CS 290W -- Course Information

(This page last modified . Please send any comments or suggestions to Justin Rodino.)

CS 290W -- Advanced World-Wide Web, Fall 1998

COURSE PERSONNEL

 
            Instructor:  Dr. H.E. Dunsmore
        E-Mail Address:  dunsmore@cs.purdue.edu
                Office:  CS 170
                 Phone:  49-41996
            Class Time:  3:00 - 4:15 Tuesday & Thursday
            Class Room:  PHYS 114

  Course Administrator:  Justin Rodino
        E-Mail Address:  rodino@cs.purdue.edu
                Office:  CS G064
                 Phone:  49-47811
Teaching Assistants

Josh Kay      -- kay@cs.purdue.edu
Becky Koutsis -- koutsis@cs.purdue.edu
Dave Corcoran -- corcordt@cs.purdue.edu

TEXT

There is no required textbook for CS 290W. There will be links from the course syllabus to material concerning what is being covered each week. You can either read this material online or print a copy if desired.

We suggest that a good reference book is Core Web Programming, Marty Hall, Prentice Hall, 1998, ISBN 0-13-625666-X. This book is pretty hefty at 1277 pages and costs about $50. But, it does cover HTML, JavaScript, and Java.

EMAIL TO THE CS 290W STAFF

It is best to send email questions to the entire CS 290W staff by using the address cs290w@cs.purdue.edu.

CS 290W NEWS GROUP

 The CS 290W news group (purdue.class.cs290w) is an unmoderated forum for discussing issues related to the CS 290W class material, assignments, and exams. It can be used by the professor, the TAs, and any students in the class.

CLASS ATTENDANCE

 Class attendance is extremely important since no textbook can keep up with changes on the Web. We have noticed that people who attend class regularly do better on assignments and exams. Course attendance is not mandatory. However, do not expect a Teaching Assistant to explain everything to you if you have not been attending class on a normal basis. More help will be offered to those individuals who put forth more effort and attend class on a regular basis.

LAPTOPS, PAGERS, CELL PHONES

 It is permissible to bring a laptop (notebook, palmtop) computer to class for the purpose of taking notes. However, it must be used QUIETLY ... that is, no clicking, clacking, or sound effects. If your laptop becomes a distraction to others in the class, you will be asked to turn it off and to NOT bring it back. Similarly, we will not tolerate beeping, chirping, ringing (or any other sound) from a pager or cell phone in class. If you must use your cell phone for any reason, you MUST leave the room.

GRADES

Your grade in this course will be determined according to the following weighting factors: 

  50%  Programming Assignments
  50%  Two Exams (25% each)
       Exam 1: Thursday, Oct 15, in class
       Exam 2: Thursday, Dec 10, in class (optional time)
               Saturday, Dec 19, 10:20 am, EE 129
IMPORTANT -- Exams can only be "made up" in extraordinary circumstances if arrangements are made with CS 290W Course Administrator Justin Rodino. Such arrangements should be made at least one week before the exam. "Made up" exams must be taken before the time the rest of the class takes the same exam.

In CS 290W it is most likely that we will use the following grading curve: 

  90-100 = A
  80- 89 = B
  70- 79 = C
  60- 69 = D
below 60 = below D

If you have a question about grading, please talk to your assigned teaching assistant about it. If you have a question about course policy or related material please talk to Justin Rodino or Dr. Dunsmore about it.

One final note about grading. It will never be a valid complaint to say "I know that I did xxx, but what I really meant was yyy" or "I know that I did xxx, but I was really thinking about zzz". We can only grade what you did -- not what you meant or what you were thinking about.

LECTURE and PROJECTS

LECTURE -- [3:00 - 4:15 pm Tuesday and Thursday]
Prof. Dunsmore will discuss advanced World-Wide Web concepts and illustrate them using HTML and various languages.

PROJECTS -- [scheduled on your own time]
CS 290W does not have an assigned lab with it. Therefore, you as the student will be required to set aside time on your own to work on the projects outside of class, before their respective due dates.

CONSULTING

CS 290W Consultants (Teaching Assistants) will have office hours in Math 416.

HELP SESSIONS

 CS 290W staff will conduct Help Sessions every Tuesday (excluding October Break) 6:30-9:00 pm in Johnson B012. These sessions will not be required, but students are urged to attend and expand their knowledge of concepts with the consulting staff.

POLICIES

 (1) You should direct questions concerning a project to a staff member, rather than a classmate. But, when you come to us, be sure that you have specific questions and can show evidence that you have spent some time on your own attempting to solve your problem.

(2) NO LATE projects will be accepted. There will be NO EXCEPTIONS to this rule except under extreme circumstances approved in advance by your teaching assistant, Justin Rodino, or Dr. Dunsmore. Failure to turn in a project results in a loss of all the points allocated for the project.

(3) WE ALWAYS WELCOME YOUR CONSTRUCTIVE COMMENTS. Please do not hesitate to bring any shortcomings to our attention.

COURSE ETHICS

All CS 290W course work must be done individually. We encourage discussion of any topic, but under no circumstances will exchange of programming code via written or electronic means be permitted between CS 290W students. It is considered dishonest either to read someone else's solution or to provide a classmate with a copy of your work.

In accordance with Purdue University policy, anyone discovered cheating on an exam, project, or in violation of the attendance policy will be reported to the Dean of Students. Penalties for cheating are severe and usually result in a failing grade for the course. In some circumstances, cheating results in expulsion from the university.

Do not make the mistake of thinking that superficial changes in a program (such as altering comments, changing variable names, or interchanging statements) will avoid detection. If you cannot do the work yourself, it is extremely unlikely that you will succeed in disguising someone else's work.

We are adamant that cheating in any form will not be tolerated. Even the most trivial assignment is better not submitted than if you cheat to complete it.

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Advanced World-Wide Web