1. CS 2530 Intermediate Computing Dr. Schafer

2. Getting to know you
Pull out a sheet of notebook paper and fold it in half the “long” way .
Using one of the markers I will pass around, write your “first name and last initial” (or the name you would like to be called).

3. Getting Started I will hand you a syllabus.
Please make sure you read it by Wednesday and come prepared to ask questions.
But a few issues I want to highlight today.

4. Important times and places
Formal office hours
MWF 11-11:50 and 1:00-1:50 (ITTC 316)
Having said that, I follow an open door policy
Time and Place:  
MWF   2:00-2:50 AM, ITTC 328

5. Textbooks
Real Java textbooks are big, bulky, expensive, and often not that great.
Instead we will use several freely available, online, pdfs to conduct readings that will “accompany” the lectures.

6. Grading

7. Scholastic Conduct I take scholastic conduct SERIOUSLY!
You are responsible for being familiar with the university’s Academic Ethics Policies ( and my comments on scholastic conduct in my course.
General rule
Discussing assignments is normally acceptable.
Copying code or answers is not. 
First and foremost, your final submission for any assignment should be your own individual, original work unless otherwise specified.

8. No Distractions!
Cell phones
Computers

9. Guidelines for Success in this Course
Prepare for lecture! Read the text selections before the start of lecture and complete any class prep assignment.
Be on time. Class sessions will start promptly at 2:00.  I will collect assignments at that time and will often start with important announcements.
Write code on your own! Think of simple problems on your own (or from the readings) and solve them.  If you wonder "what if," TRY IT!

10. Guidelines for Success in this Course
Make use of the office hours early! Don't wait until late in the term to seek help.
If you spend more than 15 minutes staring at the computer stuck on something, ask for help!  I am frequently in my office.
Be specific in your questions when possible. Rather than asking for an explanation of a large or general topic, be prepared with specific questions or specific examples that raised your questions.

11. Guidelines for Success in this Course
Remember, programming takes practice.

12. How is this course different from your introductory sequence?
CS I focuses on learning to “code”.
How do I put sequences of commands together to solve a problem?
Often focusing on procedural programming
Often focusing on writing code at the method/function level

13. How is this course different from your introductory sequence?
CS II focuses on learning to deal with data.
How do I use different data structures/types to solve a problem
Probably introduced the concept of classes or libraries without discussing much detail of class design.
Even if you talked about classes, the discussion was limited to “small” programs with a very limited number of classes.

14. How is this course different from your introductory sequence?
Intermediate Computing focuses on:
The overall paradigm of OO computing
Although you have been programming in an OO language you probably haven’t been emphasizing OO principles.
Learning how to craft large, complex, yet flexible programs?
While we can’t actually build LARGE systems we can talk about the principles of large systems

15. How is this course different from your introductory sequence?
Intermediate Computing focuses on:
Introducing the concept of software engineering.
The process of writing “large” programs is more involved than “let’s write some code and see what happens”
Going beyond just writing code, but writing “good” code
While the concept of code quality is highly subjective we want to start discussing the kind of code that is normally considered “good”

16. What will we cover this semester?
The OO software development process
OO Analysis and Design
Modeling languages
Software reuse
Frameworks
Design Patterns
Testing and debugging
Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs)
Event-driven programming
Networks and sockets
Software Tools
Oh, yeah – and how to do it all in Java

17. For next time Read the syllabus and come prepared to ask questions
Read chapter one from the pdf file of
An Introduction to Object Orientated Programming
Simon Kendal
You can legally download the textbook at