Welcome to the Fall 2004 session of Grinnell College's CSC 223,
Software Design. This course serves many purposes: It
helps you develop your group work skills, it makes you a better
programmer, it exposes you to a variety of perspectives on the
construction of software, and it gives you a particularly hands-on
perspective on computer science.
In an attempt to provide up-to-date information, and to spare a few
trees, I am making this as much of a paperless
course as I can.
Hence, materials will be in a course web.
Warning! Computers are sentient, stupid, and malicious.
When things go wrong, don't blame yourself. Ask me for help.
Meets: MWF 9:00-9:50, Science 2417 (The MathLAN)
Instructor:
Samuel A. Rebelsky
(rebelsky@grinnell.edu),
Science 2427. Office hours: To be determined.
I also tend to follow an open door policy: Feel
free to stop by when my door is open or to make an appointment for
another time. Check my
schedule
for more details.
Teaching Assistant: Daren Brantley. Daren will set
up office hours to consult on homework assignments and other questions
you have on the course.
Grading (subject to change):
- Class participation (including quizzes): 20%
- Midterm: 20%
- Final: 20%
- Final project: 20%
- Best of those four: 20%
Late Assignments:
My experience shows that students who turn in work late learn
significantly less than students who turn material in on time.
(I'm not sure about cause and effect.) Hence, I strongly discourage
late assignments. Unless prior arrangements have been made, assignments
are due within five minutes of the start of class. After that they are
considered late. Late assignments are penalized one letter grade per
day late (or fraction thereof).
Because I am concerned about your health and well being, I will waive
the late penalty if (1) you start the assignment at least three days
in advance of the due date; (2) you get to sleep by midnight the night
before the assignment is due; (3) you expend a reasonable amount of
effort to complete the assignment by midnight; (4) you turn in a form
attesting to facts (1), (2), and (3) when the assignment is due; and (5)
you talk to me ASAP about any problems you've had on the assignment.
Extra Credit:
Throughout the term, I may suggest forms of extra credit.
Rather than relying on traditional textbooks, I've chosen a few classics
(or near-classics) that practicing programmers often keep at hand. We will
also refer to a number of Web resources, which will be announced as the
semester progresses.
Martin Fowler; UML Distilled: A Brief Guide to the Standard Object Modeling Language, Third Edition; Addison-Wesley; ISBN 0321193687.
Also available from http://safari.oreilly.com.
UML is a visual language used to describe the design of object-oriented
systems. To converse well about OOP, you need to read and write UML
well. This short book provides a nice introduction.
Kent Beck; Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change; Addison-Wesley; ISBN 0201616416.
Also available from http://safari.oreilly.com.
There are many software design strategies. XP is one of the agile programming strategies
which acknowledge that software design involves much more of a moving target than does traditional engineering. This book serves as a basic manifesto for XP.
Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, John Vlissides; Design Patterns; Addison-Wesley; ISBN 0201633612. Available cheaper on CD-ROM (ISBN 0201634988).
The classic book on design patterns: Common design strategies for common
categories of problems. Dense, but useful.
Arthur Riel; Object-Oriented Design Heuristics; Addison-Wesley; ISBN 020163385X.
Also available from http://safari.oreilly.com.
Rather than focusing on patterns, Riel focuses on general strategies for
approach the design of programs, classes, and objects. The most
textbook-like of the books for this course.
;
Check with Bobby