CS 231 Computer Programming II

Things to note about this class

• You will be required to design and write Java programs and I expect you to do your programming on your own. Any copying detected on a programming project will result in zeros for ALL parties involved. Continuous copying will result in automatic F's for the semester for ALL parties involved.
• You should use the text by Sanders and van Dam as the reference for Java and the game programming text as the source for game design and theory.
• You should make a supreme effort to study the textbooks very carefully with the aim of understanding the material so that you can retrieve what you have learnt without the aid of the books. (Ideally, you should be reading ahead of me. I can help you learn how to study so, please, see me for help.) Try as many of the self-test exercises at the end of each section in the Java text.
• You should try to do your homework, especially programming, without your book open. Why? The exams/quizzes don't let you use the book. (This does not mean that you cannot check the book if you get stuck. What it does mean is that you should try to learn the material before doing your work so that you can see if you retained what you learnt. DO NOT START FROM THE QUESTION AND LOOK BACK FOR AN EXAMPLE. THIS WILL KILL YOU ON MY EXAMS.)
• You should attempt every question given for homework and see me as soon as you can't do any of them.
• When you are given a programming project you will be given a due date and a late date. You should try to get the program submitted by the due date for full credit. Programs submitted after the late date will NOT be awarded full credit.
• I will not cover the material in the texts by reading either of the texts to you.
• Learning to program is an extremely time-consuming task by its very nature. You need to read the background material carefully, design your solution to a problem before going to the computer, write out your solution on paper before going to the computer, hand check your solution and make corrections before going to the computer, type in your solution into the computer, compile, execute, and test your solution thoroughly. (I figure an average of 9 hours outside of class per week depending on your ability to understand programming concepts.) I know that the list of things to do sounds like too much and a waste of time but it is my experience that those students who fail to follow the steps as laid out end up spending much more time than expected without getting positive results.
• That said, I believe that the concepts are within everyone's grasp and everyone has the potential to do well in this class if you just do what is required.
• You cannot pass this class by attendance only but missing classes will cause you to do poorly on my exams/quizzes.
• In-class exams will have a written component to be held during the lecture time and a hands-on component to be held during the lab time. None of the exams is open-book.
• If you miss a class, you need to find out what assignments and reading have been given BEFORE coming to the next class.
• If you miss a quiz, there is no makeup. Besides, quizzes are there to help you monitor your progress in the class so why miss them?
• If you miss an exam, you will need a documented excuse from a legally valid source (doctor, lawyer, coroner, etc.) for me to consider giving you a makeup.
• You need to get started immediately. You should have already obtained the books. You cannot survive in this class without having frequent access to BOTH texts. (I realize that books are expensive and that you may not have the finances right away but there are other things that can be done to ease the burden. See me for suggestions.)
• I am here to help and I prefer that you hunt me down for such help. I know how I think better than anyone else.
• I will send information to you via your Cookman email accounts.
  Please check all sources daily, especially before class.