CS21 — Algorithmic Problem Solving
Announcements | Schedule | Grading | Study Sessions | Style | Integrity | LinksIntroduction
Welcome to CS21: Algorithmic problem solving! This course will introduce fundamental ideas in computer science while also teaching you how to write computer programs. We will study algorithms for solving problems and implement solutions in the Python programming language. Python is an interpreted language that is known for its ease of use. We also introduce object-oriented programming and data structures. A deeper coverage of these topics will be presented in CS 35.
This course is appropriate for all students who want to learn how to write computer programs and think like computer scientists. It is the usual first course for computer science majors and minors. Students with advanced placement credit or extensive programming experience should place out of this course and instead begin with CS 35.
Announcements
- Practice problems for this week's quiz are available online.
- An optional Bonus Homework 13 is out and due Tuesday May 15 at 11:59pm
- Meggie has posted a unix command review that summarizes some of the commands used in first week's review session. This link is also in the links section of this page.
Class info
Room: Science Center 240Time: TR 1:15pm–2:30pm
Text: Python Programming: an Introduction to Computer Science by John Zelle
Instructional staff
Professor: Andrew DannerOffice: Science Center 253
Phone: (610) 328-8665
Office hours: MW 9:30-11:00a, F 1:30-2:30p, or by appointment
Student Services: Betsy Horner
Office: Science Center 255
Email: bhorner1
Phone: 957-6062
Student Mentors: Keith Blaha '10, Simone Fried '10, Carey Pietsch '10, and Mai Schwartz '10
Schedule
| WEEK | DAY | ANNOUNCEMENTS | TOPIC & READING | HOMEWORK |
| 1 | Jan 23 | Introduction Writing and running programs in Python Zelle Chapters 1-2 |
HW #1 | |
| Jan 25 | ||||
| 2 | Jan 30 | ASCII table | Computing with numbers and strings Using pseudocode Zelle Chapters 3-4 |
HW #2 |
| Feb 01 | Quiz 1 (Solution) Drop/Add ends (Feb 02) |
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| 3 | Feb 06 | Graphics Using objects Zelle Chapter 5 |
HW #3 | |
| Feb 08 | ||||
| 4 | Feb 13 | Functions Zelle Chapter 6 |
HW #4 | |
| Feb 15 | Quiz 2 (Solution) | |||
| 5 | Feb 20 | Decision structures Exceptions Zelle Chapter 7 |
HW #5 | |
| Feb 22 | ||||
| 6 | Feb 27 | Loops Booleans Zelle Chapter 8 |
HW #6 | |
| Mar 01 | Quiz 3 (longer) (Solution) | |||
| 7 | Mar 06 | Top-down design Zelle Chapter 9 |
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| Mar 08 | ||||
Mar 13 |
Spring Vacation |
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Mar 15 |
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| 8 | Mar 20 | Lists and Dictionaries Zelle 11 |
HW #7 | |
| Mar 22 | Quiz 4 (Solution) | |||
| 9 | Mar 27 | Recursion Searching Sorting Zelle 13.1-13.3 |
HW #8 | |
| Mar 29 | Last day to declare CR/NC or Withdraw with a "W" (Mar 30) |
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| 10 | Apr 03 | Defining new classes Zelle Chapter 10 |
HW #9 | |
| Apr 05 | Quiz 5 (Solution) | |||
| 11 | Apr 10 | Object-oriented design Zelle Chapter 12 |
HW #10 | |
| Apr 12 | ||||
| 12 | Apr 17 | Linked lists | HW #11 | |
| Apr 19 | Quiz 6 (Solution) | |||
| 13 | Apr 24 | Binary search trees | HW #12 | |
| Apr 26 | ||||
| 14 | May 01 | Python applications | HW #13 | |
| May 03 | Quiz 7 (Solution) | |||
May 18 |
Final exam 2pm-5pm. Room TBA |
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Grading
Grades will be weighted as follows:| 40% | Homework assignments |
| 30% | Quizzes |
| 5% | Class Participation |
| 25% | Final Exam |
Homework policy
Programming assignments will typically be assigned in class at the beginning of the week and will be due before midnight the following Tuesday night. You are strongly encouraged to start early and to attend the study sessions for extra practice.
You will submit you assignments electronically using the handin21 program. You may submit your assignment multiple times, but each submission overwrites the previous one and only the final submission will be graded. Late assignments will not be accepted except in extreme situations and only if you contact me before the deadline. Even if you do not fully complete an assignment, you may submit what you have done to receive partial credit.
Study sessions
Several student mentors will assist me in class and run study sessions in the robot lab (Science Center 252) on Sunday and Wednesday evenings from 7-9pm. The student mentors are Keith Blaha '10, Simone Fried '10, Carey Pietsch '10, and Mai Schwartz '10. The course is also supported by Betsy Horner, whose office is Science Center 255 and can be reached by email at bhorner1 or by phone at 957-6062.
You are invited -- and encouraged -- to participate in these study sessions to prepare for quizzes, to discuss programming concepts, and to get friendly assistance in working on homework assignments. Our CS mentoring team is dedicated to helping students, who have no prior knowledge of computer science, learn to program in Python while keeping their senses of humor intact. As an added bonus, free food will be provided at the sessions.
Programming Style
Programming is not a dry mechanical process, but a form of art. Well written code has an aesthetic appeal while poor form can make other programmers and instructors cringe. Programming assignments will be graded based on style and correctness. Good programming practices usually include many of the following principles:
- A comment at the top of the program that includes
- Program authors
- Date or Dates
- A brief description of what the program does
- Concise comments that summarize major sections of your code
- Meaningful variable and function names
- Well organized code
- White space or comments to improve legibility
- Avoidance of large blocks of copy-pasted code
Academic Integrity
Academic honesty is required in all work you submit to be graded. You may not submit work done with (or by) someone else. You may not examine or use work done by others to complete your own work. You may discuss assignment specifications and requirements with others in the class to be sure you understand the problem. In addition, you are allowed to work with others to help learn the course material. However, with the exception of the student mentors, you may not work with others on your assignments in any capacity.
All code you submit must be your own with the following permissible exceptions: code distributed in class, code found in the course text book, and code worked on with an assigned partner. In these cases, you should always include detailed comments that indicates which parts of the assignment you received help on, and what your sources were.
"It is the opinion of the faculty that for an intentional first offense, failure in the course is normally appropriate. Suspension for a semester or deprivation of the degree in that year may also be appropriate when warranted by the seriousness of the offense." - Swarthmore College Bulletin (2006-2007), p. 53
Please see me if there are any questions about what is permissible.
External Links
Links that are related to the course may be posted here. If you have suggestions for links, let me know.
Basic Unix
Commands
Python Documentation
Textbook site
How To Think Like a Computer Scientist: Learning with Python