Harvey Mudd College Computer Science Department Programming Practicum (CS 189)

In the Spring 2012 term, CS 189 Programming practicum is running differently from the self-contained, algorithmic problem-solving of previous terms. If you're looking for that kind of practice, join us again in the Fall of 2012! Here is a link to Fall 2011's page.

This term, CS 189 will ask you to design two half-term projects or one full-term project that will give you a chance to learn a new technology, library, API, or domain. The idea is that you pursue in a scheduled, deliberate, and reflective way a software undertaking that is new, e.g.,

• You've always wanted to learn Ruby on Rails or Django or Drupal or (insert web templating framework here)... so, think of a feasibly-sized application, and dive in!
• You want to build a web application from scratch to become more familiar with some or all of the component (raw) technologies: HTML, CSS, Javascript, SQL, ... . This course would certainly encourage it: see the default option, below.
• You'd like to learn how to use the OpenCV computer vision library or the Qt UI library or any other large open-source libraries, perhaps for game-development, that require "some getting used to."
• You have a hardware project that requires programming and would like a structured, scheduled way to approach it.

Concerns? Questions? Suggestions? Let me (Zach Dodds) know at dodds@cs.hmc.edu!

I'm happy to chat about possible project ideas. In addition, there are default projects that, at least, I'm interested in and that you'd be welcome to pursue if you don't have anything in particular in mind. Both involve web technologies:

• The default first project would be to learn HTML5, CSS, and (mostly) Javascript to create a client-side Jotto-playing application that
  • accepts and stores a hidden word
  • accepts guesses against that hidden word and scores the guesses
  • uses a dictionary to suggest possible remaining words (I have 8181 five-letter words if you'd like...)
  • will compute the entropy, i.e., the expected information, to be gained by guessing any particular word at a certain stage of the game
  • looks good!
  • has any extra features of your choosing...


• The default second project would be to learn server-side web programming (though CGI and AJAX calls to Python, in all likelihood) by building an auto-grading system that we might be able to integrate into the CS 5 submission system in the future. It would
  • allow another person (presumably a grader or instructor) to upload a file of desired input/output tests (the format could be up to you -- the more user-friendly, the better!)
  • allow a student to upload a Python assignment file to be tested
  • provide "immediate" feedback about how many and which tests the assignment file pased
  • ideally, some of the tests could be visible (the student would know the tests, their code's output and the correct output) and some would be hidden (the score would be reported, but not the tests or correct output
  • it should time out after a designated amount of time
  • it should make sure that the Python code run does not "mess with" the submission system or other files

According to the following schedule, there will be a project update due (by 11:59pm on Tuesday night):

• January 31, 2012: project #1's plan and initial report due
• February 14, 2012: project #1 progress report due
• February 28, 2012: project #1 progress report due
• March 9, 2012: project #1 final report and demo due
• March 20, 2012: project #2 plan and initial report due
• May 4, 2012: project #2 final report and demo due

For the project #1 plan and initial report, please include in your write-up at least the following items. Each of the four large items below should be a paragraph or so:

1. Describe your overall project idea(s) for this first half of the term. If appropriate, include any additional context, motivation, or connections this project might make with others. The description can be succinct, e.g., a website that reads bar codes, but then please expand in a bit more detail the interactions you imagine. Alternatively, the description might be a purely technical one, e.g., I'm going to learn three image-processing API calls per week from the OpenCV library. In a case like this, elaborate what those might be and the small applications you plan to build to show off those calls.
2. Describe your progress so far, along with what you've done successfully -- and perhaps unsuccessfully -- to make progress! Are the technologies all working? Do you have a Hello-World!-type example working? Are there sticking points that are likely to be resolved (or others unlikely to be resolved). Basically, this paragraph should make it clear that you'll be able to make progress. Otherwise, choose a different project/technology!
3. Note how much time you've spent so far in the last two weeks. (Obviously, this won't take a paragraph!) If applicable, mention how you're budgeting time for the project. The goal is to keep CS 189 in the 3-4 hours per week range.
4. Describe your plan for the next two weeks and beyond. More detail is better here, even if the detail serves to motivate your thinking about your next steps.
5. In addition, include a description of your objectives for the third report (2/28) and for the final deliverable (3/9). These need not be at the same level of detail as your plan for the next two weeks, but it does not hurt to think ahead -- even if, in the end, your plans change.
6. Be sure to link this write-up to the CS 189 google doc noted below.

For each deliverable, your team should create a link from this Programming Practicum Google doc to your write-up. Feel free to use your own Google doc or Google site. Unlike the above Google doc, feel free to make yours private (as long as you share among your team and with zdodds@gmail.com). If you're working on web technologies of any sort, you might simply use your own CS webspace and those technologies to host your write-up page!

Here is another link to the Programming Practicum Google doc

• Slides for 1/17/12's class
• Programming Practicum Google doc
• A set of 10 labs that introduce web technologies