CMSC131 (Spring 2021) - Object-Oriented Programming I

Syllabus

This is the first programming course for Computer Science majors with a focus on object-oriented programming. The goal of the course is to develop skills such as program design and testing as well as the implementation of programs using a graphical IDE. All programming will be done in Java.

The course material covered in lecture and discussion, as well as the projects will be similar to the ones you will find in the regular version of the course. The main difference between the online and non-online versions will be the format of the exams and quizzes. In a regular semester, the quizzes and exams were closed notes and students had to complete them in class. This term, the exams and quizzes will be done online. You will develop code and submit to the CS Submit Server (similar to a project). You may use your notes, slides, and example code from class during exams and quizzes. Other details regarding the online version of the course are listed below:

1. Lectures will be asynchronous. I will post lecture videos before the class lecture times (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays). You can watch them anytime during the day. However, please watch on the day it is posted so you don't fall behind
2. The discussion sessions (also referred to as the lab) will be synchronous. For lab / discussion sessions, TAs will hold a video conference using Zoom at lab times printed on the schedule. Check your schedule for the time your lab is held.
3. During Office Hours a TA can provide assistance via Zoom. TAs have submit server access so they can also look at your code if necessary.
4. Instructor's office hours will be by appointment. General project questions should be posted to Piazza or addressed to the TAs during office hours. If you have other concerns you can either email me directly, or email me to set up a time to meet via zoom to address your concern.

Corerequisite → Math140
Credits → 4

No textbook is required. With the information we provide in class you should be fine (plus the web has ton of information about class concepts). If you would like to have a textbook, here is a recommendation: Absolute Java.

• Intro to Computer Systems
• Programming Basics: Variables, Operators, Expressions, Statements, Methods
• Java Text Input/Output
• Conditionals
• Loops
• Principles of Object Oriented Programming
• Basics of Program Design
• Testing and Debugging
• Java Memory Map
• Arrays and Java ArrayLists
• Java interfaces
• Inheritance Overview
• Recursion

Once we have graded any class material (e.g., exams, projects, etc.) we will post an announcement and a deadline by which you must submit any regrade request (if necessary). It is your responsibility to submit regrade requests by the specified deadline; no regrade requests will be processed afterwards.

• Deadlines - All projects are due at 11:30 pm on the specified day in the project description. You have until 11:30 pm of the next day to submit your project with a 12% penalty. Notice that after the late period, you will not receive any points for your project, even though you still need to satisfy the good faith attempt (see information below). For example, if a project is due on Wednesday at 11:30 pm, you have until Thursday at 11:30 pm to submit a late project with a 12% penalty. Any submission after Thursday 11:30 pm will receive 0 pts.
• Submit Server - You need to use the submit server for project submissions. We will not accept projects submitted otherwise (e.g., e-mail, etc.). Notice that we use the submit server results to compute a significant portion of your project's grade. You need to make sure that your project works in the submit server, otherwise you will not get any credit.
• Which Project Gets Graded - We will grade the project submission with the highest submit server score after the late penalty (if any) has been applied. Your actual project grade may be lower than the submit server score if manual deductions are made by the grading TA.
• Good Faith Attempt - You must satisfy a minimum set of requirements for each project (Good Faith Attempt) otherwise you will not pass the course (automatic grade of F). Each project defines its own good faith attempt criteria and a deadline to provide an implementation that satisfies it. If you start a project on time, and look for assistance (if required) you should have no problems satisfying the Good Faith Attempt. The Good Faith Attempt guarantees you have the skills necessary for upper-level courses. Notice that you will not receive extra points for completing the good faith attempt. The grade you obtain for a project will be based on your ontime/late submission.
• Closed Projects - All programming assignments in this course are to be written individually (unless explicitly indicated otherwise). Cooperation between students is a violation of the Code of Academic Integrity.

• Do not post your assignments' implementation online (e.g., GitHub, PasteBin) where they can be seen by others. Making your code accessible to others can lead to academic integrity violations.
• Posting of your projects in a private repository where only selected people (e.g., potential employers) can see them is OK. Just make sure is not a public site.
• Even if the course is over, do not make your code publicly available to others.
• We constantly monitor online sources.

Office hours get extremely busy the day before a project deadline. Therefore do not wait to start your projects. Regarding office hours:

• Once you have been helped by a TA please allow the TA to move on to help another student. We have a large number of students in all of our classes and we need TAs to be available to address as many questions as possible.
• A TA can spend at most 8 minutes with a student.
• When you meet with a TA, please be ready to ask specific question(s). Just telling the TA that your code does not work is not a specific question. Remember, that it is ultimately YOUR responsibilty to debug your code. The TA will try to point you in the correct direction, but we can not guarantee that your issue will be fully resolved after meeting with a TA.
• If you have a basic question, for example if you need clarification on the project requirement, just post in Piazza. Please allow us to reserve office hour time for students that have specific questions about the code they have written.

You need to keep backups of your projects as you develop them. No extensions will be granted because you accidentally erased your project. Feel free to use the submit server as a backup tool by submitting often. You can also use tools like git, etc. Do not post code in any online system that is accessible to others (e.g., GitHub).

We will be using (Piazza) for class communication. You will not be able to register to Piazza yourself. Your instructor will register you using the e-mail you have in the school system.

See the section titled "Attendance and Missed Assignments" available at Course Related Policies.

See the section titled "Accessibility" available at Course Related Policies.

Note that academic dishonesty includes not only cheating, fabrication, and plagiarism, but also includes helping other students commit acts of academic dishonesty by allowing them to obtain copies of your work. In short, all submitted work must be your own. Cases of academic dishonesty will be pursued to the fullest extent possible as stipulated by the Office of Student Conduct.

It is very important for you to be aware of the consequences of cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and plagiarism. For more information on Academic Integrity, please visit this page.

The CS Department takes academic integrity seriously. Information on how the CS Department views and handle academic integrity matters can be found at Academic Integrity.

The following are examples of academic integrity violations:

• Hardcoding of results in a project assignment. Hardcoding refers to attempting to make a program appear as if it works correctly (e.g., printing expected results for a test).
• Using any code available on the internet/web or any other source. For example, using code from Sourceforge.
• Hiring any online service to complete an assignment for you.
• Sharing your code or your student tests with any student.
• Using online forums (other than Piazza) in order to ask for help regarding our assignments.

Additional information can be found in the sections titled "Academic Integrity" and "Code of Student Conduct" available at Course Related Policies.

• As you work on a project submit your project often even if you have not finished. We monitor submit server submissions and can provide assistance based on submit server results.
• At the end of the semester visit (www.courseevalum.umd.edu) to complete your course evaluations.
• If you are experiencing difficulties in keeping up with the academic demands of this course, you may contact the Learning Assistance Service located at 2202 Shoemaker Building.
• UMD Course related policies can be found at http://www.ugst.umd.edu/courserelatedpolicies.html

All course materials are copyright UMCP, Department of Computer Science © 2021. All rights reserved. Students are permitted to use course materials for their own personal use only. Course materials may not be distributed publicly or provided to others (excepting other students in the course), in any way or format.

Web Accessibility