questions. Any suspicion of violation of the Academic Integrity Policy will be referred to the Dean without hesitation.

Inclement Weather Policy

C++

Introductory Computer Science courses typically choose one computer language that the students will use throughout the course. There is much discussion about which language is the "best" first language. While there is no such language, for CS 173 we have chosen the C++ language. C++ is widely used for both large and small projects and gives students a good feel for the process of writing programs. It also simplifies certain common tasks, and it supports object-oriented programming - something we will get to later in the course. In CS 173 we will emphasize building good design and programming habits that will help you throughout a career in computer science, or for that matter, in any discipline.

Richard Liston