Late Submission

Late submission of assignments will not be accepted, except in the event of unavoidable disruption.

If you experience unavoidable disruption, and wish to apply for late submission, please submit a Disruption to Studies notification with appropriate evidence. 

CLASSES

Each week you should attend

• three hours of lectures and
• a one and a half hour mixed workshop class, consisting of a one hour tutorial followed by 30 minutes of independent practical activities, in which your tutor is available for consultation, in the same lab.

For details of days, times and rooms consult the timetables webpage.

Note that Workshops commence in week 1.

You should have selected a workshop during enrolment. You should attend the workshop you are enrolled in. If you do not have a class, or if you wish to change one, you should see the enrolment operators in the E7B courtyard during the first two weeks of the semester. Thereafter you should go to the Science and Engineering Student Services Centre.

Please note that you are required to submit work regularly. You will get the help that you need by attending your workshop. Failure to submit work may result in you failing the unit (see the precise requirements in the "Grading Standards" section) or being excluded from the final examination.

HELP101

A help desk where tutors are available for consultation on 100-level units. 

REQUIRED AND RECOMMENDED TEXTS AND/OR MATERIALS

Textbook

The first book in the following list, namely Savitch, is the required text book for COMP125. The other books listed are helpful references.

• W. Savitch, Absolute Java (Pearson) 5th edition. ISBN 9780132830317 (covers basic Java programming and data structures, ideal for COMP125 and may be useful beyond COMP125, as well. We will follow this book as much as we can.)
• B. Eckel, Thinking in Java (electronic book, 3rd edition available within iLearn is fine and is free but does not cover data structures)
• A. Drozdek, Data Structures and Algorithms in Java (Cengage) 2nd edition. ISBN 9780534492526 (this book will also be used in COMP225)
• D. Carlson, Eclipse Distilled (Addison-Wesley) 1st edition. ISBN 9780321288158 (extensive coverage of the software development platform eclipse)

TECHNOLOGY USED AND REQUIRED

Audio Lecture

Digital recordings of lectures are available from within iLearn via Echo360.

Technology

• Eclipse - download Eclipse IDE for Java Developers
• Java SE JDK - download Java SE 7 to be compatible with the labs
• Note that you need the Java JDK 7 which includes the compiler tools. Make sure that you also the Java Runtime Environment JRE 7 to allow you to run Java applications.
• Learning Management System iLearn
• iQ system for the diagnostic task 

Discussion Boards

The unit makes use of forums hosted within iLearn. Please post questions there, they are monitored by the unit staff.

The twelve weekly topics will be grouped into four 3-week groupings:

1. Introductory programming with numbers, strings and arrays, comprising weeks 1-3.
2. Programmer defined objects and object arrays, comprising weeks 4-6.
3. Indexed lists (ArrayLists) and recursion, comprising weeks 7-9.
4. Linked lists etc., comprising weeks 10-12.

The first, second and third topic groupings will each have an in-lecture-class test and an assignment, as detailed under `Assessment Tasks'. The compulsory final examination will cover all topic groupings (for details see `Assessment Tasks').

Note that three important themes will pervade the entire unit:

1. Problem solving. A crucial skill for all of the weekly topics will be to write appropriate code to meet a given problem specification. This theme relates to the first two learning outcomes for this unit.
2. Software development. Use of the Java JUnit testing framework is an important development practice which will be taught from the beginning, and used throughout the unit. This theme relates to the third learning outcome of this unit.
3. Comparing different solution methods. Very often different algorithms are available for the same problem. Another important skill to develop throughout this unit is the ability to compare different algorithms in terms of efficiency and other criteria. This theme relates to the fourth learning outcome of this unit.

We will (again) pay attention to the transition from COMP115 and Processing to the use of Java and Eclipse in COMP125. This semester (similar to S1) COMP125 will be weakly modularized into four 3-week topic groupings. There will be three in-class tests. Test 1 will cover the first topic grouping (weeks 1-3), Test 2 will cover the second topic grouping (weeks 4-6), and Test 3 will cover the third topic grouping (weeks 7-9). We will retain a compulsory three hour final examination which will cover all four topic groupings (that is, weeks 1-12). Week 13 will be devoted to preparation for the final exam. This will include attempting a 1.5 hour trial exam during workshop classes. Sample solutions will be available for self-assessment. Our hope is that these modifications will give students more practice with test taking across most topics in the unit, and hence will help them to be better prepared for their final examination.

Three standards, namely Developing, Functional, and Proficient, summarize as many different levels of achievement. Each standard is precisely defined to help students know what kind of performance is expected to deserve a certain mark. The standards corresponding to the learning outcomes of this unit are given below:

At the end of the semester, you will receive a grade that reflects your achievement in the unit.

• Fail (F): does not provide evidence of attainment of all learning outcomes. There is missing or partial or superficial or faulty understanding and application of the fundamental concepts in the field of study; and incomplete, confusing or lacking communication of ideas in ways that give little attention to the conventions of the discipline.
• Pass (P): provides sufficient evidence of the achievement of learning outcomes. There is demonstration of understanding and application of fundamental concepts of the field of study; and communication of information and ideas adequately in terms of the conventions of the discipline. The learning attainment is considered satisfactory or adequate or competent or capable in relation to the specified outcomes.
• Credit (Cr): provides evidence of learning that goes beyond replication of content knowledge or skills relevant to the learning outcomes. There is demonstration of substantial understanding of fundamental concepts in the field of study and the ability to apply these concepts in a variety of contexts; plus communication of ideas fluently and clearly in terms of the conventions of the discipline.
• Distinction (D): provides evidence of integration and evaluation of critical ideas, principles and theories, distinctive insight and ability in applying relevant skills and concepts in relation to learning outcomes. There is demonstration of frequent originality in defining and analysing issues or problems and providing solutions; and the use of means of communication appropriate to the discipline and the audience.
• High Distinction (HD): provides consistent evidence of deep and critical understanding in relation to the learning outcomes. There is substantial originality and insight in identifying, generating and communicating competing arguments, perspectives or problem solving approaches; critical evaluation of problems, their solutions and their implications; creativity in application.

In this unit, your final grade depends on your performance for each component of the assessment. Indeed, for each task, you receive a mark that captures your standard of performance regarding each learning outcome assessed by this task. Then the different component marks are added up to determine your total mark out of 100. Your grade then depends on this total mark and your overall standard of performance.

Concretely, you will pass the unit, if

• your total mark is at least 50 out of 100; and
• you pass the final examination.

In order to obtain a higher grade than a Pass, you must fulfill the conditions for a Pass and have a total mark of at least

• 85 for High Distinction;
• 75 for Distinction;
• 65 for Credit.