M&IS 24070 Spring 2009 Thomas
M&IS 24070
Principles of System Development
Spring, 2009
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The Last Day to Withdraw |
Table of Contents
Course Objectives
Text
Suggestions
Students with Disabilities
Academic Dishonesty (Cheating) Policy
Course Attendance
Course Grading
Withdrawal Deadline
Course Registration
Using The Text
- You will learn about computer programming (both practice and concepts) in this course. Please bear in mind that the focus of this class is on programming. To many, programming is an art. However, there is science to programing, which will be stressed. Good programming practice will be emphasized and parallels will be drawn between the capabilities of Visual Basic and those of other programming languages.
We will be using the Microsoft Visual Basic 2008® programming language to implement and practice the concepts discussed in class. It is not assumed that you have previous exposure to Visual Basic or any other programming language. It is assumed that you are willing to learn many fundamental principles of programming and that you are familiar with the Windows® operating system and a variety of Windows applications such as Explorer, Excel, NotePad, etc.
Visual Studio 2008® Professional Edition is available on the PCs in rooms A224 and A226 of the College of Business PC Lab. This product includes the version of Visual Basic that we will be using this semester.
If you have regular access a PC running either Windows XP with Service Pack 3 installed or Windows Vista and you are registered for this course, you can make your own copy of the DVDs for Visual Studio 2008® to install on your PC. For more information about this option go to Visual Studio .NET DVDs.
- More important than learning the fundamentals of programming, this class will assist you in developing your problem solving skills. 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 Tic-Tac-Toe. The rules are simple. You know how to play it. Yet, how do you instruct a computer to play Tic-Tac-Toe?) If you devote adequate time and effort to this course, you will be surprised how much you can learn to do and how quickly you can learn to do it.
- The required text for this course is Programming in Visual Basic 2008®, 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. It is not likely to be available in local bookstores.
The text contains a CD you can use to install the Learning Edition of Visual Basic 2008® on your own PC. Do not open this package. Do not install this software on your PC. We will be using Professional version of Visual Basic 2008® that is available in the College PC Lab. You can obtain this version by going to the Lab Assistants, identifying yourself and burning copies of the six installation CDs. There is no fee for doing this and the Professional version is more complete than that accompanying the text.
For information on making your copies of the Visual Studio DVDs and installing Visual Studio on your PC, see Getting/Installing the Visual Studio DVDs.
- In addition, you may wish to acquire a supplemental Visual Basic book. Your local bookstore and the internet can help you here. Just be certain that whatever you acquire is for Visual Basic Version 2008®.
- You may wish to employ the internet where there are numerous resources available to help you master Visual Basic.
- If you will be working in the College PC lab, you will probably save your homework assignments on diskettes, a flash drive or other media. Wherever you work on the homeworks, you should frequently back up your work. I cannot over stress the importance of making copies of all of your programs. I guarantee that you will experience a hard drive crash or lose a floppy at some point . If you don't have a backup, than you will have lost everything that you were working on. . This will be especially painful if you do not have a copy of a previous homework that becomes the basis for a later one.
The following are some suggestions that will help you in this and other courses.
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.
2. 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!
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.
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.
3. 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.
4. Submit all assignments on the due date. If something is late, you will receive no credit for it.
5. 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.
6. 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.)
7. Join the Class ListServe mis24070@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://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.
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).
Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, homeworks, etc.) 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 may 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 work. Should two or more of you submit identical or substantially identical assignments/quizzes, 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.
Be forewarned, I have (and will continue to) assigned failing grades in the past because identical or nearly identical programs/quizzes were submitted by two or more students.
One other warning: I have retained copies of all programming assignments from past classes. Your homework assignments will be electronically checked against, not only other students in this class, but also against all past students who have submitted this assignment.
Class attendance is not required. However, it is expected. 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/receiving telephone calls and other similar, 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 do it in class.
Your grade in this course will be based on your performance in two areas. These are:
· Quizzes are comprise 30% of the final grade. There will be several announced quizzes during the semester. Each of these will be announced by posting a message to the course home page. There may be additional, unannounced quizzes during the semester. Missed quizzes cannot be made up except when the absence is approved by the University.
· Homework Assignments make up the remaining 70% of the final grade. There will be about 10 homework assignments. Each of these will be available on the web site for this course. Each has a due date and due time. Late assignments will not be accepted. The course home page will be updated whenever a homework assignment is posted. 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 later homeworks will be worth more -- perhaps 20 points or more.
Once grades for a homework or quiz are posted to the web, you have four days to let me know by e-mail, that you feel a mistake has been made in your grade. If you fail to contact me about your grade within this four day period, then the grade for the homework or quiz, even if incorrect, will be final.
A letter grade of A will be earned if you have a total score of 90% or more. A grade of 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. If you feel one or more of your grades is incorrect, you must let me know of the suspected error within four days of being notified of the score. After four days, the grade, even if wrong, will not be changed.
My comments on the homeworks you submit will be emailed to you.
The last day to withdraw from this course is Sunday April 5, 2009. Please keep this date in mind.
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, you must correct it ASAP. If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in a class for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade for that class.
The text for this course is Programming in Visual Basic 2008®. You need to learn to use it as the reference book that it is. I strongly suggest that you immediately skim the entire book. Do not try to memorize what's in the book. Get comfortable with it. Develop a general idea of what's where. I will not be assigning specific reading assignments. Rather, I expect you to use the Table of Contents and the Index to determine where to find material to supplement what is discussed in class. I further expect you to use Visual Basic's Help Screens to answer questions and to surf the web for additional sources that can help you learn to use Visual Basic.
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 will 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 may 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.)
As guideline to help you focus, we will cover the material in the following chapters of the text.
Chapters 1 through 8
Chapter 11 -- the section beginning on page 447 covering the
StreamWriter and StreamReader classes.
