Description and Objective:
This course is intended as an introduction to computer science. The formal objective of the course is to expose students to the research areas of computer science and the core problems in the field while preparing them for the programming needs of more advanced courses. We hope to achieve this goal by presenting higher level concepts in lecture and hands-on computer practices in the lab. This exposure comes from learning the basics principles of programming while learning the programming language C++.

Text:
The required text book for this course is Problem Solving with C++ by Walter Savitch, (Pearson) 2008. 7th edition. Note: The 6th edition is fine!

People:
Ben Hescott
hescott@cs.tufts.edu
Halligan Hall Extension, Room 005
Office Hours: Mondays 4:30-7 in Halligan 118, Tuesdays 2-3

Donna Slonim
slonim@cs.tufts.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday 10:45 - 11:45, Thursday 10:45-11:45

Lab Times:
Friday 10:30-11:45
Friday 12-1:15
Friday 3:00-4:15
Monday 4:30-5:45
Monday 6-7:15
Monday 7:30-8:45
Tuesday 9-10:15
Tuesday 10:30 - 11:45
Tuesday 12-1:15

Please Note: The course staff reserve the right to make changes to the above. Rest assured, any such changes would be minor and would help ensure a fair distribution of grades.

Homework:
Homework will be assigned regularly in the course. It will consist primarily of programming projects. Some projects are designed to take a few hours to complete; others take much more time. There will be two longer programming assignments during the semester. Homework assignments will be weighted differently depending on the difficulty of the assignment.

Homework projects will extend the programming work done in the lab. All assignments will be done on the computer and checked by the computer. It is important to repeatedly test your code before submission. All programming projects will be tested on the linux cluster within the CS department. Assignments will be submitted electronically, according to the instructions that accompany each assignment.

Late Homework:
Because of the size of the class and the amount of homework, 10% of the total number of points for the assignment will be deducted daily. No homework will be accepted after 5 days.

Exams:
There will be two exams during the course, a midterm that will cover material from the first half and a cumulative final exam which will be weighted toward material covered after the midterm. The midterm will be on October 29. The final exam is during your regularly scheduled block exam time.

Grade Calculation:
45% Homework - written and coding projects
10% Lab work, class participation, anti-quizzes
20% Midterm
25% Final

Academic Misconduct:
Students should read the Tufts brochure on academic conduct located: Academic Brochure

A few highlights are presented to emphasize importance:

Absolute adherence to the code of conduct is demanded of the instructor, teaching fellow, and students. This means that no matter the circumstance any misconduct will be reported to Tufts University.

While students are encouraged to discuss course materials, no collaboration is allowed on homework. Specifically, you may discuss assignments and projects verbally, but must write up or work on the computer alone. In addition, any discussion should be documented. An example on the project would be "Thanks to John Hugg for showing me how to initialize the linked list." Another important example is citing a source, this could be "This information was adapted from www.boston.com"

While computers facilitate both inappropriate collaboration with other students and copying of materials from the Internet, it is possible to use these same computers to detect plagiarism and collaboration.

If any student does not understand these terms or any outlined in The Academic Code of Conduct it is his/her responsibility to talk to the instructor or teaching fellow.

Feedback:
Your thoughts and concerns on this course are important. You are encouraged to give feedback to the instructor and teaching fellow throughout the term. As always students will be asked to fill out a course evaluation at the end of the term.