1. Course Basics

1.1 Prerequisites

C or better in CS211 and MATH 113.

1.2 Professor Information

1.3 Textbook

• Mark Allen Weiss, Data Structures & Problem Solving Using Java, 4th ed., Addison-Wesley, 2010. Errata
  
• It is assumed that students read the scheduled sections prior to each lecture.

1.4 Software & Programming Requirements

• You will need a computer for this class with some modern operating system capable of running a Java compiler. Remember that lab computers are also available on campus, see campus resources below.
• The prerequisite for this course is C or better in CS 211. We will assume that you have developed a significant degree of skill in programming (program organization, coding, documenting, testing and debugging) -- you will develop yet more this semester. We will also assume that you are acquainted with basic complexity analysis ("big O") and are able to build abstract data types using Java classes.

1.5 Discussion Board: Piazza

• Course schedule, announcements, lecture slides, assignments, discussion. GTA/UTA contacts and office hours will be on Piazza too. Sign up yourself by following this link: https://piazza.com/gmu/spring2020/cs310/
• The discussion board on Piazza is required reading for all projects. You MUST read the discussion board for clarifications and project updates.
• All instructors and TAs can view all material on Piazza.
• No sharing answers or code solutions to assignments on the discussion board. You can include code in private posts to the instructors (visible to all professors, GTAs, and UTAs). See Honor code section below for more details.
• Email course staff only for logistical issues such as meeting outside of office hours, missing lab/lecture, grading disputes, medical situations, etc. Email addresses are listed on Piazza.
• Do not e-mail course staff about programming problems; use the discussion board.

1.6 Grades and Project Submissions: Blackboard

• Grades will be posted to Blackboard.
• Projects assignments will be submitted (per published deadlines) via Blackboard.

1.7 Office Hours

• Office hours are listed for all staff on Piazza under (Resources/Staff).
• Students must make significant, individual effort on all projects before coming to see a GTA/professor. Waiting until the last minute, in the expectations that the entire project will be explained in one office hours session, is not feasible.
• Office hours are often crowded - do not rely on them for last minute help, as we cannot guarantee that we will be able to spend significant time with every student. You can also use the discussion board for posting questions.

2. Course Description

2.2 Course Topics

CS 310 continues the study of data structures from CS 211. Students will learn how to approach larger and more challenging programming problems than the projects in CS 211. Programming is a significant part of this course and students should expect to spend a good deal of time on the programming projects. The course also introduces a variety of data structures and illustrates the types of problems for which they are useful.

Tentative topics to be covered include:

• Lists, Stacks, and Queues
• Hash Tables and Hashing
• Trees and Basic Tree Algorithms
• Graphs and Basic Graph Algorithms

See the schedule available on Piazza (under Resources) for a more detailed topics list.

2.3 Course Outcomes

In CS310, students will:

• Gain an ability to analyze the runtime efficiency of algorithms that create and manipulate data structures.
• Gain an ability to compare data structure trade-offs such that the student is able to choose appropriate implementations for a given data structure and appropriate data structures for a given application.
• Reinforce their knowledge of basic data structures (linked lists, dynamic array lists, stacks, and queues) and extend their knowledge to more sophisticated data structures, including hash tables, balanced trees, priority queues, and basic graphs.
• Implement and use learned data structures to solve real computing problems. This includes substantial reinforcement of language-specific techniques for abstract data types and design and debugging techniques.

3. Grading

3.1 Assessment

The following will be applied without rounding:

• A+ (>= 98.0%) A (>= 92.0%) A– (>= 90.0%)
• B+ (>= 88.0%) B (>= 82.0%) B– (>= 80.0%)
• C+ (>= 78.0%) C (>= 72.0%) C– (>= 70.0%)
• D (>= 60.0%)
• F (< 60.0%)

Small amounts of extra credit may be offered throughout the semester, but there will be no make-up or extra-credit assignments at the end of the semester; your grade should be a measure of your semester-long progress.

3.2 Programming Assignments

Students will receive a number of programming projects during the semester (typically four). These programming projects will be a primary focus of your grade - each one should take multiple sessions of coding, with questions asked in between. Don't be surprised if you're spending 20+ hours on each one. Programming projects are INDIVIDUAL work.

All projects numbered above 0 will be averaged together evenly. If there is a Project 0 (some professors/semesters have this), it will not be part of the calculation, but instead act as a "flag". If you do not pass Project 0 you will not receive credit for any project until you do (infinite resubmissions for Project 0 will be allowed). If at the time of the final exam you still have not passed Project 0, your project grades will be replaced with a 0s.

[MARCH CLARIFICATION] Project 3 and Project 4 (each three week assignments) will be replaced with Assignments 1-3 (each two week assignments). This portion of the semester grade (20%) will be divided evenly with each assignment worth ~6.66% of the semester grade.

3.2.1 Submissions

• All projects are to be submitted to Blackboard. You can submit your work an unlimited number of times to BlackBoard, and by default only the last version will be graded.
• Turning in the wrong files will likely result in a zero. You can and should download your submitted attempts to verify that you turned in a working copy.
• If you turn in the wrong files, the ONLY way you MIGHT receive credit is by showing your professor a backup where the modified date on the files is outside of your control. Modified dates on personal computers and/or public computers are NEVER accepted as proof of work. Backups which WILL ALWAYS be considered are: prior submissions to Blackboard or emails to your Professor/GTA. Backups which MIGHT be accepted include: emails from your GMU email to yourself, uploading to certain backup services (such as GoogleDrive or a private GitHub repo), and uploads to the discussion forum.
• Broken Code == Bad Scores. Any code turned in that does not compile, specifically on Java 1.8 will receive a zero. If the grader is able to quickly fix your code, you might get some points back, and you'll be fortunate to get any at all.

3.2.2 Deadlines

• Projects can be turned in at most 24 hours late, no exceptions.
• Submitting a project after the deadline lowers the maximum score by 25% (not quite the same as a 25% penalty). One minute late is the same as 23 hours and 59 minutes late.
• Each student gets 2 "Emergency" tokens, which are automatically used by late submissions to avoid the 25% penalty; you still must turn in work within 24 hours of the original deadline, even if you use tokens!
• Unused emergency-tokens will be worth 0.25% bonus to a student's overall grade at the semester's end.
• Blackboard being unavailable is not an excuse for turning in a late assignment; in the rare situation that the website is somehow unavailable or giving an error, you MUST email your submission to your GTA (and CC your professor) before the deadline, otherwise it will be considered late.
• Catastrophic computer failure will not be cause for an extension. Use a backup service such as DropBox (or any cloud service), emailing yourself, storing to a USB drive, whatever it takes. Every semester multiple students' computers die, are stolen, or otherwise 'lose' projects. Don't be the student who forgot to (frequently) back up your work!

3.2.3 Honor Code and Projects

• Programming projects are considered individual efforts, therefore no sharing of code and/or discussion of problem solutions are allowed with anyone except the TAs or the professor. Student projects will be manually and automatically assessed for cheating.
• You may not use any Internet resources to create code or algorithms, besides the textbooks, the slides, and Piazza, unless otherwise specified. However, you are free to look up the syntax errors your encounter online, to gain an understanding of what the syntax error means. The projects we're doing this semester can be directly solved using techniques discussed in class, and no outside material is needed unless otherwise noted.
• It is your responsibility to lock your computers with a password, to not post your code to websites like Pastebin that are publicly accessible, to guard your USB drives and computers, to not upload your files to someone else's computer, etc. You will be liable for any access gained to your code.

3.3 Participation

• 5% of semester total is based on participation activities determined by individual instructors.
  [MARCH CLARIFICATION]
  • 50% will be from activities before the Midterm
  • 50% will be from activities after the Midterm
• There MAY be up to 1% of the total semester available in extra credit from these activities.
  [MARCH CLARIFICATION]
  • 50% will be from activities before the Midterm
  • 50% will be from activities after the Midterm

3.4.1 Exam Readings

[MARCH CLARIFICATION] One third of the final exam grade (10% of the semester grade) will be earned by doing online activities in an interactive "zyBook" every week between the midterm and the end of the semester. Each week there will be an "assigned reading" in this interactive book which earn points towards the final exam. The book is free. All "assigned readings" in the book will be weighed together evenly when counted towards the final exam score.

1. Sign in or create an account at learn.zybooks.com
2. Enter zyBook code: GMUCS310Spring2020
3. Subscribe

3.4.2 Exams

• Exams are closed book/notes unless specified otherwise by instructor. They will be entirely paper and pencil - no computers.
• All students must have their GMU identification available on testing days.
• The final exam is cumulative.
• Early or Late/Makeup Exams require exceptional circumstances (as judged by the instructors) and must be arranged in advance. Vacation plans are not exceptional circumstances.
• If you miss an exam due to a university-accepted excused absence (such as an illness or car accident the day and time of the exam), you must notify your professor within 24 hours of your absence to make arrangements for a makeup, and bring approved documentation with you when you take the make-up exam. Failure to follow these policies will result in a zero. We may elect to replace a missed midterm with some (or all) of the final exam grade rather than offering a makeup exam under these circumstances.
• Missing an exam due for any non-university-accepted reason (such as not paying attention to when the exam is), will result in a zero.

3.5 Contesting Grades

• If you feel points have been incorrectly deducted, contact the grader. For projects, that is your GTA. For exams, that is your professor.
• Contesting of grades on any/all submissions must be requested within one week of receiving the grade (on BlackBoard). No grade changes will be considered subsequent to that deadline or subsequent to the final exam (whichever comes first).

4. Honor Code

• All students are expected to abide by the GMU Honor Code. This policy is rigorously enforced. Cheating will be prosecuted and result in a notification of the Honor Committee as outlined in the GMU Honor Code. Sharing, collaboration, or looking at any code or algorithm for the programming projects that is not your own, including resources from Internet, is considered cheating.
• The computer science department has an CS Honor Code Policies that you are subject to particularly for our course. The document helps you to understand how GMU honor code applies to programming and CS, what constitutes cheating in the CS setting. It clarifies some scenarios that are unique to our sorts of assignments. Make sure you read and familiarize yourself with these rules.
• We take the honor code quite seriously. Any attempts at copying or sharing code, algorithms, or other violations of the honor code simply will not be tolerated. We use automated software to flag suspicious cases, and then review them to find the cases that must be submitted to the Office of Academic Integrity. The penalty for cheating will always be far worse than a zero grade, to ensure it's not worth taking the chance. Confirmed cases of cheating almost always translate into course failure.

5. Campus Resources

5.1 Disability Services

• Due to the size of the class, individual professors and graders cannot support students with injuries or disabilities on an ad-hoc basis. We ask that all accommodations for such conditions be arranged through GMU's Office of Disability Services.
• Students with a physical or learning disability which is already documented with the Office of Disability Services) should speak with the professor ASAP to discuss their approved accommodations. Even if you don't know whether you plan on utilizing the accommodations for any assignment/test, you need to make sure you and your professor are working together from the beginning of the semester to ensure your success in the class.
• Students with a physical or learning disability who have not yet registered with the Office of Disability Services should register with that office as soon as possible. Even if you don't know whether you'll need to utilize the accommodations, it's in your best interest to prepare ahead of time and get your condition documented as accommodations are not retroactive. They have a quick and easy registration process. All you need is documentation for your condition.
• The Office of Disability Services also handles services for many temporary disabilities (for example, if you break your arm, they can arrange note taking services). Please contact them if you discover any sudden impairment that affects your ability to function in class and/or on your projects. They have a quick and easy registration process. All you need is documentation for your condition.

5.2 Other Campus Resources

• Computer Labs and Collaborative Learning Areas - there are several freely available computer labs on campus as well as serveral open learning spaces for students
• GMU Learning Services - offers support and assistance for everything from semester planning to test anxiety.
• Student Support and Advocacy Center (SSAC) - offers one-on-one consultations and resources in the areas of interpersonal violence, personal wellness, and alcohol/drug abuse
• Counseling and Support Services (CAPS) - offers individual and/or group counseling, workshops and community education programs
• English s a Second Language (ESL) Writing Support