Time and Place:
Monday - Friday, 11:00am - 12:15pm, LSRC D243
Instructor: Chris La Pilla
- Office: LSRC D103
- Phone: 660-6501
- Email:
- Office Hours: 1:00pm - 2:00pm, Monday - Friday, by appointment, or generally anytime my door is open
Text:
Java Concepts, 4th Edition, by Cay Horstmann, Wiley, 2005 (ISBN: 0471697044)
Course Format:
The course meets five days a week. Each meeting will consist of a short lecture and discussion (20-30 minutes), followed by in-class problem solving and programming exercises. There are no separate lab sessions. There will be a reading assignment for each class, which will be indicated on the course calendar.
We will provide laptops for classwork, but students are welcome (and encouraged!) to bring their own.
Attendance is mandatory. Frequent absences will lower your participation grade.
Assignments and Grading:
Classwork will be given daily and will consist of short problem-solving exercises that target a specific skill or concept. Additionally, there will be weekly homework assignments, which will involve applying concepts learned in class to problems of a larger magnitude. Finally, there will be written quizzes given approximately each week on the course material and a final exam. Each type of assignment will contribute to the final grade by approximately the following amounts:
| Attendance and Participation | 5% |
| Classwork | 20% |
| Homework | 30% |
| In-class Quizzes | 25% |
| Final Exam | 20% |
Individual homework assignments will be weighted differently, depending on the difficulty. Assignments will get progressively more difficult as the term progresses. There will be several opportunities to earn extra credit. All homework should be submitted according to the homework guidelines.
Grading is done on an absolute, but adjustable scale. This means that there is no curve. Anyone earning 90% or more of the total number of points available will receive a grade in the A range; 80% or more guarantees a grade in the B range, 70% or more guarantees a grade in the C range, 60% or more guarantees a grade in the D range. This scale may slide down, but it will not go up.
Work in this course is subject to the department's collaboration policy. In general, all homework assignments should be completed individually unless the instructor specifically states otherwise. Students may assist each other in debugging code and by discussing problems in a broad sense, but they must write their own code independently.
Late Assignments:
Late assignments turned in up to two days after the due date will incur a 10% penalty. After this, a 25% penalty will be incurred. Assignments will not be accepted more than one week after the due date. Start early so that you have enough time to see the instructor for help if you get stuck.
Individual extensions will be granted only for medical reasons (see the Short-term Illness Notification policy) or other circumstances beyond your control that must be presented with an official Dean's excuse. Extensions must be requested before an assignment is due.
Website (including this page):
http://www.cs.duke.edu/courses/summer07/cps006/