Freezing the Specification

In the real world, as well as in Dr. Purtilo's 435 course and others, the specification can be changed at any time, including the night before the project is due. In CMSC 420, that is not the case. By rule, the specification has to be frozen no earlier than one week before it is due. This is to allow those of you who really don't get it to screw up even more by waiting until the spec is frozen. Just kidding! It is to reassure those of you who freak out because everything that Dr. Hugue does looks totally disorganized that evaluation opportunities in this course are well regulated and rule based. By rule, we have to abide by the letter of the spec in grading your project. If we don't, you get the points back. By Rule.

Note that updates to submission instructions and output syntax are exempt from this freezing rule. However, typically no modification can occur within the last 24 hours before the due date/time without your receiving an extension. Thus, when it comes to grades, you can count on us to be equal opportunity abusers.