CMIS 141 - Introductory Programming

Fall Session 2: 22 Oct - 12 Dec 2012

Camp Foster
MW 1645-1930

Instructor: David Wills

E-mail: david.wills@umuc.edu
Class web site: http://davidwills.net/cmis141

PREREQUISITES:

CMIS 102 or prior programming experience.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

(Not open to students who have taken CMIS 340. The first in a sequence of courses in Java.) Prerequisite: CMIS 102 or prior programming experience. Recommended: MATH 107. A study of structured and object-oriented programming using the Java language. The goal is to design, implement, test, debug, and document Java programs, using appropriate development tools. Projects require use of algorithms, simple data structures, and object-oriented concepts. Students may receive credit for only one of the following courses: CMIS 141, CMIS 141A, or CMSC 130.

INTENDED COURSE OUTCOMES:

On successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

design, implement, test, debug, and document programs that use basic data types and computation, simple I/O, conditional and iterative structures, and functions
apply the techniques of structured (functional) decomposition to break a program into smaller pieces
describe and use the mechanics of parameter passing
discuss and use primitive data types and built-in data structures
write clear and comprehensive program documentation

COURSE MATERIALS:

9780273771388  INTRO TO JAVA PROGRAMMING COMPREHENSIVE    9TH Edition 2012  LIANG

This book will also be used for CMIS 242. One textbook for two courses! The knowledge in it is worth thousands of dollars.

A copy of Java JDK 7 (which allows you to make Java programs and run them), It can be downloaded for free. JCreator LE (from XINOX Software) will be used as the default IDE (integrated development environment, a program that facilitates developing of Java programs). It can also be downloaded for free. Instructions on setting up these programs will be given in the class.

For information on ordering textbooks, please see the Administrative Policies, Practices, and Procedures section at the end of this syllabus.

Grading Information:

Your grade will be based on two open-book exams and some homework (programs) in the following proportions:

Homework/Assignments  55%
2 Exams               45%

The grade of 'A' means "outstanding", i.e. "mastery of the material". The grade of 'B' means "good". The grade of 'C' means "satisfactory".
Grades are curved and related to the class average. "Significantly above" the class average are the A's, "above" (or sometimes even at) the class average are the B's, at or below the class average are the C's. Significantly below the class average are the D's and F's.
Usually, in the 90's is an A, 80's is a B, 70's is a C. Actually, this method is to your advantage, as often the curve for grades is lower than the traditional 90-100 A, 80-90 B etc, in other words it might be 85-100 is an A etc.
The grade of “Fn” may only be assigned if a student stops attending class during the first 60% of the class (end of week 6).

Office hours are available at the request of students.