Welcome to CS21B. This course will introduce fundamental ideas in computer science and teach you how to write computer programs while exposing you to some applications in biology. We will study algorithms for solving problems and implement solutions in the Python programming language. Python is an interpreted language that is known for its ease of use. We also introduce object-oriented programming and data structures. A deeper coverage of these topics will be presented in CS 35.
This course is appropriate for all students who want to learn how to write computer programs and think like computer scientists. It is the usual first course for computer science majors and minors. Students with advanced placement credit or extensive programming experience should place out of this course and instead begin with CS 33 or CS 35.
By the end of the course, we hope that you will have developed the following skills:
Student Support Coordinator: Betsy Horner (Office: Science Center 257, Phone: 6062)
CS21 Ninjas (student mentors): John Dinh, Christina Duron, Ivana Ng, Ashley Oudenne, Nick Rhinehart
The CS Ninjas will assist me in class and run study sessions in the main CS lab (Science Center 240) on the following evenings:
Day | Time | Location |
Sunday | 7-9pm | Sci Center 240 |
Wednesday | 7-9pm | Sci Center 240 |
You are invited -- and encouraged -- to participate in these study sessions to prepare for quizzes, to discuss programming concepts, and to get friendly assistance in working on homework assignments. Our CS mentoring team is dedicated to helping students, who have no prior knowledge of computer science, learn to program in Python while keeping their senses of humor intact. As an added bonus, free food will be provided at the sessions.
Day | Time | Professor | Location |
Monday | 2:30-4:00 | Newhall | Science Center 240 |
Monday | 3:30-5:00 | Meeden | Science Center 240 |
Friday | 1:00-2:00* | Turnbull | Science Center 240 |
Contact Tracey Rush at the Dean's office and follow these steps for obtaining accommodations.
40% | Homework assignments |
30% | Quizzes |
5% | Class Participation |
25% | Final Exam |
Programming assignments will typically be assigned in class at the beginning of the week and will be due before midnight the following Tuesday night. You are strongly encouraged to start early and to attend the study sessions for extra practice.
You will submit you assignments electronically using the handin21 program. You may submit your assignment multiple times, but each submission overwrites the previous one and only the final submission will be graded. Late assignments will not be accepted except in extreme situations and only if you contact me before the deadline. Even if you do not fully complete an assignment, you should submit what you have done to receive partial credit.
Programming is not a dry mechanical process, but a form of art. Well written code has an aesthetic appeal while poor form can make other programmers and instructors cringe. Programming assignments will be graded based on style and correctness. Good programming practices usually include many of the following principles:
Academic honesty is required in all work you submit to be graded. With the exception of your lab partner on lab assignments, you may not submit work done with (or by) someone else, or examine or use work done by others to complete your own work. Your code should never be shared with anyone; you may not examine or use code belonging to someone else, nor may you let anyone else look at or make a copy of your code. This includes sharing solutions after the due date of the assignment.
All code you submit must be your own with the following permissible exceptions: code distributed in class, code found in the course text book, and code worked on with an assigned partner. In these cases, you should always include detailed comments that indicates on which parts of the assignment you received help, and what your sources were.
Discussing ideas and approaches to problems with others on a general level is fine (in fact, we encourage you to discuss general strategies with each other), but you should never read anyone else's code or let anyone else read your code. You may discuss assignment specifications and requirements with others in the class to be sure you understand the problem. In addition, you are allowed to work with others to help learn the course material. However, with the exception of your lab partner, you may not work with others on your assignments in any capacity.
``It is the opinion of the faculty that for an intentional first offense, failure in the course is normally appropriate. Suspension for a semester or deprivation of the degree in that year may also be appropriate when warranted by the seriousness of the offense.'' - Swarthmore College Bulletin (2008-2009, Section 7.1.2)
Please see me if there are any questions about what is permissible.
WEEK | DAY | ANNOUNCEMENTS | TOPIC & READING | LABS |
1 | Jan 19 | Introduction to Python and Unix Zelle chapters 1-2 |
Lab0 Lab1 |
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Jan 21 | ||||
2 | Jan 26 | Numbers and Strings Zelle chapters 3-4 |
Lab2 | |
Jan 28 | Quiz 1 Practice Quiz1 Drop/Add ends (Jan 29) |
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3 | Feb 02 | Booleans Zelle chapter 7 and pg. 247 |
Lab3 | |
Feb 04 | ||||
4 | Feb 09 | Graphics, Objects Zelle chapter 5 Notes on the Graphics Library |
Lab4 | |
Feb 11 | Quiz 2 Practice Quiz2 |
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5 | Feb 16 | Functions, Objects Zelle chapter 6 |
Lab5 | |
Feb 18 | ||||
6 | Feb 23 | while Loops, More Functions Zelle chapter 8 |
Lab6 | |
Feb 25 | Quiz 3 Practice Quiz3 |
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7 | Mar 02 | Top Down Design, File I/O Zelle chapter 9, section 4.6 |
None | |
Mar 04 | ||||
Mar 09 |
Spring Break |
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Mar 11 |
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8 | Mar 16 | Searching, Analysis of Algorithms Zelle section 13.1 |
Lab7 | |
Mar 18 | ||||
9 | Mar 23 | Sorting, Analysis of Algorithms Zelle sections 13.2-13.3 |
Lab8 | |
Mar 25 | Quiz 4 Practice Quiz4 Last day to declare CR/NC or W (Mar 26) |
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10 | Mar 30 | Recursion Zelle sections 13.1-13.3 |
Lab9 | |
Apr 01 | ||||
11 | Apr 06 | Defining new classes Zelle chapter 10 |
Lab10 | |
Apr 08 | Quiz 5 Practice Quiz5 |
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12 | Apr 13 | Object Oriented Design Zelle chapter 12 |
Lab11 | |
Apr 15 | ||||
13 | Apr 20 | Linked lists |
Lab12 | |
Apr 22 | Quiz 6 Practice Quiz6 |
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14 | Apr 27 | Advanced Topics, Wrap-up | ||
Apr 29 |