CS 60, Principles of Computer Science, provides the student with a broad overview of computer science, at the same time providing sufficient depth in a number of key conceptual areas that are intended to serve both majors and non-majors well. These concepts include:
All of these concepts are important in both computer science and engineering. Programming in a variety of languages is used as a vehicle to demonstrate concepts. Language choice is not made primarily for enhancing vocational readiness as much as for emphasizing certain conceptual points that are language-independent.
The choice of material in CS 60 is based on a combination of utility and accessibility. Utility is desired because this course will serve as both a second, and possibly terminal, course for non-majors, as well as a launching point for more serious study in the major. This course is the gateway to kernel courses in the CS major, including:
Class Times and Place:
Course Homepage: http://www.cs.hmc.edu/courses/2007/fall/cs60
Instructor: Christine Alvarado
Office: Olin 1241
Phone: 909-607-0443
E-mail:
alvarado@cs.hmc.edu
Office Hours: Monday 4-5:30pm and by appointment
This year I am trying something new with my office hours. I have
found that in the past no one can ever make it to my scheduled office
hours. So, in effort to balance regularity with convenience, I
will always be available on Monday afternoons from 4-5:30, but if you
want to meet with me outside of those times, I am happy to make an
appointment. My schedule is posted on my website,
and any of the times I am not marked as busy are likely to be good
times to meet, so just send me an email to set something up (or try
dropping by, but I have a tendency to be out unexpectedly if I don't
have appointments scheduled).
Graders/Tutors (aka "Grutors") There are several excellent grutors
for this course! They will be holding regular hours in the Beckman
102 CS labs (see link below for hours). They will also be grading your
assignments (but not exams). A complete schedule of tutoring hours
can be found at http://www.cs.hmc.edu/courses/2007/fall/tutorhours.html
Help via E-mail: You can send e-mail to cs60help@cs.hmc.edu with
short questions related to homework. The grutors and instructors will be
checking this e-mail address frequently, so it is a fast way to get
your questions answered. We ask that you use cs60help rather than
sending e-mail to me or the grutors directly. This will help us
make sure that we are answering questions promptly. It also ensures
that the entire course staff sees the question and subsequent answer,
allowing us to be consistent about the way we answer questions.
For more extensive help, please see me or a grutor in person.
For help with the computing system, please send e-mail to help@cs.hmc.edu, or seek out
one of the many Mudders who know the system well!
You have three late days that you may use at your discretion. A late day allows you to turn in an assignment 24 hours late with no penalty. You may not use two late days on the same assignment. Late homeworks will not be accepted once these late days have been used. In cases of illness or emergency, you should contact Dean Cardenas to arrange an extension and have her contact me.
In addition to weekly assignments, there will be one midterm exam and a comprehensive final exam. See the exam schedule page for up-to-date details.
The weekly assignments will involve programming and, especially later in the course, some "paper and pencil" problems.
We will use guidelines in grading the programming assignments which will be approximately as follows:
Your final grade will be a weighted average of your grades on each course component. Components will be weighted as follows:
You are welcome and encouraged to discuss approaches to solving homework problems. You may not share any written materials of any kind. In particular, you may not send or receive code that is related in any way to this course by e-mail, on the web, from another person's file or printout, or in any other form.
You may wonder if it is permitted to help a classmate debug a program and, in the process, look at their code. This is permitted, assuming that it is done with the intent of aiding your classmate and not with intent of gleaning code that might be used in your own program. Use your good judgement here. If you're not sure about what's appropriate, please talk to one of the professors.
All conduct in this course should be conducted in accordance with the Harvey Mudd Honor Code.