UCR CS 005: Introduction to Computer Programming

Spring 2005

Lecture Schedule Lab Schedule Turnin Previous CS005's

Overview

In CS 005, you'll become familiar with the basic concepts underlying computer programming, and learn to apply those principles using a powerful and widely used programming language, Visual Basic. You should learn to solve basic problems by designing non-trivial programs.

Catalog description :

CS005. Introduction to Computer Programming, 3 hours; laboratory, 3 hours. Prerequisite(s): MATH 003 or equivalent. An introduction to computer programming for nonengineering and nonscience majors and for students considering taking CS 010 but needing additional preparation. Topics include the history of computing, basic computer operation, the notion of an algorithm, and programming constructs such as variables, expressions, input/output, branches, loops, functions, parameters, arrays, and strings. Credit is not awarded for CS 005 if it has already been awarded for CS 010.

Basic information

Class web site: http://www.ilearn.ucr.edu/
Enrolling in this course gives you automatic access to the UCR "ilearn" site: your login id is the name field of your ucr student email address (name@student,ucr,edu), and your initial password is your Student ID (no dashes or spaces).
Some communications and all grades will be made available only via the ilearn site, so check it regularly. Instructor(s) : Kris Miller(kmiller@cs.ucr.edu).

Office hours: MF 11am-12pm or by appointment.

Office: Surge Bldg. 341.

Lectures: Lecture 001: MWF 6:10pm-7:00pm SPR 2340

Teaching Assistant: Luke Keppler(lkeppler@cs.ucr.edu)

Office hours held in Surge Bldg. 282.

TBA

Lab Section 21: R 11:10am-2:00pm Surge Bldg 171

Lab Section 22: F 8:10am-11:00am Surge Bldg 170

Textbook: The Visual Basic .NET Coach with Visual Basic .NET CD, by Jeff Salvage, Drexel University, Addison- Wesley
You can download code samples & powerpoint presentations of the text from the web site.

Course grading: Letter grades are roughly assigned according to the usual 90/80/70/60 scale out of 100 total course points, with 90 and above corresponding to an A, 80 and above to a B, 70 and above to a C, 60 and above to a D, and less than 60 to an F. +/- grades will be given. The course is divided into two grading components, combined as a weighted sum to total 100 points:
25%: Practice component: 10: Homework and In-class Exercises
15: In-lab exercises and attendance
75%: Assessment component: 10: Quizzes
20: Midterm
30: Final
15: Programming assignments

Lecture schedule

Subject to change as the quarter progresses.
Read the book before lecture! Reading ahead is one of the most effective ways of doing better in class -- you'll be amazed how much more useful the lectures will be. We'll follow the book closely.

The Chapter references are to the class text book "The Visual Basic .NET Coach with Visual Basic .NET CD", by Jeff Salvage

Lecture slides for each chapter can be accessed by clicking the appropriate reference.

Week 1: Course intro, Intro to computers and Virtual Basic. Net Environment
Week 2: VB basics: Performing Operations and Storing the Result; HW 1 (solution);
Week 3: Decision Making; Quiz 1;
Week 4: Decision Making (Cont); HW 2 (solution);
Week 5: Graphics - PowerPoint Slides (Web Page); Midterm
Week 6: Repetition - from textbook (For Loop - from lecture);
Week 7: Repetition (Cont.);
Week 8: Subroutines and Functions;
Week 9: Subroutines and Functions (Cont.);
Week 10: Array;

Lab schedule

Subject to change as the quarter progresses.

Week 1: Lab 1: Intro to Basic Objects

Week 2: Lab 2: Cutest Girl and Boy

Week 3: Lab 3: Simple Calculator
Programming Assignment 1

Week 4: Lab 4: Digital Thermometer

Week 5: Lab 5: Vending Machine

Week 6: Lab 6: Smiley
Programming Assignment 2

Week 7: Lab 7: For loops

Week 8: Lab 8: Hangman (Part 1)

Week 9: Lab 9: Dice Rolling Game
Programming Assignment 3
Week 10: Lab 10: Rainfall

General course features and policies (please read these carefully)

Material covered: You'll be responsible for learning material covered in lecture, in the textbook, and in lab. Lecture does not cover all required material alone.
Collaboration policy (TA/instructor may override for particular assignment):
- Midterm, final, quizzes, lab practical -- Obviously no collaboration
- Homeworks -- Collaboration strongly ENCOURAGED. Study groups are great. You should still do your own solution, and should not turn in *identical* solutions as others, but similar solutions are O.K. Remember though -- these are designed to help you on the assesment items, so relying too heavily on others will hurt you during assessment. Also, we may give homework problems whose answers are in the book. That's so you get quick feedback; you should submit your answers, not merely copies of the book's answers.
- In-lab exercises -- Collaboration strongly ENCOURAGED. If you complete an exercise, feel free to help others -- teaching enhances your own learning.
- At-home programming assignments -- Limited collaboration may be acceptable, but programs must represent YOUR OWN original work. Sharing code or team-coding are not allowed. Copying code from ANY source (any book, current or past students, past solutions, etc.) is not allowed. Collaboration may consist of discussing the general approach to solving the problem, but should not involve communicating in code or even pseudo-code. Students may help others find bugs. Your code must be unique -- the odds of randomly obtained highly-similar code is very low. Computing, like surgery or driving a car or playing golf, can only be learned by doing it yourself!
Academic dishonesty: please don't cheat, O.K.? You can report cheating anonymously at: https://www.cs.ucr.edu/cheating/. Assignment submissions must represent your own original work. Copying from any sources (web, other books, past or current students, etc.) is not allowed.
Lab enrollment : To reduce disruptions and provide for the best educational environment, all persons in lab during scheduled lab time should be formally registered in that section. In general, no swapping sections and no unregistered people in the lab are allowed, even if there are extra computers.

Switching/adding/dropping lab and lecture sections: all add, drop, and section changes of all lower division Computer Science courses, after the period when students can do so electronically is over, are done through the College of Engineering's Student Affairs office. Neither the instructors nor the CS department itself can sign any add/drop forms, nor can they arrange for section changes. Please go to Student Affairs, Bourns Hall A159, for any such changes.

Regrade policy: regrade requests must be submitted in writing and within one week of the distribution of the graded material. Grade-database errors should also be pointed out within one week of posting.

Cell phones: During lectures and lab sessions, please turn off your cell phone.

UCR CS department's Online Documentation page.

UCR CS 005: Introduction to Computer Programming

Overview

Basic information

Lecture schedule

Lab schedule

General course features and policies (please read these carefully)

Anonymously report suspected cheating

Grades

Additional Resources