Handouts

Advanced Programming/Practicum
15-200: Sections A,B,C
Fall 2006


The following is a list of general-purpose handouts available for this course. You may also want to look at related materials on the following web pages: Lecture Schedule/Notes, Sample Programs, and Online Resources.


Computing Infrastructure
Instructions for what to do on your computer before you start working on a programming project. Print a copy of this handout and keep it handy; follow its steps and soon they will become automatic.

Java and Eclipse (Download/Installation Instructions)
Instructions for downloading and installing Java and the Eclipse IDE (which also contain all the necessary links to download these products).

Windows / Macintosh Operating System & Eclipse IDE
Instructions for performing a wide variety of tasks with the Windows/Macintosh Operating System and the Eclipse Integerated Development Environment(IDE). You will be performing these tasks repeatedly during the semester.

Academic Integrity Contract
Discusses the kinds of collaboration allowed and disallowed for the various testing instruments in this course. You must read and sign a copy.


ASCII Character Set Reference
A table showing how values of the types int and char interconvert.

Bugs: An Explanation
A description of bugs in the context of computer programming.

The Eclipse Debugger
A reference and tutorial on using the Eclipsed Debugger. It includes information about observing method calls and variables, single steppting through code in method, and setting/clearing unconditional and conditional breakpoints.

Glossary
A glossary defining many important programming (and Java) terms.

Hackers and Painters
The title (and most interesting chapter) in a book written by Paul Graham: Hackers and Programmers: Big Ideas from the Computer Age. I highly recommend this book. All chapters are posted on the author's web pages.

Help Schedule
Days/times for all staff help, including instructor class and office hours, CA consulting/help sessions, and regular Wean (5419) cluster hours.

Java Coding Style
A description of one Java coding style (about 400K in adobe pdf) described by a well known Java/OOP expert.

Java Conventions for Java (Sun Microsystems)
Code Conventions for the JavaTM Programming Language, developed by Sun. Note quite as extensive as the document below, but an easy place to start.

Pair Programming
An introduction to Extreme Programming (XP) concentrating on testing and pair programming. Read this before doing pair-programming on a programming assignment.

Regular Expressions
In the context of studying EBNF, we will discuss using regular expressions for searching in the Eclipse text editor. Each regular expression is like the right hand side of an EBNF rule, although it uses a different notation and includes more options. Three other popular (by google) web sites are Regular Expressions and Using Regular Expressions and A Tao of Regular Expressions.


Surveys and Summaries

Mid2Semester Survey
A survey I'll direct you to fill out about 1/4 the way through the semester (for the "Java Review" material).

Computer Survey
Results of computer ownership surveys that I have collected over the past few years. Data for this semester will be added during the first few weeks of school.