CSci 490-1 (Special Topics) / Engr 596-6 (Special Projects)
Software Design and Scala Programming
Spring 2010
Syllabus

Locations

The spring semester 2010 class meets in 235 Weir Hall at 2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The class is taught by Prof. Conrad Cunningham, whose office is in 203 Weir Hall. The official office hours for this class are 1:00 to 2:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays and by appointment at other times.

Prof. Cunningham's voice telephone number is (662) 915-5358 and fax number is (662) 915-5623. His WWW home page is http://www.cs.olemiss.edu/~hcc/ and his email address is cunningham AT cs DOT olemiss DOT edu.

The WWW home page for this class is http://www.cs.olemiss.edu/~hcc/softwareDesign/ .

The final examination for this class is scheduled for Thursday, 6 May, at 4:00 p.m.

Student Disabilities Services Statement

"It is the responsibility of any student with a disability who requests a reasonable accommodation to contact the Office of Disability Services (915-7128). Contact will then be made by that office through the student to the instructor of this class. The instructor will then be happy to work with the student so that a reasonable accommodation of any disability can be made."

Course Description

Official catalog description for CSci 490: Study of topics in computer science according to the interests of the instructor and students.

Description of a new course similar to this planned study: Study of advanced concepts and methods for the systematic, pattern-oriented design and implementation of software systems using contemporary languages and technologies. Topics of interest include software specification, software architecture, process and design patterns, and the appropriate use of advanced programming language capabilities.

Prerequisites

The catalog states the official prerequisites for CSci 490 as "CSci 211 and CSci 223".

Anyone who does not have a mature understanding of programming in an object-oriented language (e.g., Java or C++), of basic algorithms and data structures (e.g., sorting, searching, lists, stacks, queues, and binary trees), and of basic discrete mathematics (e.g., sets, relations, functions, graphs, and induction) should contact the instructor before enrolling in the course. Successful completion of CSci 111, 112, and 211 and Math 301 should give sufficient background.

Course Outcomes/Objectives

Upon successful completion of the course, the students:

1. know and understand the advanced concepts and features of contemporary object-oriented programming (OOP) languages, including abstract data types, single and multiple inheritance, various forms of polymorphism, composition, and reflection,
2. can analyze a design problem and apply the OOP principles effectively in the design and implementation of a nontrivial program to solve the problem,
3. know and understand fundamental architectural and design patterns and their appropriate uses,
4. can analyze a design problem and apply architectural and design patterns effectively in the development of a software system to solve the problem,
5. can evaluate a design problem or an existing software system and identify abstractions that can make the software more robust with respect to change, flexible, and better supporting reuse of design or code,
6. can apply knowledge of the Scala language to develop non-trivial programs.

Source Materials

Textbooks:

Martin Odersky, Lex Spoon, and Bill Venners. Programming in Scala: A Comprehensive Step-By-Step Guide, Artima, Inc., 2008.

Software:

Scala 2.7.7 distribution, available from http://www.scala-lang.org. This has been installed in the Adler Lab and on Turing.

Eclipse IDE users may want to use the Scala plugin for Eclipse. We may use other tools as the semester progresses.

Readings:

Various journal and conference articles, research reports, Web documents, and book excerpts as appropriate. For example, see the Scala website http://www.scala-lang.org.

Course Topics

The plan is to cover the following topics:

1. Scala language syntax and semantics.
2. Specification of abstract data types. Preconditions, postconditions, and invariants.
3. Understanding inheritance.
4. Mechanisms for software reuse. Composition and inheritance.
5. Implications of inheritance.
6. Multiple inheritance.
7. Understanding polymorphism. Forms of polymorphism.
8. Reflection and introspection.
9. Introduction to patterns.
10. Design patterns.
11. Architectural patterns.
12. Designing with patterns.
13. Student presentations on patterns or tools.

Professional Conduct

As a student in CSci 490-1/Engr 596-6, you are expected to conduct yourself in a professional manner according to the Honor Code of the School of Engineering, the Information Technology Appropriate Use Policy, the M Book, and any other relevant policies.

Limited Collaboration Policy. Unless otherwise indicated, any homework assignment or programming exercise given in this class will be an individual assignment. The work you submit is to reflect the knowledge, understanding, and skill that you have attained as an individual. However, the instructor does want to encourage the development of a community of scholars who are actively engaged in discussion of the ideas related to this course. With this in mind, you are allowed to discuss solutions of the homework and programming problems with other students if done so according to the following guidelines:

• You may discuss ideas for homework and programming assignments with your classmates. However, you cannot collaborate on writing the solution or the program code. That is, you can talk about the problems and ideas for solving them, but you cannot write things down with anyone else. You are, of course, prohibited from copying or seeing another student's written solution, and you are not allowed to show your work to anyone else. Similarly, you are not allowed to copy text or program code from a book or a page on the Web unless explicitly authorized to do so by the instructor.

• You should accept help with care. If you work too closely with another student, you might mislead yourself into believing that you understand the concepts and techniques better than you actually do. Don't forget that the instructor has office hours and can probably give you hints or suggestions to get you started.

• You should give help with care. Do not help anyone too much. When you have solved a problem, it is tempting to just tell other students how you solved it. Instead, try to allow them to come to the solution on their own. Maybe give them a hint to help them get "over a hump." Remember that helping someone too much will hurt them in the long term if they can't work through problems on the exams by themselves. So avoid the temptation to do so. If you can't help other students without giving away the whole solution, direct them to see the instructor (who may or may not have a way to "edge" them toward the solution).

• You are not obligated to help anyone. If you feel uncomfortable helping another student for any reason, please direct them to see the instructor.

• Except as described above, all work in this class is covered by the School of Engineering's Honor Code statement on plagiarism. It is plagiarism "to knowingly deceive, copy, paraphrase, or otherwise misrepresent your work in a manner inconsistent with professional conduct".

Grading

The grading scale for this class is A [90..100], B [80..90), C [70..80), D [60..70), and F [0..60).

Sixty percent of the semester grade will come from the exam average and forty percent from the homework assignment/project average.

Assignments and Projects

• All students are expected to study the relevant portions of the textbook and handouts in conjunction with our class discussions (i.e., before coming to class). Explicit reading assignments will not always be given.

• Approximately four homework assignments are planned for the semester. Some of the assignments may be called "projects" and have more credit than the "regular" assignments.

• Unless otherwise stated in the assignment description, an assignment is to be carried out by each individual student without inappropriate collaboration with others. See the section on Professional Conduct.

• In preparing and submitting homework assignments make sure that:
  • your name, the course number or name, the assignment identifier, and individual exercises are clearly indicated in the content of the file or on the paper. (If it is a group assignment, give the group identifier and the names of all members.)
  • for any handwritten portions, you write legibly on only one side of the paper in a black or blue pen or dark pencil. Do NOT use red or green ink! Some of the assignments may require that materials be generated with a word processor and/or other tools.
  • your pages are stapled together in the upper left corner when viewed from the front.

• Several programs will be assigned during the semester. We will use the multiparadigm programming language Scala, unless otherwise directed.

  For these exercises, you will need to submit appropriate design documentation, a listing of your program code, and appropriate printed output from your program testing. Make sure that you clearly label the assignment as described above. You will also be asked to submit your program source code in electronic form using Blackboard.

• As appropriate, there may be a few in-class assignments or quizzes that count toward the assignment/project portion of the grade.

• The programs and other assignments given to students enrolled in the course for graduate credit will often differ from the ones given to undergraduates. In particular, the assignments will often include components that are required for graduate students but optional for undergraduates.

• All students are expected to complete their homework assignments by their due dates. If an assignment is submitted late, a penalty of 10 percent of that assignment's grade will be assessed for each day it is late. A homework paper will not be accepted after graded papers have been returned, after a solution has been distributed, or after the final examination.

Examinations

• There will be three examinations, including the final. The final examination is optional and can replace one of the other examinations.

• The examination portion of the semester grade will be calculated by averaging the two best examination grades.

• The first exam will be given at mid-term and the second near the end of the semester.

• The final examination will be given during the final examination period. Please do not ask to take the final examination earlier than the time set for the entire class.

• Each exam will cover all topics studied to that point.

• Each exam may consist of a combination of in-class and take-home components.

• If you cannot take an examination at the scheduled time because of an illness or other special circumstances, please notify Prof. Cunningham in advance. Without advance notification, it may not be possible to give a make-up examination.

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