Course Objectives

Architecture and protocols of computer networks. Protocol layers; network topology; data-communication principles, including circuit switching, packet switching and error control techniques; sliding window protocols, protocol analysis and verification; routing and flow control; local and wide area networks; network interconnection; client-server interaction; emerging networking trends and technologies; topics in security and privacy.

Attendance Policy

Grading

The grading for the course will be based on the following:

Class participation	10%
Group participation	10%
Homeworks and projects	40%
Exams (3)	40%

Each item will be worth 100 points, with the final grade weighted as indicated above. The final grade will be out of 100 points, with letter grades assigned as A=90-100, B=80-89, C=70-79, D=60-69, F=below 60. A plus (+) or minus (-) will be added to the grade for work that is at the top or bottom of the range. I may raise the final grade of students who have demonstrated earnest attempts at achieving the objectives of the course. Please utilize my office hours to come discuss any difficulties you are having with the material during the course of the semester (or for anything else!).

This course will include one or more group project. All members of the group are expected to participate equally. If the project involves writing a program, each member must sign their code as the principal author and give attribution for contributions by other group members.

In addition to functionality, the programs you write for this course will be graded on the quality of the code. It must be robust, meaning it handles uncommon cases gracefully. This is particularly important in the case of networked applications where you may have no control over the quality of the implementation of the program on the other end of the connection. Your code must also be well-structured and well-documented. Well-structured code has functions that perform well-defined tasks, and modules that have sensible interfaces. "Spaghetti code" is code that has too many module interdependencies and/or a flow of control that is difficult to understand. Well-documented code is code that has complete file headers, clear explanations for functions and algorithms, and meaningful identifiers (e.g., variables and function names). Except for simple "toy" programs, all projects will benefit from spending a significant amount of time designing the code before beginning an implementation.

You are encouraged to bring your program design to me for review. This is most useful if you bring it at least one week before the project is due.

Coding Style

Any reasonably competent software development environment uses a standard coding style. In this course we will adopt a coding standard, "C/C++ Coding Standard", that you are expected to follow. In this course I will not be explicitly checking your code against each point of this Coding Standard, but points will be deducted for code that substantially deviates from these guidelines.

In earlier courses you were introduced to the idea of writing robust code --- code that handles uncommon events gracefully. Some typical things that can go wrong and need to be handled properly are: files that are expected to be opened are not there, unexpected user inputs, data contained in a file is invalid, etc. Please note that networking code that is non-robust is also a security risk. I will expect all operations to be handled properly and will count off significantly for code that is non-robust. A good way for you to handle this is to make sure you thoroughly test boundary conditions in your tests. Also, developing and maintaining your own classes that can be reused and updated from project to project will save time in the long run.

Turning in Assignments

Whenever you send files to me, make sure the subject of your email has "CS 475" and the name of the assignment in the title, like "CS 475 Project 1". Send all your files as a single attachment in a tarfile that extracts into a subdirectory, and make sure your login name is included in the filename and subdirectory, like "project5_edmurrow.tar" and "project5_edmurrow".

Academic Integrity

Unless stated otherwise, you will turn in your homeworks and projects individually, and everything you turn in must be your own work. (This may apply to group work as well, depending on the assignment.) All code turned in must be commented with the author's name, the date, the course number and name, and a 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. It is better to turn in a non-working project than to risk dismissal. Any question about the authorship of assignments will be referred to the Dean's office. Futher information about this topic is covered in the handout "Academic Integrity in Computer Science at Ursinus College".

Furthermore, in this course you will become privy to information and techniques that will provide you with enhanced access to network resources. Note that the College's policies, Responsible Use of Ursinus College Information Technology Resources , apply to this course. Make certain that you fully understand and adhere to these guidelines.

Inclement Weather Policy

Richard Liston