CS140 -- General Information

Professor's Information
Textbooks
Grading
Missed Exams
Course Goals

Professor's Information

Professor: Brad Vander Zanden
Office: MK 312
Office Hours: T 3:30-4:30, W 3-4
email: b v z@eecs.utk.edu

Textbook

Michael T. Goodrich, Roberto Tamassia, David M. Mount, "Data Structures and Algorithms in C++, 2nd Edition"

You may be able to purchase this book through an online store, such as Amazon, for less than you can purchase it at the university bookstore.

Grading

The grading break down is as follows:

Midterm 1: 25%
Midterm 2: 25%
Final: 25%
Lab Participation: 5% (this means completing topcoder problems in lab)
Labs: 20%
Grading Scale:
```
     A: 90-100
     B: 80-90
     C: 70-80
     D: 60-70
     F: < 60
     
```
Pluses may be given for composite scores near the top of the range and minuses may be given for composite scores near the bottom of the range. I sometimes curve letter grades based on your final composite score.

Missed Exams

Should you miss an exam without a valid excuse, you will receive an average for the remaining exams and a one letter grade reduction in your final grade. For example if you would have received a B+, you will now receive a C+.

Class Goals--adapted from James Plank's CS140 course

The following are the goals that I have set for teaching this class -- they represent what I'd like you all to get out of the class. When the semester is over, go over this list, and see how well these goals were met. If you feel like it, send me email with comments -- it's more useful after the semester than in the middle of it, I think.

To start becoming self-sufficient C+ programmers.
This means that when you see a problem that needs to be coded, you have a good idea of how to go about it by writing a C+ program. This includes understanding 1) the logistics of compiling, linking, including, etc., 2) setting up the data structures, 3) organizing the I/O, 4) using standard tools and libraries where appropriate, and 5) debugging a program.
Some of the more important basic concepts that you will learn in this course includes understanding pointers, recursion and memory allocation.
To understand basic data structures.
Frankly, there are only three to four basic data structures that can carry you through a lifetime of programming. All the rest are variations on a theme. By the end of this class, you should understand the basics and be prepared to tweak them when necessary.
To understand basic algorithm analysis.
Knowing how to set up your data structures is one thing. Understanding how fast your program should run is another. This class get you started with algorithm analysis.
To become familiar with using command line tools.
In CS102 you used CodeLite, an interactive development environment (IDE), to ease you into programming. In this course you will learn how to use command line tools that you invoke from a terminal window, such as g++ for compiling a program, gdb for debugging a program, and vi for editing a program. As you become an expert programmer, you will probably find that these tools allow you to create and debug a program more quickly than an IDE.