15-214: Syllabus

Prerequisites

15-122 or 15-211, or equivalent with instructor's permission

The equivalent of 2 semester-long programming classes
Ability to write small programs in C (or Java, C#, or other imperative languages with pointers or references)
Ability to reason about programs using preconditions, postconditions, and invariants
Familiarity with a basic set of algorithms and data structures (linked lists, simple graph and sorting algorithms)

Evaluation

Evaluation will be based on the following approximate percentages:

50% assignments
10% midterm exam 1
10% midterm exam 2
20% final exam
10% participation

This course does not have a fixed letter grade policy; i.e. the final letter grades will not be A=90-100%, B=80-90%, etc.

Textbooks

Required text: Larman, Craig. Applying UML and Patterns. Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-148906-2 (this book describes basics of object-oriented design, GRASP patterns, and some design patterns, used in the course).

Optional references by topic

Object-Oriented Design and Design Patterns
- Alan Shalloway and James Trott. Design Patterns Explained: A New Perspective on Object-Oriented Design (2nd Ed.)
- Gamma et al. Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software. Addison Wesley. ISBN 0-201-63361-2 (this is an excellent book, but more of a reference text than the Design Patterns Explained book. In addition, because it was the original patterns book, the examples are in C++ and Smalltalk, not Java)
Concurrency
- Goetz et al. Java Concurrency in Practice. Addison Wesley. ISBN 0-321-34960-1 (excellent book on concurrency in Java)
- Herlihy, Maurice and Nir Shavit. The Art of Multiprocessor Programming. Morgan Kaufmann. ISBN 0-12-397337-6 (an excellent, more general book on parallel programming)
Java
- Note: Here are some popular textbook and online resources for learning Java. I have not looked at them in enough detail to specifically recommend one over the others.
- Sierra, Kathy and Bert Bates. Head First Java. O'Reilly Media. ISBN 0-596-00920-8 (available physically and electronically in the CMU libraries)
- Introduction to Java Programming (the Comprehensive version has the benefit of covering threads too)
- Introduction to Programming Using Java (free online textbook)
- Blue Pelican Java (free online textbook)

Time Management

This is a 12-unit course, and it is our intention to manage it so that you spend close to 12 hours a week on the course, on average. In general, 4 hours/week will be spent in class and 8 hours on assignments. Please feel free to give the course staff feedback on how much time the course is taking for you.

Late Work Policy

We understand that normal life events, including projects and exams in other courses and technical difficulties out of your control, can interfere with your ability to complete your work on time. Our philosophy is that our late work policy includes built-in flexibility but that the policy will be uniformly applied to all students in all circumstances. Exceptions to this policy will be made only in extraordinary circumstances, almost always involving a family or medical emergency with your academic advisor or the Dean of Student Affairs requesting the exception on your behalf.

For most homework deadlines you may turn in your work up to two days late using (1) free late days (see below) or (2) 10% per day penalties. Work turned in more than two days late will receive feedback but no credit, i.e., a 100% penalty. (See an important caveat below for how penalties are applied to late work.) Some homework deadlines explicitly disallow late work, and you are responsible for correctly understanding the late policy for each homework assignment and its sub-parts.

Each student starts the semester with five free late days which will automatically be applied to your individual (non-partner-based) assignments until you have used all five free late days. A late day is automatically applied when your work is late; you may not defer a free late day to be used on a later assignment. We will make separate late day provisions for partner-based assignments.

When we apply a late penalty to late work (e.g. a 10% one-day penalty or a 100% no credit penalty) we assess the penalty incrementally at a rate of 1% every five minutes until the full penalty is assessed.

To better understand this late policy consider the following example scenario. Suppose a homework assignment is due Tuesday night (ostensibly at 11:59 p.m.) and you have one free late day remaining. You may turn in your work:

Tuesday night at 11:59:59 p.m. with no penalty, leaving you one free late day remaining. (We write deadlines as 11:59 p.m. for clarity, but work is actually late at midnight.)
Wednesday morning at 12:00:00 a.m. (one second later, oops) with no penalty but leaving you no free late days. (Deadlines are strictly enforced, even if your work is late because of network problems or other technical difficulties.)
Wednesday night at 11:59:59 p.m. with no penalty, leaving you no free late days.
Thursday morning at 12:29:59 a.m. with a 6% penalty and leaving you no free late days. The penalty is 6% because 29 minutes 59 seconds accumulated six five-minute increments of the 10% one-day penalty.
Thursday night at 11:59:59 p.m. with a 10% penalty, leaving you no free late days.
Friday morning at 03:59:59 a.m. with a 58% penalty (one full 10% one-day penalty + 48 five-minute increments of the no-credit penalty) and leaving you no free late days.
Friday morning at 09:00:00 a.m. for no credit, but leaving you with one free late day remaining. (Work turned in for no credit will not consume free late days.)

Collaboration Policy

We expect that your work on assignments, projects, and exams will be your own work. Thus, you may not copy any part of a solution to a problem that was written by another student, or was developed together with another student, or was copied from another unauthorized source such as the Internet. You may not look at another student's solution, even if you have completed your own, nor may you knowingly give your solution to another student or leave your solution where another student can see it.

Here are some examples of behavior that are inappropriate:

Copying files or parts of files (such as source code, written text, or unit tests) from another person or source.
Copying (or retyping) files or parts of files with minor modifications such as style changes or minor logic modifications.
Allowing someone else to copy your code or written assignment, either in draft or final form.
Getting help that you do not fully understand, and from someone whom you do not acknowledge on your solution.
Writing, using, or submitting a program that attempts to alter or erase grading information or otherwise compromise security of course resources.
Copying someone else's files containing draft solutions, even if the file permissions are incorrectly set to allow it.
Lying to course staff.
Copying prose or programs directly.
Giving copies of work to others.
Making your work publicly available in a way that other students (current or future) can access your solutions, even if others’ access is accidental or incidental to your goals.
Coaching others step-by-step without them understanding your help.

If any of your work contains any statement that was not written by you, you must put it in quotes and cite the source. If you are paraphrasing an idea you read elsewhere, you must acknowledge the source. Using existing material without proper citation is plagiarism, a form of cheating. If there is any question about whether the material is permitted, you must get permission in advance. We will be using automated systems to detect software plagiarism.

It is not considered cheating to clarify vague points in the assignments, lectures, lecture notes, or to give help or receive help in using the computer systems, compilers, debuggers, profilers, or other facilities.

Some assignments are specifically noted as group projects. For these, interpret "you" in the preceeding paragraphs to mean "you and your partner(s)."

Any violation of this policy is cheating. The minimum penalty for cheating (including plagiarism) will be a zero grade for the whole assignment. Cheating incidents will also be reported through University channels, with possible additional disciplinary action. For more information, see the University Policy on Academic Integrity. There is no statute of limitations for violations of the collaboration policy; penalties may be assessed (and referred to the university disciplinary board) after you have completed the course, and some requirements of the collaboration policy (such as restrictions on you posting your solutions) extend beyond your completion of the course.

If you have any question about how this policy applies in a particular situation, ask the instructors or TAs for clarification.