Course Information for CSCI 473/680

Spring, 2018

.NET Programming

Course Description

This is an introduction to building Windows console applications and form applications using the Microsoft .NET development platform. We shall use the C# language and the Visual Studio IDE. There are many topics in .NET, and we should be able to cover some of them.

PRQ: CSCI 340 or consent of department.

Credits: 3

Course Organization

We have a web site for the course. The URL for the main page is: http://faculty.cs.niu.edu/~hutchins/csci480/main.htm

We also have a Blackboard site for the course. You can reach it through this URL: https://webcourses.niu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp

Most information for the course will be on the web site and duplicated on the Blackboard site. You can find the grades on the assignments on Blackboard.

Textbook

Visual C# 2012 How to Program by Deitel and Deitel, from Prentice Hall Publishing

You may also want to look at C# by Josh Thompsons.

You may need to read about various topics on line. In particular, you may find the MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) pages useful. You may also find answers at stackoverflow.com and other such question-and-answer sites.

Computing Resources

We will have access to Visual Studio 2017 through Citrix Receiver, which is already installed in the computer labs. If you want a copy of your own:

• In a browser, search for "Citrix Receiver".
• Download the appropriate version for your operating system.
• Install it. This make take some time. At some point, you will be asked for the Server Address. Put in "Anywhereapps.niu.edu/Pnagent/config.xml" (without the quotation marks).

To use it you will need to do the following:

• Start Citrix Receiver.
• You will be asked for Domain\User. Put in "niunt\NIUAccountID" (without the quotation marks), where "NIUAccountID" is your Z-number or A-number. For example: niunt\Z1234567.
• You will next need to put in your NIU password.
• You should see a list of applications available to you. If Visual Studio 2017 is not there, click on the '+' at the left side. You will find a list of applications. Pick Visual Studio 2017.

The projects you create will be in a directory on a network drive (usually H:). You may want to keep backup copies on a USB drive.

You may want to obtain your own copy of Visual Studio and work on your own machine. Make sure they work correctly on Visual Studio 2017 on anywhereapps.

Assignments

We will have 5 or 6 assignments. Assignments are submitted as follows: You will create a ZIP file containing the folder containing your solution and attach the ZIP file on Blackboard. The assignments are graded by the TAs, who will copy the ZIP file somewhere and examine it in Visual Studio 2017.

There will be a penalty for late homework of 10% per day (or portion of a day) for late assignments. If an assignment is more than 5 days late, there is no guarantee that it will be graded at all, and the penalty will be 50%.

You will work on these assignments in groups of 1 or 2. You may choose your own groups. If you wish to form a group, one member of the group should send an E-mail request to the TAs, stating this and listing the group members. Send a CC to all the group members. Get a confirmation from the TAs. Please do this by the end of the second week of class. If you are not a member of a group by then, you may be assigned to one at random by the instructor, or we may just assume your are working alone. Once we have the groups, no changes may be made without the instructor's permission.

All group members will receive the same grade for an assignment. Each team member is expected to understand the entire project. (There are likely to be test questions related to what was on the assignments.)

This is not a beginning course. We expect program code that is well-written and well-documented. You need to document:

• the program itself (what it does, the names of the authors, the date
• each class used (how it fits in)
• each method (what it does, what arguments it takes)
• comments about anything exotic or obscure
• self-documenting variable names

Each graduate student (CSCI 680) will be asked to do a presentation on some topic related to the course, probably during the last week or two of the semester. We will discuss topics later on.

Tests and Quizzes

We will have three tests, equally weighted. The dates for the tests will be announced well in advance.

We will have some quizzes as well. (Last semester there were 5 of them.)

There will not be any makeup quizzes, and a makeup test will be given only if there is a well-documented reason for it.

If a student has three final exams on one day, the student may request an alternate time for his/her exam in the highest-numbered of the three courses. If this is your situation, please notify the instructor as early as you can.

Final Grade

The course grade will be calculated as 30% for assignments, 20% for each of the three tests and 10% for quizzes. The scale will probably be very close to the following:

     90-100%:  A
     80--89%:  B
     70--79%:  C
     60--69%:  D

You need to get a passing grade on both parts of the course (on homework and on tests and quizzes) to pass the course as a whole.

Accomodations

Some students, for any of a number of reasons, may need some kind of accomodation (alternate exam conditions, note-taking assistance, sign-language interpretation, etc.). If you need an accommodation for this class, please contact the Disability Resource Center as soon as possible. The DRC coordinates accommodations for students with disabilities. It is located on the 4th floor of the Health Services Building, and can be reached at 815-753-1303 (voice) or drc@niu.edu (e-mail). Also, please contact the instructor privately as soon as possible so we can discuss the matter. The sooner you let us know your needs, the sooner we can assist you.

If you have special needs such as required military service, major illness or religious observations, please talk with the instructor as soon as you can. Bear in mind that simply being busy does not constitute a special need.

Attendance Policy

You are responsible for everything said and handed out in class, including any modification of assignments or course requirements. If you miss a class, be sure to get notes from one or more classmates, and see your instructor for any handouts you may have missed. There will be no private repeat performances of lectures from your instructor. Reasonable questions, of course, will be answered.

Academic Misconduct

You are to do your own work in this course. Cheating in any form will not be tolerated. Any student caught cheating on homework will (at the minimum) receive a grade of 0 on the assignment in question and may be subject to university disciplinary action. Both "loaning" material to and "borrowing" material from a fellow student are considered cheating. Some discussion of assignments and mutual assistance normally are acceptable, but the discussion or assistance should not be so detailed and extensive that it begins to resemble collaboration. If you feel even the slightest possibility that what you are doing might be considered cheating, do not do it! Any assistance needed should be sought from the teaching assistant or the instructor.

You should realize that the test questions are to some extent based on what was in the homework. If you cannot do the homework assignments for yourself, you probably will not do well on the tests either.

The penalty for academic misconduct is at least a score of zero on the homework assignment or exam. There is also the chance of other penalties as determined by the University Judicial Office.

The Department of Computer Science has recently adopted a strict set of rules for conducting exams. There is a document about this on the web site. Please read it and pay attention to it.