Objectives: An introduction to mobile computing with a strong emphasis on application development for the Android operating system. Students will complete a major project with the goal of releasing an app on the Android Market place. Topics will include Android Development Environment, user interfaces, audio, persistence, SQLite databases, location, sensors, and graphics.

Prerequisites: Upper Division CS Standing, Suggested: completion or co-enrollment in CS439.

Lecture: 53110, MWF 2 - 3 pm, PAI 3.14
Lab Times: Some Friday class times are dedicated to lab time for work on tutorials and projects.  PAI 5.38 teaching lab (I will be available in the lab noon - 4 pm on Fridays.)

Instructor: Mike Scott, <scottm@cs.utexas.edu> Painter Hall 5.68,
Office Hours: MW 3 - 4:30  pm Painter Microlab (5th floor lab), Fridays 12 - 4 pm,  and by appointment. Email me for an appointment.

Teaching Assistant: Nathan Clement , ,  Lab hours: Monday 10 am - 12 noon, Thursday 1 - 4 pm

Textbook (Required):

• Android Wireless Application Development Volume I: Android Essentials (3rd Edition), Lauren Darcey and Shane Conder, ISBN-13: 978-0321813831

• Android Wireless Application Development Volume II: Advanced Topics (3rd Edition), Lauren Darcey and Shane Conder, ISBN-13: 978-0321813848

Recommended Books: (at most one of these)

• Android for Programmers: An App-Driven Approach, Paul Deitel, Harvey Deitel, Abbey Deitel, and Michael Morgano, ISBN-13: 978-0132121361

• The Android Developer's Cookbook: Building Applications with the Android SDK: Building Applications with the Android SDK, James Steele and Nelson To, ISBN-13: 978-0321741233

Website: http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~scottm/cs378. Course materials and announcements are available there.

Computing Facilities:

• Painter Hall Microcomputer Lab. PCs are available for assignments in the CS Department microcomputer lab located  in  Painter Hall, room 5.38. There are also public machines available in ENS rooms 1 and 2. You are free to work on your own computer if you wish.

Android Device: You are NOT required to have an Android Device. Development can be done on the Android Emulator. However there is no substitute for testing on a real device. There will be multiple Android dev phones and tablets available for checkout during lab hours. Phones must be returned to the instructor by the end of the day.

Software: Application development will use Java. The Microlab computers in Painter are set up to do Android programming. If you want to work on your own machine you will need the following. (all of these are freely available)

• Java. I recommend version 7.
• Eclipse, I recommend Eclipse Classic 3.7 or later.
• Android SDK. I recommend downloading APIs levels 10 through the latest (16 as of Fall 2012). Link to instructions on installing the Android SDK.
• And then the ADT plugin for Eclipse.

Class Discussion Tool: I have set up a discussion group for the class on Piazza.

• Go to the Piazza web site and join the CS378 Mobile Computing for The University of Texas at Austin.
• I will post class announcements and information to the discussion group.
• Post your questions about the class to the discussion group. Do not post solutions or chunks of code > 3 lines on Piazza.

Schedule: A schedule of lecture topics, reading assignments, and assignment distribution and due dates is available online, via the class web page, www.cs.utexas.edu/~scottm/cs/schedule.htm.  The schedule lists topics and readings. The schedule is subject to change.

• The final letter grades will be assigned based on your total points. The grading systems consists of 1000 points. The grade cutoffs are: <600 = F, 600 - 699 = D, 700 - 799 = C, 800 - 899 = B, >= 900 = A. Plusses and minuses (+ and -) will be assigned to scores within 25 points of the cut offs. So for example total points 875 to 899 earn a B+ and total points 900 to 924 earn an A-.
• Assignments will be available on the class web site or Blackboard.
• If you are dissatisfied with a grade you receive on an assignment or test, you must submit your complaint via email, along with supporting evidence or arguments, to me or the TA within one week of the date the teaching staff first attempted to return the assignment or test to you.
• Late work or work in the wrong format is not accepted and will receive a grade of 0.

Academic Honesty: Taken from the CS department Code of Conduct.

"The University and the Department are committed to preserving the reputation of your degree. It means a lot to you. In order to guarantee that every degree means what it says it means, we must enforce a strict policy that guarantees that the work that you turn in is your own and that the grades you receive measure your personal achievements in your classes:

Every piece of work that you turn in with your name on it must be yours and yours alone unless explicitly allowed by an instructor in a particular class. Specifically, unless otherwise authorized by an instructor:

• Students may not discuss their work with anyone except the instructor and other members of the instructional staff (instructor, TA, lab proctor or partner on a pair assignment).
• Students may not acquire from any source (e.g., another student or an internet site) a partial or complete solution to a problem or project that has been assigned.

You are responsible for complying with this policy in two ways:

1. You must not turn in work that is not yours, except as expressly permitted by the instructor of each course.
2. You must not enable someone else to turn in work that is not theirs. Do not share your work with anyone else. Make sure that you adequately protect all your files. Even after you have finished a class, do not share your work or published answers with the students who come after you. They need to do their work on their own.

The penalty for academic dishonesty will be a course grade of F and a referral of the case to the Dean of Students. Further penalties, including suspension or expulsion from the university may be imposed by that office.

One final word: This policy is not intended to discourage students from learning from each other, nor is it unmindful of the fact that most significant work in computer science and in the computing industry is done by teams of people working together. But, because of our need to assign individual grades, we are forced to impose an otherwise artificial requirement for individual work. In some classes, it is possible to allow and even encourage collaboration in ways that do not interfere with the instructor's ability to assign grades. In these cases, your instructor will make clear to you exactly what kinds of collaboration are allowed for that class."

For CS378 I expect you to complete the tutorials on your using the provided code when given. For your projects I expect you to do significant work on your own. You can use class examples and examples from the web, but these must be documented. To be clear, a significant amount of work on your project must be your own.

For more information on Scholastic Dishonesty see the University Policy on Scholastic Dishonesty
 

Important Dates for Changing Academic Status and Dropping the Course: Refer to the Registrar's academic calendar for the deadlines for changes in academic status. Highlights are:

• Tuesday, September 4: Last day of the official add/drop period; after this date, changes in registration require the approval of the department chair and usually the student’s dean.
• Friday, September 14: (12th class day) Last day to drop for a possible refund. Last day to add a course.
• Tuesday, November 6: Last day an undergraduate student may, with the dean’s approval, withdraw from the University or drop a class (Q drop) except for urgent and substantiated, nonacademic reasons. Last day a student may change registration in a class to or from the pass/fail or credit/no credit basis. In practice I always grant approval for "Q drops" up to this date as long as their are no issues with academic integrity.
• After Tuesday, November 6, students must go to the academic advisors in their college Dean's office. To be eligible for an incomplete (UT uses the symbol X to indicate incompletes) you must have a letter grade of C- or better and a written, verifiable excuse for missing the last test. This is a necessary but insufficient condition for receiving an incomplete.

Students experiencing significant nonacademic problems (extended health problems or family emergencies) should contact the CNS Dean’s Office (WCH 1.106, (512) 471-4536) or the Dean of Student’s Office (http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/emergencyresources.php) for assistance.

See the College of Natural Science Guidelines and Procedures page for more information. (http://cns.utexas.edu/academics/advising-and-resources/guidelines-and-procedures)

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, a work assignment, or a project 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.

Students with Disabilities: students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with Disabilities, 471-6259, www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/
 

Many thanks to Professor Frank McCown of Harding University and Professor David Janzen of Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo for sharing their materials with me.