CISC 5300: Programming in C++

General information

Faculty: Dr. A. G. Werschulz

Office: Rm 610D.

Phone: (212) 636-6325

Office Hours: Wednesdays and Thursdays, 4:00 pm to 5:25 pm, or by appointment.

Class meetings:

• Time: Wednesdays, 5:30 pm to 7:45 p.m.,
• Location: LL 602

Class email list: programming-c++ STRUDEL dsm.fordham.edu (STRUDEL is a thinly-disguised @, to thwart the amount of spam that your instructor receives in his guise of list manager). This can be used for both announcements and discussion.

Catalog Description of Course

The course will focus on object-oriented programming using C++. Topics include objects, methods, abstraction, encapsulation, inheritance and polymorphism. Particular emphasis will be given to real-life programming problems. This course is an intensive introduction to object-oriented programming using C++. It assumes no prior knowledge of programming, but will cover the majority of material in a typical CS1 and CS2 undergraduate programming class. Because of the introductory nature of this course, credit for this course will not be applied to the requirements for the MSCS degree.

Text and Readings

• The text for this course is:
  Bjarne Stroustrup, Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++, Second Edition, Addison-Wesley, 2014.
  The author has a website for this text. It has a lot of useful material. For starters, you should consult his style guide.

  Note: It is sometimes possible to get cheaper "international editions" of textbooks. However, these books may not be a 100% match of the original text. I have sometimes seen cases where the exercises of the international edition do not match those in the standard edition. For this reason, I highly suggest that you obtain the standard edition of the text. If you opt for the international edition, it is your responsibility to ensure (e.g.) that the exercises in your edition match those in the standard edition; I am not going to grade two different sets of exercises.

• In addition, we will spend some time learning about programming on the Departmental machines, which run Linux, a free Unix-like operating system. There are numerous online resources that can help you in this regard:
  • There is an online introduction on using the Linux computer systems at Lincoln Center that belong to the Computer and Information Sciences Department. Please take some time to read this. It has the answers to a lot of questions.
  • Many websites have material on Unix and Linux. I have collected a sample of same. You should especially look at the material for beginners.
  • We strongly encourage you to use the emacs editor for creating programs. Your instructor thinks that it's the best programmer's editor, with many handy features (but not so many as to overwhelm you).

Grading

Your grade will be determined as follows:

• one midterm exam: 25%
• one final exam: 25%
• programming assignments: 50%. These will be graded as follows:
  
  

  Documentation (pseudocode and comments)	20%
  Correctness of algorithm	20%
  Correctness of program	20%
  Overall style of the program	20%
  Quality of input/output	20%

  
  

  I have written a guide to getting better grades on programming assignments. Ignore its advice at your peril! (You may find that under the "style" rubric, I have a few minor disagreements with Prof. Stroustrup. In this class, you should follow my guidelines when they clash with his.)

Attendance

Learning is an interactive process that begins in the class room, continues at home, and picks up back in the classroom. Attendance is necessary to accomplish the objectives of this course. You are limited to four excused absences. Additional absences or unexcused absences will result in a marked decrease in your final grade.

Electronica

You may not use laptop computers, tablets, or mobile phones, neither during the lecture nor during the lab.

Examinations

• There will be one midterm examination, which will be held on Wednesday, October 10, during the regular class period.
• The final exam (which is on Wednesday, December 19, during the regular class period) is somewhat cumulative:
  • You won't be able to answer questions about material appearing later in the course if you don't understand material that appeared earlier in the course.
  • I reserve the right to put questions involving this earlier part of the course on the final exam (especially if I felt that there was some topic from the first part of the course that people didn't understand).

Additional Remarks

• Check out the directory /u/sobolev/agw/class/programming-c++/share on any of the machines in the dsm.fordham.edu domain (such as erdos or the lab machines). This directory contains material that you might find useful, such as support files for programming assignments.
• You might find it useful to look at the source code of the examples found in the text.
• Please read the following documents:
  • Mission statement (what this course is about)
  • Academic integrity statement
  • Makeup exam policy
  • Course syllabus (most of the information contained therein is on this website).
• Before we cover each of this book's chapters during lecture, I'd strongly advise you to print out the handout version of the overhead slides for said chapter. This will allow you to jot down additional notes concerning each slide.

If you believe that you have a disabling condition that may interfere with your ability to participate in the activities, coursework, or assessment of the object of this course, you may be entitled to accommodations. If so, please schedule an appointment to speak with me immediately or you may go to the Office of Disability Services (x6282). Under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973, all students, with or without disabilities, are entitled to equal access to the programs and activities of Fordham University.

Last modified: Mon Dec 17 10:08:12 2018