CS 341
Automata Theory
Elaine Rich
Spring, 2013
Classes:
|
|
Unique |
Time |
Room |
Final Exam
Time |
Final Exam Location |
|
|
53455 |
T,TH11:00-12:15 |
WAG 201 |
Friday, May
10, 9:00-12:00 |
Textbook:
I have
written a text book for this class.
It is: Automata, Computability and
Complexity: Theory and Applications, Prentice-Hall, 2008. It should be available at the Coop or
online from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
One option is to purchase the electronic version of the book. But you’ll notice (below) that all
the exams in this class are open book.
Obviously computers aren’t allowed during the exam. So, if you decide to buy the ebook, make sure that you have a way to borrow a hardcopy
for the three exams.
There is a website that goes
along with the book. It is
organized into pages that correspond to the chapters of the book. On those pages, you will find links to many other useful sites.
If you would like another
book as a supplementary text, I recommend Introduction to the Theory of
Computation, Michael Sipser. Brooks/Cole,
1996.
Staff
|
|
|
|
Office |
Office
Hours |
|
|
Elaine
Rich
|
GDC
5.810 |
W 10:00 -
noon |
|
|
|
Mayank Kejriwal |
|
By
appointment |
|
|
|
Riley Lynch |
|
By
appointment |
Prerequisites
To do well in
this class, you need to know some logic and have some experience proving things. You need some background in the design
and analysis of algorithms, including simple ones involving graphs. And you need at least a couple of
semesters of programming experience.
Here are the official prerequisites: The following coursework with a
grade of at least C-: CS 311 or 311H or 313K or 313H, 314 or 314H or 315
or 315H, 310 or 310H or 429 or 429H, 331 or 331H or 357 or 357H; and Math 408C,
408K, or 408N. If you think you
have the background but not the prerequisites, come talk to me.
Regular study sessions led
by your proctor, TAs and the ACM
On MONDAY evenings, there
will be somewhat organized study sessions.
They’ll be from 6:00 to 8:00 in GDC 6.302. These sessions will be run by students
who have taken CS 341 in the past and actually liked it. If you're having any
difficulty at all working on the problems on your own, make sure to come to
these sessions. Also, you can come to find a guaranteed study group.
Grading
I think we all wish that we
could have courses without grades. You hate worrying about grades. I hate
having to assign grades. But grades are essential to insuring that your degree
has the value it deserves. So we have to have a grading system and that system
has to have three essential properties:
For this class, I will assign
grades using the following formula:
If you believe that we have
made a mistake in grading any of your work, you have a week from the time it
was returned to submit to us a written description of the problem. After that
week, no grading issues will be revisited.
Exams
There will be
two midterm exams and a final. All exams are open book, meaning you may bring
the textbook (or one other book) to the exam. But you may not bring other
things (e.g., homework answers, old exams). Obviously computers aren’t allowed
during the exam. So,
if you decide to buy the ebook, make sure that you
have a way to borrow a hardcopy for the three exams.
The two midterm exams will be
given on TUESDAY EVENINGS. Students
with a conflict at this time should inform the instructor at least two weeks
before the exam. Arrangements for a makeup the following Wednesday morning will
be made. The exam schedule is as follows:
|
|
Date |
Time |
Room
|
|
Midterm
1 |
Tuesday,
Feb. 26 |
7:00 - 9:00
pm |
GAR
0.102 |
|
Midterm 2 |
Tuesday,
April 2 |
7:00 - 9:00
pm |
GAR
0.102 |
|
Final |
Friday, May
10 |
9:00 -
noon |
TBD |
Homeworks
The only way to learn the
material in this class is to practice. It's like learning to play the piano.
You can't learn much just by watching someone else. You actually have to do it
yourself. You should plan to spend at least five hours every week working
problems.
Most weeks there will be a
homework assignment that you will be asked to turn in. The homework assignments will be posted
on the class website. Homeworks are due in class on the date specified. I will bring homework answers to class
and hand them out then. Extra copies of homework answers, plus graded homeworks not picked up in class, will be available in a
place to be determined. Homeworks will not be accepted once the answers have been distributed. If
you cannot make it to class, you may submit your homework early, either at an
earlier class or to me in my office.
Electronic submissions are a problem for several reasons. Therefore we have established the
following policy for them: Everyone gets one free electronic submission. We will only accept additional
electronic submissions in cases of emergency. Note that out of town job interviews and
things of that sort are not emergencies.
In those cases, plan ahead.
Most (probably all) of the
homework assignments will contain some problems marked with an asterisk. Those problems are optional. They won’t be graded. We provide them so that you can get
additional practice. Solutions to
them will be included with the other homework solutions.
See the class
policy on academic integrity for the rules on working with other people on
homework assignments. The rules described there will be strictly enforced. If you copy answers from anyone (and
this includes copying my answers as handed out in previous semesters), you will
fail the class.
Class Attendance and
Quizzes
Most of the material that
will be covered in class is in the book. However, we will use the class time to
clarify issues and to work additional problems. It is important that you come.
To encourage class
attendance, there will be take-home quizzes handed out during class. There will
be about 10 of them during the semester. To get a copy of the quiz, you must be
in class. None will be handed out later, nor will they be available on the web.
You may not make copies of the quiz; only originals will be accepted. Quizzes
must be handed in at the class following the one at which they were handed out.
Each student must hand in his or her own quiz. No make ups will be allowed. We
will drop one quiz score so you can miss one without any penalty.
Piazza
Piazza
is a free online gathering place where students can ask, answer, and explore
24/7. Read more at www.piazza.com. We will use Piazza for important
class announcements. In addition,
you can use it to post questions and get answers both from other students and
from the instructors. Once
registration has settled down, we will enroll everyone in the class Piazza
forum.
Students with Disabilities
Any student with a documented
disability (physical or cognitive) who requires academic accommodations should
contact the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students
with Disabilities at 471-6259 (voice) or 471-4641 (TTY for users who are deaf
or hard of hearing) or http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/
as soon as possible to request an official letter outlining authorized
accommodations.
Academic Integrity
You should read carefully the
class policy on academic integrity. Cheating of any
form will not be tolerated and will result in a failing grade in the class.
Religious Holidays
By UT
Austin policy, you must notify me of your pending absence at least fourteen
days prior to the date of observance of a religious holy day. If you must miss
a class, an examination, or an assignment in order to observe a religious holy
day, you will be given an opportunity to complete the missed work within a
reasonable time after the absence.
Additional Class Policies
You should read CS Department Code of
Conduct. The policies described there will be followed in this class.