Syllabus Highlights CSE 1310 – Introduction to Computers and Programming Vassilis Athitsos University of Texas at Arlington 1

About the Course This course is aimed to be the first course in computer programming. – This course is aimed for students who have NEVER PROGRAMMED BEFORE. The topic is difficult. – It requires very precise, mathematical thinking. Unlike other courses, "getting most of the material" will not get you a good grade. – If you have even small gaps in the material, it will be very hard to do well in the class. – For a program to work, it needs to be 100% correct. – Code that is 99% correct is 0% useful. 2

About the 5-Week Format This will be a sprint to the finish. – This course counts the same as a 15-week Fall or Spring course. – Therefore, we must cover the same material. You may have fallen hopelessly behind by Thursday. Two programming assignments per week. Expected: 30 hours per week outside of class. If you work full-time, are taking other classes, or have other time commitments: – Do not be surprised if you fail! 3

Grading 25%: 9 programming assignments. 75%: Two midterms and a final. Grading is based on performance. Grading criteria do not include: – Effort. – Class participation. – What grade you need to qualify for financial aid, for a job, for graduation, etc. All requests for leniency in grading will be ignored. 4

Assignments You can work with other people on assignments, but: If you cannot do the assignments yourself, most likely you will fail the exams. – You cannot work with other people on the exams. – If you fail the exams, you fail the course. You must submit on Blackboard. Late penalty: 4 points per hour. – No exceptions, except for medical/personal emergencies documented in writing. – Network/computer crashes will not be accepted as an excuse. 5

Exams Most questions will ask you to write code. Some questions (especially on first midterm) will ask you to read code and: – Predict what the code will do. – Fix mistakes. Exams are open book. – You can use books, notes, and any other handwritten or printed material. No electronic devices are allowed: – No calculators, cell phones, laptops. 6

Attendance Attending exams is mandatory. – Again, exceptions are made only for medical/personal emergencies documented in writing. – Transportation problems, malfunctioning alarms, not accepted as an excuse. You do not have to attend lectures. However, if you do not attend lectures, you are still responsible for understanding the material. – Do not expect a private lecture during office hours or by e- mail. 7

Class Participation Class participation is not part of the grading criteria. However: asking questions, and trying to answer questions, can help you in understanding the material. – If you have questions and you do not ask in class, where are you going to get the answers? If you do not understand something, always feel free to raise your hand and ask a question. 8

Course Website The course website is here: The course schedule, lecture slides, and code we write in class, will be available on the "Lectures" link. Assignments will be available on the "Assignments" link. The exam schedule and information about each exam will be available on the "Exams" link. 9

Syllabus The syllabus is posted here: You are responsible for reading and understanding what the syllabus says. 10

Getting Help Teaching assistant: Wei Xiang Feel free to use our office hours, posted on the website. – Every weekday at least one of us has office hours. Feel free to send s with your questions. If you send us an , send it to BOTH of us, to maximize chances of getting a reply fast. Do not expect responses after 5pm when an assignment is due. – Little sympathy will be offered for people who leave assignments for the last minute. 11