CS314 Startup - Things to Do
| Exam Dates | Placed the date and time for exams 1 and 2 on your schedule. Exams 1 and 2 are given outside regular lecture hours. Exam 1 is Thursday, February 15, 6:45 - 9:15 pm and exam 2 is Thursday, March 28, 6:45 - 9:15 pm. If you have a valid academic conflict (lecture for another class, lab, or exam in another class) email Mike at scottm@cs.utexas.edu asap to set up an alternate time. |
| Ed Discussion | Verify you can access the course Question and Answer tool, Ed Discussion via Canvas. Canvas -> CS314 -> Ed Discussion. Post your questions regarding the course content and logistics to Ed Discussion. |
| Content | The class topics and content are available on the course schedule. I strongly suggest you take notes in class. I strongly suggest use a tablet OR print out the slides for the topics we cover. The slides are on the course schedule in PowerPoint and PDF format. The slides are essentially my notes on what to cover. We will also develop and test code in class. (Live Coding) You mileage may vary, but I believe the best approach is to load the slides on a tablet OR print out the slides before class and annotate them as we cover the material. I have seen students use tablets such as iPads to great effect, annotating the slides using their tablet. I also recommend you write down the code we create together in class. |
| Textbooks | Decide if you want the optional textbooks listed on the syllabus. |
| Java | Download the Java SE Development Kit. You can download Java 8 from Oracle or more recent versions from the OpenJDK project. In CS314 we shall limit ourselves to the features of Java version 8.0 |
| IDE | Pick and set up an IDE. (Interactive
Development Environment. A program that helps you write programs.) I do not
prescribe the IDE you must use in this course as you are simply turning in
.java files that must compile on the CS department lab machines. I use Eclipse, but more due to inertia than anything else. Some past students prefer IntelliJ. (Scroll down for the free community edition.) Some students will tell you "real programmers only use a text editor and the command line!" I respectfully disagree. I think IDEs offer some very valuable tools beyond a basic text editor and the command line, but it IS VITAL as a CS major to learn to interact with a computer system via the command line as you will see in CS429. |
| CS Department Account | Set up your
UTCS account.
(Note, new accounts may not be available until after classes start on
January 16) If you had a CS account last term your account should be
recreated automatically. The CS departmental machines are use the Linux OS. Here
is a simple guide to some of
the features of Linux. A list of CS machines you can log into remotely. (This may be useful if you want to test your programs under the same environment we shall test them under.) Instructions on how to connect to the CS machines remotely via SSH. More information on TA Sam's 314 page (pdf version) or the original web page. You will also have to set up SSH Keys for your local system and your CS department account. See the SSH Keys documentation for Macs and Linux or Windows 10 systems. If your Windows I strongly recommend downloading Putty and WinSCP. Then set up your SSH keys in Putty and WinSCP. If you want to see a graphical interface when interacting with your CS account on the CS machines, discover SSH X Forwarding. |
| Class Web Page | Familiarize yourself with the class web page. Especially the syllabus, the schedule, and the programming assignments guidelines. Start on assignment 1 when it is posted. |
| Background Survey | Complete the background survey on Canvas. Due by 11:01 pm on Tuesday, January 16. This is worth 10 extra credit points. |
| Syllabus Quiz | Complete the Syllabus and Course Logistics Integrity Quiz on Canvas. Due by 11:01 pm on Thursday, January 18. You may refer to the course materials (but not other students) as you take the quiz. You may take the quiz as many times as you like. |
| Academic Integrity | Complete the Academic Integrity Quiz on Canvas. Due by 11:01 pm on Tuesday, January 23. You may take the quiz as many times as you like. You may use the materials posted on the Canvas page for the quiz. You must get a perfect score on the quiz OR your score shall be set to 0. Again, you can retake the quiz until you get a perfect score. |
| OPTIONAL - Inspirational | If you have a couple hours and want to be inspired by a great computer scientist watch The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch. You may notice I have adapted many of Randy's ideas and sayings. Note, Randy's demonstration of a virtual world from his students near the end of the lecture is a little disconcerting. |
| OPTIONAL - Ideas on How to Approach Programming | So You Want to Be a Wizard (pdf) - By Julia Evans |