CS 111: Fundamentals of Programming I

General Information

   Professor:         Tom Whaley 
   Office:             Science Center P406
   Office Phone:       458-8813
   e-mail:             whaley@wlu.edu


   Lecture: M/W/F 11:00 - 11:55   Scienc Center G14

   Lab:     Tues 9:00-11:55    Science Center P405
		  or Tues 2:00-5:00	 Science Center P405
            
   Textbook:   Lambert and Osborne 
				Java A Framework for Programming and Problem Solving, 
				Brooks/Cole (Second Edition).

               

  Office Hours:  M/W/F 9-10 a.m. and by appointment 

  Web Page:  http://www.cs.wlu.edu/~whaleyt/classes/111/index.html 

Brief Overview

This course is the first course for students planning to pursue an extended study of computer science. Students wishing a single computer science course to fulfill the general education requirement or to get a brief introduction to computer science should consider Computer Science 101.

The major goal of this course is to give the student an introduction to computer programming. Computer science is much more than the study of programming and programming languages. However, programming provides students with tools for implementing and testing concepts covered in subsequent courses. Also, programming skills provide valuable tools for problem solving in many disciplines.

There are many different programming languages which tend to fall into broad categories called programming paradigms. Over the last few years, the object-oriented paradigm has become very popular. One popular language that falls into this category is Java. This is the language we use in this course.While there are pros and cons to any choice of languages, Java was designed to be thoroughly object-oriented. One reason for its popularity is the fact that Java programs can be run from web pages. You should know that Java is similar in many ways to C++; so the transition to this language for other courses can be made fairly smoothly.

In this course, we focus on the most basic concepts of programming in Java. This will include basic Java syntax, basic object-oriented concepts, loops, branching, simple graphical user interfaces, basic data types of Java, arrays, and some fundamental algorithms of computer science. As time permits, we may cover simple applets (web programs) and/or simple graphics.

Grading

The written work for the course will consist of

• Labs, homework, quizzes (40% of grade)
• Two one hour exams (20% each)
• Comprehensive final exam (20%)

Note: All labs must be completed with grade of 50% in order to pass the course.

The grading scale will be 93-100 A; 90-92 A-; 87-89 B+; 83-86 B; 80-82 B-; 77-79 C+; 73-76 C; 70-72 C-; 67-69 D+; 63-66 D; 60-62 D-; below 60 F.

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Attendance

It is very important that you attend class. There will be considerable information given in class that is not available elsewhere. At times, I will give a preview of the lab and the use of the lab software in class.

If you do not have more than 3 absences, the weight of the lowest hour exam grade will be reduced and the final will count more, if this to your advantage. For these purposes, there is no distinction between excused and unexcused absences.

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General Classroom Operations

• I will use Powerpoint presentations for much of the classroom lectures. These presentations will be available for viewing or downloading from the course folder. Therefore, you do not need to try to copy all of these notes. The purpose of the slides is to guide the class flow. They are not intended to provide a complete coverage of all the course material. In particular, they do not substitute for reading the text.
• It is important that you prepare for each class meeting in order to get the most benefit and to be able to participate fully. Please read over the material to be covered and be sure you understand the material from the previous class meeting. The material in this course builds on itself; so it is important to stay on top of the material as we go.
• I will be very happy to work with you individually or in small groups. If my office hours are not convenient, I am available and will be happy to make appointments with you.
• Make every effort to be on time.
• Over the past couple of years, I have noticed a trend toward more and more students leaving class during class and then returning. I find this to be very distracting to me and to the class as a whole. Please do not do this unless there is an emergency.

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Honor System

Unless stated otherwise, the exams will be done without books or notes and without assistance from other people. Unless stated otherwise, your lab projects should be your own work. You may consult with other students concerning Java syntax, using the lab software, using the machines and network, clarification of assignments. However, the actual solution of the problem and the code produced should be done without assistance from others except the lab assistant and me. You should not look at other people's code nor should you make your code available to others.

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Tentative Schedule of Lectures and Labs

Homework

1. Integer operators.
2. Binary numbers
3. Haiku error messages

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Labs

1. Intro to Linux, BlueJ
2. Terminal I/O, Assignments
3. If and While statements
4. GUIs
5. Game simulation - One Is Zero
6. Game strategy - One Is Zero
7. String tokenizer, model vs. view
8. Blackjack - using my classes
9. Blackjack - writing classes
10. HTML and Applets

Useful Links

This section will contain links useful for the course.

• Haiku
• Cold Exams
  • Exam 1 Fall 02
  • Exam 1 Winter 02
  • Exam 2 Fall 02
  • Exam 2 Winter 02

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Presentations

1. Introduction to Java
2. Memory, variables, assignment statements
3. If statement
4. Object oriented concepts
5. While statement
6. Fibonacci Numbers
7. Testing for Primes
8. Char, repeating input, strings
9. Binary numbers
10. GUIs
11. More on GUIs
12. Methods
13. Local variables, scope
14. More operators and data types
15. More control statements
16. More on strings
17. Case study: Palindromes
18. More number limitations, String formatting
19. Writing classes
20. More on classes
21. Class variables, methods and constants
22. Introduction to arrays
23. HTML and applets
24. Searching and Sorting
25. Exceptions
26. Introduction to files
27. Introduction to graphics
28. Introduction to animation
29. Scatter diagrams
30. Recursion
31. Quicksort