Students

COMP2000 – Object-Oriented Programming Practices

2025 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Lecturer and Unit Convenor
Matthew Roberts
matthew.roberts@mq.edu.au
Lecturer
Damian Jurd
damian.jurd@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
COMP1010
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Object-oriented programming is a key technology for modern computing. This unit bridges the gap between introductory programming and larger multi-person projects by considering the use of object-oriented techniques to produce intermediate sized software. Practical exercises emphasise the importance of programming practices such as appropriate documentation, systematic approaches to debugging and testing, and the use of software development tools. The unit is taught using Java.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: explain the key concepts of object oriented programming, and program proficiently in an OO programming language
  • ULO2: apply the concepts underlying software design and a working knowledge of a selection of well known design patterns
  • ULO3: demonstrate good programming practices such as testing, debugging, documentation, version control, programming tools and interactive development environments
  • ULO4: apply key object oriented concepts and libraries to design and develop applications of significant complexity
  • ULO5: apply key concepts of concurrency theoretically and in working code

General Assessment Information

Release

Specifications for the assignments will be released no later than

  • Assignment 1 - 1st September.
  • Assignment 2 - 17th October.

Requirements to Pass this Unit

To pass this unit you must achieve a total mark equal to or greater than 50%. There are no hurdle requirements for the unit.

LATE ASSESSMENT SUBMISSION PENALTY

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark of the task) will be applied for each day a written report or presentation assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. The submission time for all uploaded assessments is 11:55 pm. A 1-hour grace period will be provided to students who experience a technical concern. For any late submission of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, please apply for Special Consideration. For example, if the assignment is worth 8 marks (of the entire unit) and your submission is late by 19 hours (or 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds), 0.4 marks (5% of 8 marks) will be deducted. If your submission is late by 24 hours (or 47 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds), 0.8 marks (10% of 8 marks) will be deducted, and so on.

ASSESSMENTS WHERE LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED

  • Assignment 1: YES, Standard Late Penalty applies 
  • Assignment 2: YES, Standard Late Penalty applies 
  • Exam: NO

Special Consideration

The Special Consideration Policy aims to support students who have been impacted by short-term circumstances or events that are serious, unavoidable and significantly disruptive, and which may affect their performance in assessment.

If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete either of the assignments in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through ask.mq.edu.au.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Assignment 1 30% No 21/09/2025
Assignment 2 30% No 02/11/2025
Final Exam 40% No During the formal exam period

Assignment 1

Assessment Type 1: Programming Task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 16 hours
Due: 21/09/2025
Weighting: 30%

 

A programming task that assesses your ability to put Object Oriented Programming theory into practice

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • explain the key concepts of object oriented programming, and program proficiently in an OO programming language
  • apply the concepts underlying software design and a working knowledge of a selection of well known design patterns
  • demonstrate good programming practices such as testing, debugging, documentation, version control, programming tools and interactive development environments
  • apply key object oriented concepts and libraries to design and develop applications of significant complexity
  • apply key concepts of concurrency theoretically and in working code

Assignment 2

Assessment Type 1: Programming Task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 02/11/2025
Weighting: 30%

 

A programming task that assesses your ability to put the second half of the course material into practical use.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • explain the key concepts of object oriented programming, and program proficiently in an OO programming language
  • apply the concepts underlying software design and a working knowledge of a selection of well known design patterns
  • demonstrate good programming practices such as testing, debugging, documentation, version control, programming tools and interactive development environments
  • apply key object oriented concepts and libraries to design and develop applications of significant complexity
  • apply key concepts of concurrency theoretically and in working code

Final Exam

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 16 hours
Due: During the formal exam period
Weighting: 40%

 

An exam which tests your mastery of the material in the whole course.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • explain the key concepts of object oriented programming, and program proficiently in an OO programming language
  • apply the concepts underlying software design and a working knowledge of a selection of well known design patterns
  • demonstrate good programming practices such as testing, debugging, documentation, version control, programming tools and interactive development environments
  • apply key object oriented concepts and libraries to design and develop applications of significant complexity
  • apply key concepts of concurrency theoretically and in working code

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Week 1

COMP2000 is taught via weekly 2-hour classes.  There are no separate face-to-face lectures.

Each week you should participate in your scheduled two hour practical. For details of scheduled classes consult the timetables webpage.

Note that practical classes commence in week 1. The week-by-week details of the practical classes will be available from iLearn.

Students are expected to do significant preparatory work, readings and exercises before attending classes.

Textbook and Reading Materials

The required texts for the unit is (available online via the Macquarie University Library, see below):

  • Head First Design Patterns : building extensible and maintainable object-oriented software by Eric T Freeman, Elisabeth Robson, O'Rielly Media, 2021 (ISBN:978-1-492-07795-4) 
  • Modern Java in Action : lambda, streams, functional and reactive programming by Raoul-Gabriel Urma, Mario Fusco, Alan Mycroft, O'Rielly Media, 2019 (ISBN:978-1-638-35697-4)

Each week a set of notes, a Rapid Aptitude Test (RAT), an application exercise, and self-study material will be provided in a pdf file.  This material will include a set of activities (including the RAT) which are to be done before class.

Lecture videos covering all topics will be made available on echo360 for students to review at their convenience.

Communication Methods in COMP2000

We will communicate with you via your university email and through announcements on iLearn. Queries to convenors can either be placed on the iLearn discussion board or sent to the unit convenor via the contact email on iLearn. 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Academic Success

Academic Success provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes from Previous Offering

We value student feedback to be able to continually improve the way we offer our units. As such we encourage students to provide constructive feedback via student surveys, to the teaching staff directly, or via the FSE Student Experience & Feedback link in the iLearn page.

The unit has been modified from its previous offering due to changes in university assessment principles. This semester COMP2000 assessments will consist of two separate assignments and a final exam.

Face to face lectures have been replaced with pre-recorded lectures.

Changes since First Published

Date Description
21/07/2025 Updated textbooks to recent editions.

Unit information based on version 2025.03 of the Handbook