Computer Science 300 - General Information and Syllabus

CS 300 -- Scripts and Utilities (three hours, one credit, Satisfactory/Non-Satisfactory)

12:20-3:20  F  Claxton 105

Instructor:

Yifan Tang, ytang@cs.utk.edu

Goal

The goal of this course is to teach many of the practical tools available under Unix which will enable students to become more efficient in completing labs and research projects. Some topics expected to be covered are:
sh, gcc/cpp/purify/quantify, make, cat/grep/find/at, ed/sed, awk, perl, python, jgraph, LaTex, cvs.

Topics

The first 3 topics will be covered in the order listed to try to give a small head-start on the semester's programming load for those of you new to UNIX and the Computer Science department. The rest of the topics MAY change as the semester progresses. I will try and stay as close as possible to the existing order. If there are topics not listed here that you think would be good for the entire class, please let me know. I will try to cover them, but there are no guarantees.

Text Book

There is no standard textbook for the course. The lecture notes will be posted online before the starting of each class. Supplemental information will be posted online on the class web page.

Class Meetings

The classes will meet in Room 105, Claxton Complex. The first class will be on Friday, August 26. There will be no classes on the following dates:

October 14, Fall Break
November 25, Thanksgiving break

Grading

There are no homework's or tests in this course. Labs are your only source for points towards your grades.
Satisfactory/Non-Satisfactory: In order to get a satisfactory in this course, you will need to COMPLETE all lab assignments with an overall average of 70%.
Attendance: You are expected to attend class. I will allow 3 absences before I begin to penalize you. After that it is up to my discretion to reduce your overall grade by 10% per additional absence. Even if you miss a class, you will still be required to complete the lab associated with that class on time. All lab assignments will be available on the web by class time.
Extra Credit: I doubt you will need it. We can talk about it towards the end of the semester.
Cheating: The first time you will receive a warning. The second time you will receive zero point for the specific lab.

Labs

Labs will normally be assigned at the end of each lecture. These will be due before the next class. Maximum value for each lab is 100 points. You are allowed to have one late lab for the course for grade but ALL LABS MUST BE COMPLETED. Late lab needs to be submitted no later than one week past the original deadline. It is your responsibility to submit the labs on time.

Labs will be submitted via submission script. Create a directory for cs300. In this directory, create one directory for each of the labs, e.g. lab1, lab2. Put all your lab1 files in the lab1 directory, all the lab2 files in the lab2 directory, etc. After finishing all the lab assignments, run 300_submit in the appropriate lab folder. For example, to submit lab1, all you need to do is:

/home/username/cs300/lab1>300_submit

Then follow the steps. Please check out the following website for more information: https://www.cs.utk.edu/help/doku.php?id=accounts:general:ta_scripts:submit

The Computer Science labs (Hydra or Cetus) are available for a large portion of every day, excepting weekends, holidays and special events. You are expected to make use of these available facilities to complete the assignments. Check out the following web site for more information on the computer labs' availability: https://www.cs.utk.edu/help/doku.php?id=labs

Lectures

Lecture notes will be made available on the web. The basic format for each class will be a relatively short lecture with the rest of the class time for you to work on the lab assignments. I will be here for any questions during that time. Ensure that you completely understand the lab assignment before you leave. I do expect everyone to arrive on time.

Office Hours

Office hours are by appointment. I am also available via email. - Please use a meaningful subject name, such as "CS300 question from [username]". Otherwise I might delete it along with the 60 junk mails I receive. - Questions are always welcome. I will try to be prompt with my response to your questions.