Instructors & TAs

Instructors

• Parke Godfrey (Section A)

  Office: Computer Science and Engineering Building, room 2050
  

  Office hours: 4-6pm Tuesdays & by appointment (CSEB #2050)

  Email: godfrey@cse.yorku.ca

• Burton Ma (Section E)

  Office: Computer Science and Engineering Building, room 1012J
  

  Office hours: 3:30-5:00pm Mon, Wed, Thu (CSEB 1012J)

  Email: burton@cse.yorku.ca

Teaching Assistants

TBA

Office hours

Students are welcome to come to the instructors' and TAs' office hours to ask questions about the lecture material or other aspects of the course.

Textbook

H. Roumani. Java by Abstraction: A Client-View Approach. Second edition. Pearson Addison Wesley, Toronto. 2008.

This is available in the York University Book Store in York Lanes.

If you have the first edition of this textbook, it is reasonable to use it for the course. The difference from the first edition to the second edition is that the errata have been fixed. A list of errata can be found here, and another list can be found here.

Note: If you are using the first edition, you should download the software from the second edition. This can be found on the textbook webpage.

Course Components

Lectures

The lectures consist of presentation and discussion of the course material. One chapter from the textbook is covered each week. Students are encouraged to read the current week's textbook chapter prior to attending the lecture. See the calendar for details.

Practise Programming Exercises (eChecks)

These are ten weekly practise programming exercises that must be completed and submitted electronically. These are called eChecks in the textbook and are submitted online. (Okay, there is an eleventh one that is not part of the marks, Practise #0. But that one is quite simple and is for introductory purposes only.)

Students receive instant feedback whether their solution passed all the tests. Each eCheck is graded on a pass-fail basis (so all or nothing), and must be completed within a week. eChecks are assigned in your weekly lab session. See the calendar for details.

To learn how to submit eChecks electronically, do the initial self-paced labs of the textbook consulting the Guided Tour for CSE1020 students . The URL of the eCheck server (which you need in order to submit electronically from home) can be found in the guided tour.

Students are expected to adhere to the coding style that is given in Appendix C of the textbook.

Lab Tests

There are two lab tests held throughout the course. These are programming tests are conducted in your normal lab session.

The lab tests are closed-book, no aids allowed. Blank sheets of paper for scratch work may not be be brought into the lab.

Midterm Exam

The midterm exam consists of two components: a written test and a lab-based test (which is like the lab tests above). The midterm is scheduled at a common time for both sections of the course, A and E. (This is tentatively scheduled for Sunday 25 October.)

The midterm will cover Chapters 1-5 of the textbook. You are also responsible for material from the Guided Tour.

A copy of the midterm test (written part) from fall 2008 with answers.

Final Exam

The final exam also consists of two components: a written exam, and a lab-based test. Scheduling for the final exam will be determined by the registrar's office later in the term.

The final exam will cover chapters 1-12 of the textbook. It will consist of a written component and a programming component. The written component will be conducted during the exam period at a time scheduled by the registrar's office (see Examination Schedules). The programming component will be conducted in the lab on the same day (times TBA).

Midterm & Final Written Exam Procedures:

• The written portion is closed-book/no aids.
• Exam booklets and/or answer sheets will be provided.
• A (non-electronic) dictionary may be used during the exam, if needed.
• Proof of Identity must be provided. A photo ID and a student card are required.
• Blank sheets of paper for scratch work may not be be brought into the exam.

The questions of the written exams (midterm and final) will focus on concepts, not on writing code. The programming parts will obviously test you on writing code.

A sample of the final exam written part can be found here (WARNING: these questions are provided only as examples of short answer type questions; your exam may vary).

Grading

You can access your marks so far in the course at the ePost server.

The weight distribution of the course components is as follows:

• 10% : practise programming exercises / eChecks (1% each for practise #1 -- #10)
• 10% : lab test #1
• 15% : lab test #2
• 30% : midterm exam
• 35% : final exam

Note also that conversion from numeric to letter grade is applied to the overall mark only and in accordance with the following departmental standard: