• Instructor: Glenn Thomas
• Office Hours
• How to Contact Me

The prerequisite for this course is ADMS 24001 -- Principles of System Development. If you have not taken ADMS 24001, you should drop this course.

• In this course, you will continue learning about computer programming (both practice and concepts). Please bear in mind that the focus of this class is on programming. I will continually attempt to promote good programming practice and try to draw parallels to a number of programming languages.

  Because it is available in the College computer labs, we will be using the Microsoft Visual Basic Version 6.0^® programming language to implement and practice the concepts discussed in class. It is assumed that you have previous exposure to Visual Basic or any other programming language. It is further assumed that you wish to learn more about programming. assumed that you are willing to learn Visual Basic.

  If you do not have a background in Visual Basic, you must drop this course and take ADMS 24001 -- Principlaes or System Development instead.

  In addition to Visual Basic, we will dicuss and use the Visible Virtual Machine (VVM) -- a virtual computer that illustrates many of the most important concepts of digital computers without losing us in too much detail. You can learn more about the VVM by clicking here.

  In the past, a number of students purchased their own copies of Visual Basic. That should not be necessary as it is available in the computer lab and your textbook comes with a a CD ROM version of Visual Basic 6.0^® that you may install on your own personal computer. You should note that the version of Visual Basic 6.0^® included with the textbook does not include any VB help files.

  Should you wish to obtain a more complete version of Visual Basic 6.0^®, the educationally priced version should be available in the bookstore. I strongly recommend that you purchase the Professional or Enterprise as opposed to the Learning edition because the Learning edition does not contain all of the controls that may be necessary to complete this course.

• In addition to learning the fundamentals of programming, this class will assist you in developing your problem solving skills. After all, a program is nothing more than a solution to a problem. It can be a frustrating experience to design a programming solution to a seemingly trivial problem. (For example, consider the game of checkers. The rules are simple. You know how to play it. Yet, how do you instruct a computer to play checkers?) However, if you stick with it, you will be amply rewarded.

• This class will introduce you to a variety of algorithms and data and file structures that have numerous applications in problem solution.

• The required text for this course is Programming in Visual Basic 6.0^®, by Julia Case Bradley and Anita C. Millspaugh. It should be available in both the KSU and DuBois bookstores. It may be available on-line from such outlets as Amazon.com. However, beware. at least one on-ine retailer is advertising a hardcover version. Our text is softcovered. It may be that this version is slightly different and will not include the CD-ROM version of Visual Basic 6.0 that comes with the softcover text in the bookstore.) The text is not likely to be available in local bookstores.
• In addition, you may wish to acquire a supplemental Visual Basic text. Your local bookstore and the internet can help you here. Just be certain that whatever you acquire is for Visual Basic Version 6.0^®.
• You may wish to employ the internet where there numerous resources available to help you master Visual Basic. One in particular is Microsoft's Developer Network site.
• If you will be working in the College PC lab you will need several diskettes to allow you to retain your work from one session to another.

• Wherever you work, make certain you have backups of your program files. Without them, you may have to redo projects you have already written. This will be especially painful if you do not have a copy of the fourth homework and the fifth homework picks up where the fourth left off.

Survival is not guaranteed. And, it is your responsibility. The following are some suggestions that will help you.

1. Do not ever turn in a homework that contains a computer virus. Doing so will make me very unhappy and will also result in a failing grade for this course. There will be no exceptions to this rule for any reason(s). All the computers in the College of Business Administration Laboratories are equipped with Virus detection and correction software. Use this often on your own diskettes.



2. I try to be very understanding when people have problems and I want to help you should you encounter difficulties with this course (or others, for that matter). However, if you come to me at the end of the semester with a tale of woe about everything that conspired against you during the semester, do not expect me to be sympathetic. I don't want to pry into your personal lives. But, if something such as illness, injury, job crisis, etc. interferes with your ability to keep up with the material, I need to know when the crisis arises not after the fact. That way we can, together, figure ways to adjust to your changed circumstances. Telling me weeks later only exacerbates the problem.



3. Turn all assignments in on the due date. If something is late, you will receive no credit for it.



4. Regularly check the home page for this course. All announcements of homework availability and quiz dates will be made using this page. Once an item has been posted there for 48 hours, I consider it to be official and will hold you responsible for it.



5. Read and follow the Visual Basic Programming Rules. If you follow these, you will find yourself writing better and more understandable programs. If you do not follow these rules, you will be jeopardizing your homework grades.
    
6. Join the Class ListServe ADMS34032@listserv.kent.edu. This will be an unmoderated discussion group specifically for students in this class. Feel free to post questions, answers, advice, references to relevant sources of information on the list at any time. I will throw in my 2 cents whenever I feel it would be helpful. Be aware that all E-Mail sent to this ListServe is automatically sent to every subscriber. If you want a private communication with someone, use her/his E-Mail address NOT the ListServ.

   More information on ListServe can be found at HTTP://ACT.KENT.EDU/LISTREQ or at HTTP://WWW.LSOFT.COM/MANUALS/INDEX.HTML

   Participation in the ListServe is totally voluntary. If you chose not to be a member, that's fine. All announcements and important messages related to the course will be distributed through the announcements page that is accessible from the WorldWide Web.

   One note: It is inappropriate to post specific code solutions to homework problems on the ListServe. Anyone doing so will lose his/her ListServe privileges. And, if the posting is particularly egregious, the individual may risk severely and negatively impacting his/her grade. The ListServe is provided to help you learn to solve problems. It is not meant to provide solutions.

   If, in my opinion, the ListServe is being used to distribute homework solutions rather than provide mutual assistance, I will terminate the ListServe.

In accordance with University policy, if you have a disability and require accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, please contact me at the beginning of the semester or when given an assignment for which an accommodation is required. Students with disabilities must verify their eligibility through the Office of Student Disability Services (SDS) in the Michael Schwartz Student Services Center (672-3391).

It is expected that all work you submit for a grade will be your own. If this is not the case, a failing grade will be assigned for this course and the instructor reserves the right to pursue additional sanctions as provided by University rules and regulations. If you are not familiar with these rules and regulations, you can find them in the current University Phone Directory.

In particular, each of you must submit your own assignments. Should two or more of you submit identical or substantially identical assignments, then I can only assume that one (or more) of you copied from the other(s). In such a circumstance, every student involved will recieve a failing grade for the course. Additional sanctions may be pursued in accord with University rules and regulations.

You need to realize that the only way in which you can learn to program is to write programs of increasing complexity. If you submit someone else's work, you are cheating yourself and all other students. I will not tolerate this. Several students have found, in the past, that I am serious about punishing cheating with failure. Don't cheat yourself. I'm available quite a bit and willing to help you when you ask. There are numerous other resources you can call on. It's better not to submit a homework than to submit someone else's.

Class attendance is not required. However, it is strongly encouraged. And, you are responsible for all material covered in class in addition to that assigned outside of class.

A note on class decorum:

I interpret your coming to class as an expression of your interest in learning as much as you possibly can. Certainly, you should assume that this is your classmates' intention in being here. In fairness to your classmates (and me), I expect you to refrain from talking to others, reading newspapers, sleeping, playing radios or CDs, making telephone calls and other similar, possibly disruptive activities. Don't be surprised if I ask you or someone else to leave because of conduct detrimental to the class. If you simply must study for a test later that day, stay home, go to the Library, find a bench outdoors. Don't plan on doing it in class.

Your final grade in this course will be based on your performance in two areas. These are:

1. Quizzes worth 40% of the final grade. There will be a there will be announced quizzes throughout the semester. (Announced means the quiz date will be posted on the Web at least 48 hours prior to the quiz.) In addition, there may be unannounced quizzes on other days.

2. Homework Assignments worth 60% of the final grade. There will be 8 or more homework assignments. Each of these will be available on the web site for this course. Each has a due date and a due time. Late assignments will not be accepted. The course home page will be updated whenever a homework assignment becomes available. You need to check the course home page to get your homework assignments. Please be aware that the homework assignments will not be of equal value. For example, the first is worth 5 points, while the second is worth 10 points.

A letter grade of A will be earned if you have a total score of 90% or more. A B will be earned for a total score that is at least 80% and less than 90%. For a C, you must have at least 70% and less than 80%. A D will be assigned with at least 60% and less than 70% for your total score. An F will be assigned to all students receiving a total score that is less than 60%. Note, a total score of 79.8% is less than 80% and will result in a final grade of C.

I reserve the right to lower the cutoff points outlined in the above paragraph. (i.e., I may decide to assign a grade of A to everyone earning 88% or more of the possible points.)

As the semester progresses, I will be posting homework and quiz scores on the WEB. You will be able to see them by clicking on the Grades on the course home page. The last four digits of your social security number will be used to identify you.

The last day to withdraw from this course is November 5, 1999. Please keep this date in mind.

This is the second in a two course sequence on computer programming. I assume that each of you has taken ADMS 24001 Principles of System Development. If this is not the case, then you must consider an alternative to this course.

---

Reading Assignments

Right now, you should read chapters 1 through 8 of the text book. Virtually all of this should be review. And, it will be covered in class -- but quickly. For the remainder of the semester, it is up to you to decide which portions of the text to read and when. Your text and any supplementary Visual Basic^®: book you may have bought are reference materials. You need to learn how to use them on your own. The index and table of contents are always good places to start.