ecs30 "Introduction to Programming and Problem Solving" (Fall of 2008)

Instructor: S. Felix Wu

Lecture:

1003 Giedt, MWF 12:10pm - 01:00pm

Discussion:

Sec.30-B01, F 2:10-3:00pm, 1006 Giedt

Sec.30-B02, F 3:10-4:00pm, 1006 Giedt

Sec.30-B03, F 4:10-5:00pm, 204 Art

Professor:

Shyhtsun Felix Wu, 3005 Kemper Hall, 754-7070, wu@cs.ucdavis.edu

Office Hours: MWF 01:00-02:00

Teaching Assistant:

Justin Cummins,

Office hours: TBA, 53 Kemper

Mohammad Shafiul Alam

Office hours: TBA, 53 Kemper

Textbook :

Hanly, Jeri R., and Koffman, Elliot B, Problem Solving and Program Design in C, 5th ed., Addison Wesley, 2007, ISBN-10: 0321409914, ISBN-13: 9780321409911

Course objectives:

learn how to use Unix operating system tools to develop and debug programs, develop expertise in using C programming language, understand the process of writing efficient and robust programs to solve problems.

Course Outline

• Unix tools, including vi, make, and gdb, to develop and debug programs
• Algorithms: general concept, development of efficient algorithms.
• Programming in C
  • Scalar data types, concept of data type, standard and user-defined scalar types.
  • Simple Statements, arithmetic and boolean expressions, assignment statements, simple input and output statements.
  • Flow of control, repetitive statements, conditional statements, unconditional branching
  • Data structures: single and multidimensional arrays; character strings; structs.
  • Functions: general concept; declaration and calls; & and * operators; parameters; introduction to recursion.
• Software engineering: running, debugging, testing programs, building quality programs.

Prerequisite

Math 16A or 21A (may be taken concurrently); prior experience with basic programming concepts recommended.

Homeworks and Exams:

• There will be about 8 program projects/homework assignments.
• Both programs and written parts will be submitted using the handin facility of Unix. Programs will be due at 11:50pm on the date due.
• No late homework will be accepted!
• All exams are closed-book, no notes allowed.

Grading:

Grading breakdown:

• Programming projects (homework): 35%
• Two midterm exams: 40% (20% each)
• Final exam: 25%

Regrading is only considered within one week (7 days) from the date return. The request must be submitted in writing.

On-line Info/Discussion:

• Class webpage: http://www.cs.ucdavis.edu/~wu/ecs30
  class annoucements, assignments and notes will be posted on this site.
• Course questions and discussions should be posted to the ecs30b group under Facebook
• Facebook and CyrusDSL are the primary ways to interact with the instructor.

Distribution list

1. 9/26
   • Introduction and logistics

   • Norman Matloff's toturial page: Read, at least,
     1. `if you have no Unix background at all'
     2. `The Unix file system'
     3. `Extremely quick and simple introduction to the Vi Text editor'

   • Work your way through Sean Davis' ECS30 Unix tutorial and vi tutorial

   • Everyone who is enrolled should have a computer account set up for using computers in the CS Instructional facility (CSIF) in the basement of Kemper Hall. Go to the CSIF lab to look up your user name. Your initial password is the last 8 digits of your student ID. If you want to change your password, and you should want to, read the man file for the Unix command yppasswd (type man yppasswd), to learn more about the command. Help is available in room 47 for using the labs. Note that this help is for using the labs, not help with CS 30.

   • You may also log into the CSIF machines remotely (see UCDAVIS Computer Science at Home). Or you can work on any other machine that has Unix, and a C compiler for writing C programs, and internet access.

   • Note: Different systems (operating systems, computer type, configurations, libraries etc.) can behave differently, so a C program written on one machine and system might not behave exactly the same on a different machine or system (an ugly reality!). You may find it more convenient to do most of your work at home, or in another lab, BUT before handing in your program, you must make sure it works correctly on the machines in the CSIF. Those are the machines we will use when we compile, run and grade your programs. If your programs don't run correctly there, it will not matter to the grader that they ran correctly elsewhere. It is your responsibility to port your programs in time to the CSIF and test them there. It will not be a legitimate excuse that the connection to the CSIF was down just before the assignment was due. Also, we (Instructors and the TAs) can only give very limited help on problems you encounter on machines and systems outside of the CSIF, and how to set up the software to work at home, or connect to the CSIF remotely. Campus IT staff and the CSIF staff can also help somewhat on those issues if you run into problems.

   • Unless stated otherwise, all assignments are meant to be done individually. Of course you can discuss some aspects of the assignment with others, but each student is expected to individually work out assignments. If you have any questions about the degree of individuality that is expected, please ask. We may routinely run all the submitted homework programs through a utility that finds pairs of programs that are ``too similar". We really don't like dealing with such a situation, so please design and write your programs yourself. Also, you will learn much more that way, and be better prepared for exams.

   • Discussion sections in the first week of 9/29-10/3 will be held in the CSIF Computer Lab (room 67). After the first week, all the discussion sections will be held in their scheduled classrooms.

   • Learning C requires learning a great number of exacting details and you will not get your C programs working unless you learn those details. However, in the long run, what is of value is learning how to think like a programmer, how to organize your thoughts in a way that can be translated into a computer program, and how to debug and verify the correctness of your program. Those skills will be emphasized in this class - to large extent, you will teach yourselves the details of C, and I will teach you how to think like a programmer.

   • Software development method (section 1.4)
     1. Understanding and specifying the problem requirements (problem)
     2. Analyze the problem (analysis)
     3. Design the algorithm to solve the problem (design)
     4. Implement the algorithm (implementation)
     5. Test and verify the completed program (testing)
     6. Maintain and update the program (Maintenance)
     7. Caution: Failure is Part of Process

2. 9/29
3. 10/1
4. 10/3
5. 10/6
6. 10/8
7. 10/10
8. 10/13
9. 10/15
10. 10/17 Midterm 1 (tentative)
11. 10/20
12. 10/22
13. 10/24
14. 10/27
15. 10/29
16. 10/31
17. 11/3
18. 11/5
19. 11/7
20. 11/10 Midterm 2 (tentative)
21. 11/12
22. 11/14
23. 11/17
24. 11/19
25. 11/21
26. 11/24
27. 11/26
28. 11/28 (holiday, no class)
29. 12/1
30. 12/3
31. 12/5

32. Final: December 10, 6:00-8:00pm, 1003 Giedt