Welcome to the Spring 2014 session of Grinnell College's CSC 207,
Algorithms and Object-Oriented Problem Solving,
which is described relatively briefly in the official blurb. My own take on this course
is that this is the course where you really start delving deeply
into what it means to be a computer scientist, computer programmer,
or software designer. We will continue your exploration of the design
of algorithms, data types, and programs, but will delve more deeply
into the tools and analysis related to each. We will use Java as our
programming language because it supports some tools and techniques you
have not learned previously, particularly through its support of the
object-oriented paradigm. As in all Grinnell classes, we'll also be
working on general skills, from group work to thinking on your feet.
You have the fortune (or misfortune) to be in an experimental new
version of CSC 207. This semester, we will be exploring some aspects
of Computing for Social Good (CSG), using techniques from the Free
and Open Source (FOSS) community, as well as the open-source application
Ushahidi. We will also be mixing in some Android development. In the
end, I think working with the FOSS tools, Ushahidi, and Android will
build many skills you will find valuable, particularly if you continue
in a career in software development, but also in other domains.
Note: We had some flaws with the materials the first semester we used them.
I'm hoping to see some improvement this semester. (The students from
the first semester encouraged us to keep trying this approach.)
I assume that you have mastered much of the material from CSC 151
and CSC 161. Among other things, you should understand recursion,
the need for documentation, linked lists, higher-order programming,
and some basic algorithms for sorting and searching.
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. If you are puzzled
by the organization of the Course Web, browse a bit and then ask me.
If you find that you want paper copies of pages, please read the notes on printing copies. If you
find that you are regularly printing pages, let me know and I can
provide them for you.
Warning! Computers are sentient,
stupid, and malicious. When things go wrong, don't blame yourself.
Ask me, a tutor, or the class mentor for help.
Warning! We are using some
cutting-edge software, which means that things will occasionally crash
for no good reason.
Meets: MTWF 10:00-10:50, Science 3813.
Optional review sessions with SamR, Thursdays, 10:00-10:50, Science 3813.
Instructor:
Samuel A. Rebelsky,
<rebelsky@grinnell.edu>,
Science 3824. 269-4410 (office). 236-7445 (home).
Office hours: MTWTF, 11:00-11:45.
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.
Class Mentor: Earnest Wheeler <wheelere@grinnell.edu>.
Office hours TBD.
Grading (subject to change):
- Class participation: 5%;
- Homework (some individual, some group): 15%;
- Lab writeups: 10%;
- Project: 10%;
- Three take-home examinations: 45%;
- Required final examination: 15% (2pm, Tuesday, 13 May 2014; alternate time 2pm, Thursday, 15 May 2014).
More information on grading can be found in the
grading policies page.
Labs:
Like many courses in our department, computer science 207 is
taught in a collaborative workshop style.
Each day, you'll work on laboratory problems with other students in
the class. On most days, you will need to submit a short laboratory
writeup. We may also start or end each class session with a short
lecture/discussion or a clicker activity.
Extra Credit:
I will often offer one unit of extra credit for attending a specified
academic event (e.g., a computer science talk or College convocation)
or for supporting your classmates in their public endeavors (e.g.,
attending a concert, dance recital, or sporting event). Each category
is capped at four units of extra credit, which count as one point
toward your final grade. So, if you attend four academic events and
four peer support events, you will receive an additional two points
toward your final grade. For any activity you wish to credit this way,
you must send me a short (one paragraph) note about the activity within
two days of the activity.
Tutoring:
Evening tutors are not required to know 207 materials. Some will be
able to help you. Many will not. I recommend that you rely on your
me, on your class mentor, and on each other.
Class Software:
For this course, we will be using a wide variety of plain
off-the-shelf software (POTS) as well as some locally developed
software. Tools you will use include Git (and GitHub), Eclipse, JUnit, Ushahidi,
and the Android SDK. Locally developed software includes a simplified
API for Ushahidi and a few frameworks for Android applications.
Printing Pages:
Most of the pages in the course web are designed for viewing onscreen.
If you'd like to print them, you may want to use PDF versions, which
are designed for paper. To find the PDF version, simply replace
the html at the end of the URL with pdf.
If you do decide to print, you should consider printing the document
double-sided and two-up (that is, two pages side-by-side on one
physical page) so as to conserve paper. When I distribute documents,
I will do my best to distribute them in this form.
The Experimental Course Theme: Computing for Social Good with Ushahidi and Android
Computer science is the study of problem solving. So, as we study CS,
we can choose particular domains for solving problems. As you know,
in CSC 151 we use image making as our problem domain and in CSC 161
we use robotics as our problem domain. For this course, we will explore
some basic issues of computing for social good and Android app development
(yes, they are related) as our problem domain. Many, but not all, of
our activities will emphasize these issues.
As mentioned above, we will be using the open-source crowdmapping platform
Ushahidi in this course. Ushahidi was originally developed to provide
a venue for people to report election violence in Kenya. It permits
anyone to provide geographic reports of incidents, using either relatively
low tech approaches (SMS, Twitter) to relatively high tech (smart phone
or Web apps) and supports both anonymous reporting and independent
verification of incidents.
Ushahidi will serve two primary roles in the course. For most of the
semester, Ushahidi will serve as the primary data source for our work
in designing and implementing algorithms, abstract data types, and data
structures. After fall break, you will also employ Ushahidi in a small
consulting project that you will do in a group with a community partner.
Further details on that project will come right before fall break.
The focus of this course is not Android
development. However, I think that you will understand some of our
work differently if you work with it in the context of building
simple Android applications. Hence, we will spend about a week
of the course exploring basic aspects of Android development, and
we will use a simple Android application to ground many of the
homework assignments for the semester.
Optional Books and Other Readings
Eckel, Bruce (2002).
Thinking in Java
(3rd Edition).
A nice book about thinking like an object-oriented programmer. The
3rd edition is a bit out of date (as is the 4th edition), but it's
still a nice resource, particularly since it's free on the Web.
Rebelsky, Samuel (2014).
The CS207.01 2014S Course Web.
The hypertext that you are currently reading. Many of these materials
(particularly those under Readings
and Labs are required. You should make
it a point to load the page of the day at the beginning of each class
to check announcements and such.
Weiss, Mark Alan. Data Structures & Problem Solving Using Java,
4th Edition.
Some people learn better from textbooks than from my less polished
readings. This is a nice textbook. I will add information on
readings from Weiss to the syllabus soon.
