MIS 34032 Fall 2010 Thomas
Data and File Technology
Spring, 2010 Course Syllabus
Instructor: Glenn Thomas
Table of Contents
Course Prerequisites
Course Objectives
Text
Suggestions
Students with disabilities
Policy on Academic Dishonesty (Cheating)
Course Attendance/Decorum
Grading
Last Day to Withdraw
Course Registration
Reminder -- This is a demanding course. Be certain you are able/willing to commit the required time to it. If you are not, you should consider withdrawing when you read this.
The prerequisites for this course is M&IS 34070 -- Principles of System Development. If you have not taken this prerequisite, you must drop 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 other than Visual Basic .NET 2008®.
We will be using the Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2008® programming language to implement the concepts discussed in class.
Visual Studio .NET 2008® is available on the PCs in the College of Business PC Lab. This is an upgrade from the version of .NET you may have previously installed on your PC. We will use Visual Basic .NET 2008® this semester.
If you have a PC running either Windows Vista or Windows XP with Service Pack 4 and you are registered for this course, you can obtain a copy of the two (2) Dvds Visual Studio .NET 2008® to install on your PC. For more information about this option go to Getting Visual Studio .NET 2008®.
It is assumed that you are familiar with Visual Basic at a level comparable to that attained in M&IS 34070 -- Principles of System Development.
If you do not have a background in Visual Basic, you must drop this course and take M&IS 34070 -- Principles or System Development instead.
- 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 probably 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 theme of this class will be the management and manipulation of large quantities of data using files and databases.
- The recommended text for this course is Programming in Visual Basic .NET 2008®, by Julia Case Bradley and Anita C. Millspaugh. (This is the current text for M&IS 34070. Your VB .Net 2005 text should be sufficient.) It should be available in both the KSU and DuBois bookstores. (Look under M&IS 34070.) It may be available on-line from such outlets as Amazon.com. However, beware. at least one on-line retailer is advertising a hardcover version. Our text is soft covered. It may be that the hardcover version is slightly different. The text is not likely to be available in local bookstores.
!!! Warning !!!
Do not install the software on the CD which comes with the text. - 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 .NET 2008®.
- A variety of topics will be covered in this class. Most are not specifically covered by the text. I will talk extensively about them in class. However, there are two books that I can recommend that do cover most of these topics in great depth, from the perspective of a Computer Science major. These books are The Art of Computer Programming, Volume 1: Fundamental Algorithms and The Art of Computer Programming, Volume 3: Sorting and Searching both by Donald E. Knuth of Stanford University. The publisher is Addison-Wesley. Although expensive, you should find them helpful if you wish to go beyond the material covered in class. But, be aware that they are written for Computer Scientists.
- You may wish to employ the internet where there are 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 a flash drive or other media to allow you to retain your work from one session to another.
- Wherever you work, make certain you have backups of your work. 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.
Hints for Surviving This Course
Survival is not guaranteed. And, it is your responsibility. The following are some requirements/suggestions that will help you do so.
- Do not ever turn in a homework that contains a computer virus. Doing so will 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.
- There is only one way to learn programming -- Practice, Practice, Practice! Be prepared to spend significant time outside the classroom completing the homeworks.
Do not wait until the last minute
to start a homework! - I try to be understanding when there are 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. If something such as illness, injury, family, 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 later only exacerbates the problem.
- Submit all assignments on the due date. If something is late, you will receive no credit for it.
- 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.
- Read and follow the Visual Basic 2008® 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 grade. (i.e., you will lose points, perhaps all, on a homework that does not contain comments.)
University policy 3342-3-18 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access equal access course content. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments. Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these through the Student Disability Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit http://www.registrars.kent.edu/disability/default.htm for more information on registration procedures).
Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, homeworks) so as to get undeserved credit. The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense. It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course. Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University.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 on-line at Administrative policy and procedures regarding student cheating and plagiarism.
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 receive 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. Sadly, a number of students have found, in the past, that I am serious about detecting and 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.
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 on the homeworks. There will be between seven and eleven homework assignments. Each of these will be available on the web site for this course. Each has a due date/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.
Due to changes in university policy, homework grades will no longer be posted on the web. However, they will be available in the email I sent you after you submit each homework and it has been graded.
The last day to withdraw from this course is Sunday November 7, 2009. Please keep this date in mind.
Right now, you should review the \material in the Bradley and Millspaugh book that was covered in M&IS 34070. It will not be covered again in this class. 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(s) you may have 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.
Course Registration
Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes. You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Web for Students) during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section. Should you find an error in your class schedule, it is your responsibility to correct the error with your advising office. If registration errors are not corrected within the first two weeks of the semester and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.
