1. Assignment Preliminaries
© B. Wilkinson/Clayton Ferner. Modification date: Nov 4, 2013

2. Student accounts on computer systems
Some programming assignments will be done on the UNC-Charlotte and UNC-Wilmington clusters
Account details will be sent by .
As soon as you get your account details, check that account works!! If you do not, it could delay you doing the assignments.
Note “interim dates” on course home page to report problems.

3. Login from on-campus or off-campus
UNCW cluster
Login from on-campus or off-campus
harpua
babbage
Head Node
Submit Host
Sunfire X dual cores
switch
Dell PowerEduge dual cores
compute-0-0
compute-0-1
compute-0-2
compute-0-3
compute-0-4

4. Remote Access
Traditional way from a Windows system is to use PuTTY for a command line remote access.
Select SSH
coit-grid01.uncc.edu
Obtain from:

5. Terminal Window
When all PuTTY information filled in correctly, click Open button. This will open a terminal:
Enter your username and after password prompt, your password.

6. WinSCP SCP client Useful for transferring files to and from servers.
Can also be used as an ssh client.
WinSCP can be downloaded from
It is recommended to install both PuTTY and WinSCP.
Drag to move files
Local directory
Remote directory

7. WinSCP console window
Console terminal selection

8. Testing account Log onto server with username and password given.
Check simple Linux commands work and you can see your home directory.

9. Commonly Used Linux Commands
Viewing and Navigating Directories
Frequently used commands for viewing/navigating directories.
ls -a List files in current directory.
-a says list all files including hidden files (those starting with a period)
pwd Print the full path of the current directory
cd directory Change user’s directory to that specified, or if none specified, to user’s home directory
cd .. Move up one directory

10. Commonly Used Linux Commands
Changing Password
Once you have logged on, you may need to change your password as your account may have been set up with a password that was sent to you in an insecure way (say by ). The command is
passwd Change user password
which will prompt for the current password and then the new password.
NOTE: For the coit-grid cluster, you have to log into coit-grid02.uncc.edu to make a change to the password.
(A cron script propagates passwords every 15 minutes to the other servers.)

11. Creating Directories and Files
Files are usually created using an editor. The standard Linux editor is called vi.
One simple editor that may be more convenient for the casual user and part of most Linux installations is called nano. To invoke nano, type
nano filename
or without a file name if file not yet created.
One simply types into the window to change the contents the file. Use control-O to save and control-X to exit.
Available commands are given at the bottom of the window

12. Nano editor File being edited Simply type in as needed
Control key commands: Control-O to save, Control-X to exit

13. Manipulating Directories and Files
Common commands for manipulating directories and files:
mkdir directories Create one or more directories
cat files displays contents of files.
more file
less file both display file one page at a time (space bar to go forward one page, 'b' to go backward one page, 'q' to quit)
cp file1 file2 Copy file1 to file2
cp file1 directory Copy file1 to directory
mv sources destination Move or rename files and directories
rm files Delete one of more files
rmdir directories Delete one of more directories. Must be empty.
rmdir -r directories Remove non-empty directories (recursive remove)

14. Getting information, killing jobs and logging out
man command list information about command, arguments etc. Type q to leave before end.
kill n Kills process n where n is the process number, which can be obtained from ps command
ps Display information about processes.
logout Terminate your login shell

15. https://moodle2.uncc.edu/
Class tests and assignment submission
UNC-Charlotte’s Moodle 2 will be used for submitting assignments and for multiple-choice class tests.
Access is at:
A link is provided from the course home page:
Make sure you use a recent browser.

16. Moodle 2 user name and password
Will be sent by to students once their Moodle account have been set up (except UNC-C students who already have access to Moodle 2).
You must change your password the first time you log into Moodle 2.
DO NOT FORGET YOUR PASSWORD. UNC-C HAS NO EASY WAY RESETTING PASSWORDS.

17. Moodle 2 Select the combined course:
Fall 2013-ITCS :ITCS …
CHECK YOU CAN ACCESS THIS AS SOON AS YOU HAVE A USERNAME/ PASSWORD!

18. What to put in document for each assignment
Your name!!!!
Whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student.
Your institution
Clearly identify each task in assignment you did as specified in assignment (i.e. “Part 1 task 1”, etc.)
Give your code with an explanation.
Show that your programs work by taking screen shots and include these screen shots in the document.
To include screen shots from Windows XP, select window, press Alt-Printscreen, and paste to source file.
Specific screen shots may be requested in the assignment write-up and must be present and identified.

19. IT MUST BE A SINGLE PDF FILE!
Document format
You can produce the source document in any format (Word etc.) BUT only submit a single PDF document.
No other format accepted.
IT MUST BE A SINGLE PDF FILE!

20. DO NOT SUBMIT TO ME BY EMAIL UNLESS I SPECIFICALLY ASK YOU TO DO SO!!
Submit your PDF document to Moodle at the appropriate place e.g. “Assignment 1”, “Assignment 2”, etc, which is only shown when assignment set.
DO NOT SUBMIT MULTIPLE FILES.
YOU CAN MAKE A RE-SUBMISSION THAT REPLACE THE PREVIOUS SUBMISSION BEFORE THE DEADLINE.
DO NOT SUBMIT TO ME BY UNLESS I SPECIFICALLY ASK YOU TO DO SO!!
I WILL IGNORE THE .

21. TO REPEAT - SUBMIT A SINGLE PDF FILE TO MOODLE, OTHERWISE:

22. Due Date
Each assignment will have posted due date posted on the course home page:
which is firm unless you have documented system problems.

23. Course Assistance Course Teaching Assistant: Yasaman Hessary
Contact TA on matters such as user accounts, UNC-C system not functioning, software issues, or general assistance.
For issues with UNC-W system, contact Dr. Ferner.
Contact Instructors for matters such as course materials and assignment write-up.

24. Questions