Programming Fundamentals I

COP 3502

Academic Term: Summer 2021

Instructor:

Lisha Zhou

[email protected]

Lectures: Fully online (Pre-recorded videos will be provided for each week)

Discussion section: Tuesday starting from the second week, attendance is required

Weekly announcement: will be sent every Sunday night to remind you the due dates in the upcoming week

Office Hours: Thursday 3 – 4pm, Friday 2 – 4 pm or by appointment

Course Description

This is the first course of a two-semester introductory sequence for students without prior programming experience. Topics include major concepts of computer science and computer programming processes, including object-oriented programming, procedural and data abstraction and program modularity.

Course Objectives

By the end of the semester, successful students should be able to:

• understand what programming is and the unique features of Java,

• read and understand programs written in Java,

• design and implement programs using Java,

• compile and execute programs to get results, and

• debug (identify and fix) syntax, semantic, and logic errors in Java source code.

Professional Component (ABET):

This course contributes to meeting the professional component of ABET program criteria:

4)    an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgements, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts

Required Textbooks and Software

• Programming in Java (ONLINE), Frank Vahid and Roman Lysecky (2015), zyBooks 

  URL: learn.zybooks.com          Book code: UFLCOP3502ZhouSummer2021

Recommended Materials

• Textbook: Introduction to Java Programming 11E, Y. Daniel Liang (2017), Pearson

Mobile Computing Requirement

• The College of Engineering requires students to have a mobile computing device (standard laptop) with 802.11 WiFi capability (https://www.eng.ufl.edu/students/resources/computer-requirements/). Students are required to bring their mobile computing devices to class for in-class assignments!

Course Schedule

The following is a rough topical overview of what we will examine during the course (subject to change):

Evaluation of Grades

Grading Policy

More information on UF grading policy: https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/grades.aspx

Note: A C- will not be a qualifying grade for critical tracking courses. In order to graduate, students must have an overall GPA and an upper-division GPA of 2.0 or better (C or better). Note: an average of C- is equivalent to a GPA of 1.67 and therefore does not satisfy this graduation requirement. For more information on grades and grading policies, please consult the catalog.

Final grades will be rounded to the nearest whole percentage point. Grades will not be “bumped up”, and no additional credit will be offered at the end of the term – so do not ask! Any request for a final grade increase, via “bumping” or “extra credit” will result in a deduction of 1% of the student’s final grade.

Make-Up and Late Submission Policy

• Quizzes, Projects and Exams are to be worked independently without code sharing. All cheating or dishonest behaviors will be reported to the Honor Court immediately.

• As for the labs, you will work with your peers during the discussion section. But you have to submit your own code.

Email Etiquette

• Include the class name, discussion section number and the purpose of the email in the subject line. An example of email subject line includes “COP 3502 Section#11025 Lab 4 grading issues”.

• When you send the instructor an email regarding personal requests, please list your section TA name in the body of the email.

• If you don’t follow the two rules above, your email will not be responded in 72 business hours. It might take 1 – 2 weeks before you hear back from any course staff.

Code Submissions

Functionality is key to success in software development and computer science, so it is extremely important that the guidelines are followed. Failure to follow these instructions will result in penalties.

• Code must compile / run in debug and release mode. Debug information should never be released in the final version of a software project. Projects that do not compile AND run will be marked zero.

• Your project and lab grades will be based on your zybooks grade instead of the output you have in Intellij. Thus, when your program doesn’t work on zybooks, reach out to your TA or your instructor.

• Include only those files specified by the documents in your archive. Projects should have no directory structure except as explicitly mentioned in the documentation (i.e., relevant files and folders should be submitted in the root of the zip file.) It should be possible to open the archive, copy your files directly into the project, compile, and then run the project without further steps. If the project has naming or organization error(s), its grade will be zero.

Class Expectations

• Grade reviews must be requested within two weeks of a grade being posted. After two weeks, no grade will be revisited. In the event of a grade review, the entire assignment will be reviewed.

• All assignments are due by the time listed on Canvas. Projects and homework with a cascading deduction: one (1) business day late for 10% penalty; two (2) for 30% penalty; or three (3) for 60% penalty. Quizzes and tests may not be submitted late for credit except with instructor approval for extenuating circumstances (see below).

• Students are required to attend all discussion sections. Labs shall only be submitted by students who attend or who have been excused, and pair programming is mandatory. If you missed your discussion section, then you are not allowed to submit the lab in that week. You will be marked as absent if you are 15 minutes late to the start of the discussion section.

• Exam and quiz make-ups will not be given except in extenuating circumstances. For make-up consideration students will be required to submit written documentation from a reputable source as evidence. For any planned event (such as a wedding), the student is expected to contact the instructor no less than two weeks in advance for consideration. Please note that there is no guarantee that requests will be accommodated. Social, networking, and club events may be taken into consideration strictly at the discretion of the instructor.

• Exams and quizzes may be reviewed during office hours. Making good assessments takes time and testing. Unfortunately, some disreputable organizations and companies attempt to compromise exams to give some students an edge for a fee. To combat this, we will always allow students to review quizzes and exams during office hours but will not release them en masse. 

Office Hours and Code Review Policy

• Students should visit the course staff during scheduled office hours for help on projects or quizzes. Do not send emails or “@” instructors or TAs about project help. The TAs and instructor will often try to answer questions when possible in #labs or #projects channels, but the way to get personalized help is to visit them during office hours.

• The course staff cannot provide you more than 15 minutes of their time in case of long lines or more than two students waiting to get help during office hours.

• When making any debugging requests, make sure you provide the context of what problem you are trying to solve and where is your code failing. Small snippets (1 – 2 lines of code) can be posted on slack but not the entire code.

• Debugging requests for projects/quiz questions must first go through the TAs, peer mentors, or a post on slack. This is strongly encouraged given we have a large class and several of you might have similar questions. If your problem is not fixed, then reach out to the Instructor.

• Important correspondence (other than project help) should be engaged via email. In particular, the chat system is helpful for simple questions and allows students to help one another, but students should not expect a response to important questions via chat. Please allow 72 business hours for a response; the instructor and TAs have many responsibilities and respond to messages as efficiently as is practical.

Academic Dishonesty

• Sharing/copying, “borrowing” of code structure, looking at code from another student or providing such code, and plagiarism, in addition to other dishonest behaviors, are all considered to be academic dishonesty. No information regarding the project, quiz, and exam solutions may be shared by students except for a discussion at a conceptual level.

• For any conceptual discussions, cite the peer who you discussed it with or cite the internet resource you referred to. Such discussions should be held on a whiteboard using explanation figures/pseudo-codes or through talking. We strongly encourage that if you have doubts, visit the course staff in-office hours. Looking at any piece of your peer’s code, sharing files, searching for solutions found online, or using someone else to code your solution is strictly prohibited.

• Any student found to have violated these rules, whether a provider or receiver or unauthorized help, will be given a zero on that assignment and a two-letter final grade decrement for a first offense. For a second offense, you will get an E grade, the failing grade. Also, for both offenses, you will be reported to the Honor Court. If you aren’t clear on what constitutes plagiarism, ask the course staff.

University Honesty Policy

UF students are bound by The Honor Pledge which states, “We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honor and integrity by abiding by the Honor Code. On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied: “On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment.” The Honor Code (https://sccr.dso.ufl.edu/policies/student-honor-code-student-conduct-code/) specifies a number of behaviors that are in violation of this code and the possible sanctions. Furthermore, you are obligated to report any condition that facilitates academic misconduct to appropriate personnel. If you have any questions or concerns, please consult with the instructor or TAs in this class.

Privacy

Our class sessions may be audio visually recorded for students in the class to refer back and for enrolled students who are unable to attend live. Students who participate with their camera engaged or utilize a profile image are agreeing to have their video or image recorded. If you are unwilling to consent to have your profile or video image recorded, be sure to keep your camera off and do not use a profile image. Likewise, students who un-mute during class and participate orally are agreeing to have their voices recorded. If you are not willing to consent to have your voice recorded during class, you will need to keep your mute button activated and communicate exclusively using the "chat" feature, which allows students to type questions and comments live. The chat will not be recorded or shared. As in all courses, unauthorized recording and unauthorized sharing of recorded materials is prohibited.

Students Requiring Accommodations

Students with disabilities who experience learning barriers and would like to request academic accommodations should connect with the disability Resource Center by visiting https://disability.ufl.edu/students/get-started/. It is important for students to share their accommodation letter with their instructor and discuss their access needs, as early as possible in the semester.

Disclaimer

Although every effort will be made to implement all course policies as stated in this syllabus, course policies are subject to change at the discretion of the Instructor, based on unforeseen circumstances occurring during the semester or continuous feedback from the enrolled students.

Course Evaluation

Students are expected to provide professional and respectful feedback on the quality of instruction in this course by completing course evaluations online via GatorEvals. Guidance on how to give feedback in a professional and respectful manner is available at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/students/. Students will be notified when the evaluation period opens and can complete evaluations through the email they receive from GatorEvals, in their Canvas course menu under GatorEvals, or via https://ufl.bluera.com/ufl/. Summaries of course evaluation results are available to students at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/public-results/.

Commitment to a Safe and Inclusive Learning Environment

The Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering values broad diversity within our community and is committed to individual and group empowerment, inclusion, and the elimination of discrimination. It is expected that every person in this class will treat one another with dignity and respect regardless of gender, sexuality, disability, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, and culture.

If you feel like your performance in class is being impacted by discrimination or harassment of any kind, please contact your instructor or any of the following:

• Your academic advisor or Graduate Program Coordinator

• Robin Bielling, Director of Human Resources, 352-392-0903, [email protected]

• Curtis Taylor, Associate Dean of Student Affairs, 352-392-2177, [email protected]

• Toshikazu Nishida, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, 352-392-0943, [email protected]

Software Use

All faculty, staff, and students of the University are required and expected to obey the laws and legal agreements governing software use. Failure to do so can lead to monetary damages and/or criminal penalties for the individual violator. Because such violations are also against University policies and rules, disciplinary action will be taken as appropriate. We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to uphold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity.

Student Privacy

There are federal laws protecting your privacy with regards to grades earned in courses and on individual assignments. For more information, please see: https://registrar.ufl.edu/ferpa.html

Campus Resources:

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