COMP141 - Computer Science I: Programming Fundamentals (Spring 21)

• Instructor: Dr. Marion Lang
• Course website: ml8.github.io/comp141
• Email: langm@rhodes.edu
• Schedule:
  • MWF: 1-1:50pm (remote)
• Office hours: MW 2-5pm

Official Course Description

An introduction to the fundamental concepts and practices of procedural programming. Topics include data types, control structures, functions, arrays, files, and the mechanics of running, testing, and debugging. Emphasis is placed on program design and problem solving techniques. The course also includes an introduction to the historical and social context of computing and an overview of computer science as a discipline.

Unofficial Course Description

CS 141 is a required course for computer science majors and should be taken during the first year. It is the first course in the sequence for majors and offers an introduction to the fundamental principles of programming, abstraction, and design.

This course is aimed at helping students acquire the reasoning and abstraction skills needed to design algorithms and implement them as computer programs, while also illustrating some of the “big ideas” of computer science. This course teaches one how to think as a computer scientist, by teaching the process of building abstractions to hide implementation details, and of controlling the intellectual complexity of designing large software systems by decomposing problems into simpler sub-problems. We will explore the joy and beauty of computing and see how computing skills are applicable in everyday life.

Though computer science is more than just programming, knowing how to translate your thoughts into code is an important skill for a computer scientist to have. This course will use the Python programming language as the vehicle for exploration of fundamental computer science concepts. However, this is not a course about Python; it is about the structure and interpretation of computer programs.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course, you should be able to

• create algorithms to solve simple computational problems;
• use the Python programming language to implement, test, and debug algorithms for solving simple problems;
• apply the techniques of abstraction and decomposition to break a problem into smaller, easily understandable pieces;
• understand and modify algorithms and programs written by someone else; and
• apply consistent documentation and style standards to the programs you write.

Course topics

Not necessarily in this order:

• Algorithm design, including the concepts of abstraction and algorithmic decomposition
• Testing and debugging programs
• Data types, variables, constants, literals, operators, expressions, and statements
• Conditional and iterative control flow structures
• File reading and processing
• Functions
• Strings
• One- and two-dimensional lists

Textbook

Programming in Python (online textbook by zyBooks), customized version for our class.

Supplemental materials will be distributed in class. The textbook is designed to serve as a reference and there may be material discussed in class that the textbook does not cover.

Prerequisites

None. This course does not assume any previous programming or computer science experience. You are expected to have a reasonable high-school mathematics background to appreciate the use of the mathematical notation.

Coursework

Topic	Tentative weight
Programming projects	30%
zyBook assignments	7%
Programming labs	7%
Midterm 1: Date TBD	16%
Midterm 2: Date TBD	20%
Comprehensive final exam	20%

Grades of A–, B–, C–, and D– are guaranteed with final course grades of 90%, 80%, 70%, and 60%, respectively. If your final course grade falls near a letter grade boundary, I may take into account participation, attendance, and/or improvement during the semester.

Office Hours

Scheduled office hours will be on the course website. Outside of these hours, I am available by appointment. Generally, I will be in my office during the day, and you can feel free to stop by any time–my door is always open!

Workload

It is important to stay current with the material. Learning to program takes regular practice, and you should be prepared to devote at least 2–3 hours outside of class for each in-class lecture. In particular, you should expect to spend a significant amount of time for this course working on a computer trying example programs and developing programming assignments. Do not wait to the last minute to start your programming assignments.

Programming assignments

• All programs assigned in this course must be written in Python.

• This course differs slightly from other sections of COMP141. Instead of using a Python environment on your local (or lab) computer, we will be using a Jupyter notebook. This is a browser-based environment that is used extensively in industry by data scientists and computer scientists that want to do prototyping/experimenting. The course has its own Juypter environment; you should look for an email with instructions for logging into your individual class environment after the first class period.

  However, other sections do things somewhat differently, and you should still be familiar with the tools that they are using. These instructions are from another section’s syllabus:

  • The particular Python environment that will be used in this course is available in the computer labs on campus. You can also download the software onto your own computer from http://www.python.org/download. Make sure to get the latest version of Python 3. Your programs must run correctly, however, on the lab computers.

  • Back up your code somewhere as you’re working on your assignments. Computer crashes or internet downtime are not valid excuses for missing a deadline.

• Programming assignments will be either done using the online zyBook environment or in a Notebook. Instructions for how to submit your assignments from a notebook will be posted on the course website. Emailed programs will not be accepted. In general, I do not accept late assignments.
• You are allowed to use the course textbook and the course notes for these programs. The use of any other material is forbidden.
• Grades are assigned to programs as follows by this general guideline:
  • A (100 pts): The program is carefully designed, efficiently implemented, well documented, and produces clearly formatted, correct output.
  • A- (93 pts): The program is an ‘A’ program with one or two of the minor problems described for grade ‘B.’
  • B (85 pts): The program typically could easily have been an A program, but it may have minor/careless problems such as poor, inadequate, or incomplete documentation; several literal values where symbolic constants would have been appropriate; wrong file names (these will be specified per program assignment); sloppy code format; minor efficiency problems; etc. (This is not an exhaustive list.) You would be wise to consider B the default grade for a working program — this might encourage you to review and polish your first working draft of an assignment to produce a more professional quality final version of your program.
  • C (75 pts): The program has more serious problems: incorrect output or crashes for important special cases (the “empty” case, the “maxed-out” case, etc.), failure to carefully follow design and implementation requirements spelled out in the assignment, very poor or inefficient design or implementation, near complete absence of documentation, etc.
  • D (60 pts): The program runs, but it produces clearly incorrect output or crashes for typical cases. Or, it may deviate greatly from the design or implementation requirements stated in the assignment description.
  • F (35 pts): Typically, an ‘F’ program produces no correct output, or it may not even run. It may “look like a program” when printed as a hard copy, but there remains much work to be done for it to be a correct, working program.

Coding Style

Designing algorithms and writing the corresponding code is not a dry mechanical process, but an art form. Well-written code has an aesthetic appeal while poor form can make other programmers (and instructors) cringe. Programming assignments will be graded based on correctness and style. To receive full credit for graded programs, you must adhere to good programming practices. Therefore, your assignment must contain the following:

• A comment at the top of the program that includes the author of the program, the date or dates, and a brief description of what the program does
• Concise comments that summarize major sections of your code, along with a comment for each function in your code that describes what the function does (unless it is under three lines of code and the purpose is obvious from the name of the function).
• Meaningful variable and function names.
• Well-organized code.
• White space or comments to improve legibility.
• Avoidance of large blocks of copy-and-pasted code.

Class Conduct

• I encourage everyone to participate in class. Raise your hand if you have a question or comment. Please don’t be shy about this; if you are confused about something, it is likely that someone else is confused as well. Teaching and learning is a partnership between the instructor and the students, and asking questions not only helps you understand the material, it also helps me know what I’m doing right or wrong.
• Do not use your cell phone while in class, and keep the ringer on silent.
• If you cannot make it to class for whatever reason, make sure that you know what happened during the lecture that you missed. It is your responsibility, and nobody else’s, to do so. The best way to do this is to ask a classmate.
• If you have to leave a class early, inform the instructor in advance. It is rude to walk out in the middle of a lecture.
• Your email is professional communication; when emailing me, remember this.
• Being professional doesn’t mean being boring: our class environment with be informal and will likely be lighthearted. However, we do have standards; rude, inappropriate, or uninclusive behavior will not be tolerated.

• Laptop/cell phone policy: I’m not going to ban cell phones or laptops in class (you are adults and I am not your high school teacher)… However, I strongly discourage their use. There are numerous studies that show that laptop use during class not only does not improve learning, but actually detracts–not only for you, but for those around you. If you have a reason for taking notes on a laptop (e.g., due to disability), I understand and fully support its use. If not, however, I expect that if you choose to use your laptop, you are only taking notes with it. If you are distracting yourself (and those around you!) by browsing the internet/checking email/etc. you will be asked to not bring your laptop to class anymore. Note that this behavior is disrespectful to me and your peers.

  Similarly, this applies to the use of the classroom terminals. We will be using computers in the class, but only during activities where I explicitly ask you to use them. Any other use during class is not appropriate.

• Wearing earbuds during class is not permitted.

Students With disabilities

If you have a documented disability and wish to receive academic accommodations, please contact the Office of Student Accessibility Services as soon as possible.

Collaboration

All programming assignments done outside of class, both the major Python assignments and the zyBook exercises, should be completed on one’s own. Occasionally there will be collaborative assignments completed during class, but all homework assignments must be completed individually. Put very simply, do not discuss any programming assignment solutions or share code with anybody else. I will be checking for similar assignments and will turn violations over to the honor council.

Academic Integrity

Plagiarism, cheating, and similar anti-intellectual behavior are serious violations of academic ethics and will be correspondingly penalized. If you are concerned about a possible violation of this kind, please talk with me. I understand that being a student at Rhodes can be stressful sometimes and you will have many demands on your time. However, I would much rather have you turn in a partially-completed assignment or do poorly on a test than have you violate the Rhodes Honor Code. I can — and very much want to — help you if you don’t understand the material, but violations of academic integrity will be dealt with harshly.

Unless otherwise specified, everything you submit in this course must be your own work and represent your individual effort. These are all included in the definition of reportable Honor Code violations for this course: copying all or part of a solution to a problem, downloading a solution from the internet and submitting it as your own, having someone else provide the solution for you, or allowing someone else to copy from you. If you have any doubt about what type of behavior is acceptable, please talk with me.

Diversity

A diverse learning community is a necessary element of a liberal arts education, for understanding of self requires understanding of others. We are committed to fostering a community in which diversity is valued and welcomed. To that end any discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, gender, color, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, and national or ethnic origin, will not be tolerated in the classroom.

We are committed to providing an open learning environment. Freedom of thought, a civil exchange of ideas, and an appreciation of diverse perspectives are fundamental characteristics of a community that is committed to critical inquiry. To promote such an academic and social environment we expect integrity and honesty in our relationships with each other and openness to learning about and experiencing cultural diversity. We believe that these qualities are crucial to fostering social and intellectual maturity and personal growth.

Intellectual maturity also requires individual struggle with unfamiliar ideas. We recognize that our views and convictions will be challenged, and we expect this challenge to take place in a climate of open-mindedness and mutual respect.

Sexual misconduct disclosure

Rhodes is committed to ensuring a safe learning environment that supports the dignity of all members of the Rhodes community. Rhodes prohibits and will not tolerate sexual misconduct, which includes, but is not limited to, dating/domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual exploitation, stalking, sexual harassment and sex/gender discrimination. Rhodes strongly encourages members of the Rhodes community to report instances of sexual misconduct immediately. All Rhodes faculty, staff, Peer Advocates, and Resident Assistants are Mandatory Reporters (exceptions are confidential resources: Counseling Center, Chaplain, and Student Health Center) and are required by the College to report any knowledge they receive of possible violations of this policy to the Title IX Coordinator. If you choose to share information related to sexual misconduct with me, I am required to report it to the Title IX Coordinator; however, you will control how your report is handled and you are not required to pursue a formal claim. The goal is to make you aware of the range of options and resources that are available to you. For more information about Rhodes’ sexual misconduct policy or to make a report please see www.rhodes.edu/titleix.

FERPA

Federal law prevents me from discussing your grade in my course with anyone other than you. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) has also been strengthened by recent court cases so that it is not permissable to discuss grades via email. If you want to talk about your grade in the course, please talk to me in person.

I reserve the right to alter this syllabus as necessary.