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MIS 34032 F05 Thomas

 
M&IS 34032
> Data and File Technology<br> Fall, 2005
> Course Syllabus<br> Instructor: Glenn Thomas

> <b><u>Table of Contents<u>
Course Prerequisites
> <a href="http:/www.personal.kent.edu/~gthomas/34032f05/syllabus.html#object#object">Course Objectives
> <a href="http:/www.personal.kent.edu/~gthomas/34032f05/syllabus.html#text#text">Text
> <a href="http:/www.personal.kent.edu/~gthomas/34032f05/syllabus.html#survive#survive">Hints for surviving this course
> <a href="http:/www.personal.kent.edu/~gthomas/34032f05/syllabus.html#disable#disable">Students with disabilities
> <a href="http:/www.personal.kent.edu/~gthomas/34032f05/syllabus.html#cheat#cheat">Policy on Academic Dishonesty (Cheating)
> <a href="http:/www.personal.kent.edu/~gthomas/34032f05/syllabus.html#attend#attend">Course Attendance/Decorum
> <a href="http:/www.personal.kent.edu/~gthomas/34032f05/syllabus.html#grade#grade">Grading
> <a href="http:/www.personal.kent.edu/~gthomas/34032f05/syllabus.html#withdraw#withdraw">Last Day to Withdraw
> <a href="http:/www.personal.kent.edu/~gthomas/34032f05/syllabus.html#registration#registration">Course Registration
> <a href="http:/www.personal.kent.edu/~gthomas/34032f05/syllabus.html#read#read">Course Reading
> <a href="http:/www.personal.kent.edu/~gthomas/34032f05/syllabus.html#reading#reading">Note about the Readings
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 now. (That way, you'll get your tuition refunded.)
Course Prerequisites
The prerequisites for this course are both M&IS 24060 -- System Analysis I -- and M&IS 24070 -- Principles of System Development. If you have not taken the prerequisites, you must drop this course.
Course Objectives
  • 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.
We will be using the Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2003® programming language to implement the concepts discussed in class.
Visual Studio .NET 2003 is available on the PCs in rooms A223 and A226 of 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 2003 this semester.
If you have a PC running either Windows 2000 or Windows XP and you are registered for this course, you can obtain a copy of the six CD Visual Studio .NET 2003 to install on your PC. For more information about this option go to Visual Studio .NET 2003 CDs.
It is assumed that you are familiar with Visual Basic at a level comparable to that attained in M&IS 24070 -- Principles of System Development. It is further assumed that you wish to learn more about programming.
If you do not have a background in Visual Basic, you must drop this course and take M&IS 24070 -- Principles or System Development instead.
  • Do not install the Learning Edition of Visual Basic .NET 2003 that comes with the text book for M&IS 24070 on your PC. It is incomplete in a number of details. And, worse yet, once the Learning Edition is installed, you may find it difficult to install Visual Studio .NET 2003 without first uninstalling the Learning Edition. If you installed the Learning Edition of Visual Basic .NET 2003 on your PC in the past, you must first uninstall that before installing Visual Studio .NET 2003. If you fail to do this, it is highly likely that neither version of Visual Basic will work correctly.
  • 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 theme of this class will be the management and manipulation of large quantities of data using files and databases.
Text
  • The recommended text for this course is Programming in Visual Basic .NET 2003®, by Julia Case Bradley and Anita C. Millspaugh. (This is the current text for M&IS 24070.) It should be available in both the KSU and DuBois bookstores. (Look under M&IS 24070.) 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 !!!

> <u>Do not install the software on the CD which comes with the text. <u>
  • 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® 2003.
  • 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 by Donald E. Knuth of Stanford University. The publisher is Addison-Wesley. Although expensive, you will probably find them helpful if you wish to go beyond the material covered in class.
  • 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 several diskettes to allow you to retain your work from one session to another.
  • Wherever you work, make certain you have backups of your solutions. 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 suggestions that will help you.
  1. 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.
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  2. There is only one way to learn programming -- Practice, Practice and more Practice! Be prepared to spend significant time outside the classroom completing the homeworks.
Do not wait until the last minute to get started on a homework!

> By then it will be too late. Read the homework assignments as soon as they are posted. Spend time thinking about them before you run off and write a great deal of code and later find it was all wrong. One hour of preparation can save multiple hours of frustration. <div>
The single most common reason that students encounter difficulty in this class is NOT STARTING THE HOMEWORKS EARLY ENOUGH. Do not procrastinate!!! Stay abreast of what the homeworks require. Start working on them early.
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  1. When you submit a homework WebCT, always double check to be absolutely certain you have uploaded all the necessary files to the correct directory. If the homework is not uploaded to the correct directory it cannot be graded. If a needed file is not uploaded, the homework cannot be graded. If your homework cannot be graded, you will receive a grade of zero for that assignment.
A note of warning: WebCT runs the Linux operating system. As a result, you must exercise some caution in choosing names for the files that you create. If you do not, you will be unable to upload your homework assignments or, you may inadvertently create a situation where one of your files is lost. You must observe the following conventions when naming homework files.
    • File names should contain only the following characters:
      • The 26 letters of the alphabet (A ... Z);
      • The ten decimal digits (0 ... 9); and/or
      • The underscore character ( _ )
    • You should consistently use only lowercase (or uppercase) letters for file names. Under Windows, if you have a file named Form1.frm and then save a new file using the name FORM1.frm to your disk, the new file will overwrite the older file Form1.frm. (i.e., Windows does not distinguish between file names based on capitalization.) With a Linux operating system, these are two separate files. And, they can both be uploaded to our homework server. To be graded, they are downloaded to a Windows machine. On this machine, only the last of the two files that are downloaded will be saved. This means the wrong file may graded without knowing it.
  1. I try to be 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. 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.
Please note: If you work (or accept a position during the semester), this is understandable. But, it is your responsibility to balance work demands with class demands. I cannot help you do this.
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  1. Submit all assignments on the due date. If something is late, you will receive no credit for it.
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  2. Regularly check the home page for this course. All announcements of homework availability, resource links, grades and so forth 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.
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  3. Read and follow the Visual Basic .NET 2003 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.)
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  4. Join the Class ListServe mis34032@listserv.kent.edu. This is an unmoderated discussion group specifically for students in this class. Feel free to post questions, advice, references to relevant sources of information on the list at any time. I will throw in my 2 cents if 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 announcement portion of the course home page that is accessible from the World Wide 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.
Students With Disabilities
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 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).
Academic Dishonesty
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 in the current University Phone Directory or on-line at Administrative policy and procedures regarding student cheating and plagiarism.
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 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. 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.
Course Attendance/Decorum
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.
Grading
Your final grade in this course will be based on your performance on the homeworks. There will be approximately 10 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.
As the semester progresses, I will be posting homework scores on the WEB. You will be able to see them by clicking on the Grades link on the course home page. You can identify your portion of the grades page using your unique Grade ID.

> <a name="withdraw"><a>Last Day to Withdraw
The last day to withdraw from this course is Saturday November 6, 2005. Please keep this date in mind.
Course Readings
Right now, you should read chapters 1 through 8 and the first section of chapter 10 in the Bradley and Millspaugh book. Most 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.
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.
Note About the Readings
One certain thing about using computers is change. Today's most widely used computers, programming languages, information systems, etc. did not exist five to ten years ago and will probably not exist (or at least be significantly modified) in five to ten years. Change can be (and often is) radical in the IS field. Those of you who intend to enter this field for your careers must be prepared to embrace change and to adopt new technologies as they become available. The basic principles that you learn in this and other IS courses will continue to be valid. However, the specific tools will soon be obsolete. Your challenge is to develop habits that will assist you in making numerous professional transitions to new technologies and environments. Each of you must be prepared to take the initiative in your continuing education both during and after school.
This course is designed to help you develop skills that will serve you in an ever changing professional environment. In particular, your text and any other supplementary materials you may acquire are resources to help you master important concepts. You should take the extra time to familiarize yourself with them. Skim them to get an overview of their contents. Learn to use the index to find material related to that presented in class. Take advantage of Visual Basic's Help system. Learn to use Function Key 1 to get help on an object or Visual Basic key word. Take advantage of the related topics links that VB Help presents you with. Ask yourself whether there might be an easier way to accomplish your objective than that presented in class. (There often is.)
 
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