Description (From the current Undergraduate Catalog)
465. ENTERPRISE APPLICATION ENVIRONMENTS (4). File organization, job control language, file access methods and utilities. Security. High throughput data-intensive applications. Extensive laboratory work. PRQ: CSCI 360 or consent of department.
Course Web Site
The World Wide Web site for this course can be found at the URL "http://www.cs.niu.edu/~t90hch1/CSCI465/main.htm".
You should check the web site regularly.
On the web site you will find assignments, due dates, other announcements, links to manuals, several worksheets and some extra notes.
Required Materials
Recommended Texts
You may also need to consult IBM manuals. You can find the manuals on the World Wide Web by consulting the course Web site. Please look at the list and try to grasp which material is in each manual.
Course Requirements
There will be approximately 8 assignments (some 50 points and some 100), plus several optional extra-credit assignments.
There will be a midterm exam and a final exam. We will probably also have quizzes.
Grading Standards
Final grades will be determined as follows:
Final Average = (Homework Average * 0.4) + (Exam Average * 0.6)
The department's recommended letter grade scale is an 8-point scale starting at 92, so that 92-100 is an A, 84-91 is a B, etc. The scale used at the end of this class will be similar but may not be exactly the same.
You must achieve a passing grade on both the program average and the exam average in order to pass this course.
Programming Assignments
For a programming assignment to earn credit, it must meet two separate deadlines. First, it must be run no later than the date and time specified by the instructor; and second, it must be handed in by the date and time specified by the instructor. In most cases, these will be the same deadline. The programming assignments are not optional! You must complete them.
We will use the following policy about late homework: A late assignment will be assessed 10% of its value for each day beyond the run-time deadline. Thus an assignment 1 full day late will lose 10% and an assignment 2 days late will lose 20%. (Saturday and Sunday together will count as only 1 day, so if something is due Friday but has a Monday run-time, it will be counted as 2 days late rather than 3.) The instructor may reduce the penalty depending on circumstances. (Don't take this for granted.)
It is worth noticing that a 100-point assignment is worth a little more than 5% of the course grade. It is a bad idea to skip an assignment. It is quite possible to do badly in the course by skipping homework.
There will be no extensions of any kind on programs that are due the last week of class.
On the front of each assignment you must write the following information:
Backup Copies
Print a second final copy of each program (with the same date) for your records. If the instructor is missing a grade for you, you must be able to prove that your program was done on time.
Attendance Policy
Each student is responsible for everything said or handed out in class. We cover a number of different topics, so if you miss one class, you may have missed a lot! If you miss a lecture, do not expect the instructor to give you a private make up lecture. Be sure to get the class notes from one of your classmates. See the instructor for any handouts you may have missed.
Help
Teaching assistants and instructors are available during scheduled office hours to help you. You should bring a current printed copy of your executed program. It is not usually practical to debug a program via E-mail.
These programs are time consuming, and we will not have a great deal of time for any of them. Start early! Allow for computer down time when scheduling your work. Bear in mind that you will need to have your jobs printed in the computer labs on campus.
Program Grading Guidelines
The following guidelines will usually apply when grading assignments:
Program Output.........................50%
Program Coding Technique...............25%
Program Documentation..................25%
Each programming assignment must be well documented. On one or two of the assignments, there is little to grade except documentation. Any programming assignment handed in with no documentation, or with an assembly or compilation error may receive a grade as low as zero.
Any program that does not show, in the instructor's opinion, a reasonable attempt at completing the assignment may receive a grade of zero.
If you have any questions regarding a program grade, see your TA first. The instructor will make the final decision on any grade disputes.
Cheating
Don't do it! Cheating in any form will not be tolerated. The punishment for any student caught cheating on a program, homework assignment or exam may be at least a grade of 0 on that assignment or exam and may be a course grade of F. The University requires your instructor to report all cheating to the Judicial Office.
Although you may discuss course topics with other class members, remember that your assignment must reflect your own work. Both "loaning" material to and "borrowing" material from a fellow student are considered cheating. Some discussion of assignments and mutual assistance is normally acceptable, but the discussion or assistance should not become so detailed and extensive that it begins to resemble collaboration; it should be limited to isolated details and problems.
At this point in your career, you should not often require assistance from someone other than your TA or instructor. If you find that you often need assistance, discuss this with your instructor.