On Tuesday, January 20, all registered students are sent a Gradescope registration invitation to the email on record with CUNYFirst. If you did not receive the email or would like to use a different account, fill out the form on Brightspace. Include on the form that you not receive a Gradescope invitation, your preferred email, and your EmpID. We will manually generate an invitation. As a default, we use your name as it appears in Brightspace/CUNYFirst (to update CUNYFirst, see changing your personal information). If you prefer a different name for Gradescope, include it, and we will update the Gradescope registration.
See the Homework page for the list of exercises for the class.
Each week, you are expected to work through the associated Online Lab. Target dates for completing these are included. There is no deadline for completing these, but the homework, quizzes and coding reviews are based on the information in the lab.
Lab 0: Setting Up.
Target date: Monday, January 26.
Learning Objective: to set up tools for the semester and to read through the syllabus.
Lab 1: First Program & Turtles.
Target date: Wednesday, January 28.
Learning Objective: to write short programs involving output and the turtle library and submit those to the Gradescope.
Lab 2: Strings & Loops.
Target date: Wednesday, February 4.
Learning Objective: to input and manipulate strings, as well as looping through lists and strings.
Lab 3: Representing Colors & Manipulating Images.
Target date: Wednesday, February 11.
Learning Objective: to use the three different formats for colors (name, RGB & hexadecimal) and manipulate images using standard libraries.
Lab 4: Getting Input & Decisions.
Target date: Wednesday, February 25.
Learning Objective: to use decisions to manipulate images and lists (list comprehension) as well as get user input.
Lab 5: Logical Expressions & Circuits.
Target date: Wednesday, March 4.
Learning Objective: to translate between logical expressions and circuits, as well as understand binary numbers.
Lab 6: Pandas & Github.
Target date: Wednesday, March 11.
Learning Objective: to use the pandas library to read in CSV files, manipulate columns, and plot data, as well as be familiar with GitHub.
Lab 7: NYC OpenData & Functions.
Target date: Wednesday, March 18.
Learning Objective: to obtain and analyze NYC OpenData using pandas and to write stand-alone programs with functions.
Lab 8: Top Down Design & Dictionaries.
Target date: Wednesday, March 25.
Learning Objective: to write programs in a top-down design fashion and use dictionaries.
Lab 9: Spatial Maps & Code Quality.
Target date: Friday, April 10.
Learning Objective: to create spatial maps and improve debugging skills.
Lab 10: Indefinite Loops & Random Numbers.
Target date: Thursday, April 16.
Learning Objective: to use indefinite loops in programs and understand canonical Unix tools (git and vi).
Lab 11: Machine Language and Unix Pipes.
Target date: Wednesday, April 29.
Learning Objective: to write simple machine language programs (MIPS) & link shell commands using pipes.
Lab 12: Getting Started with C++.
Target date: Wednesday, May 6.
Learning Objective: to write C++ programs with I/O, variables and definite loops and list file types in Unix.
Lab 13: C++ Decisions & Indefinite Loops.
Target date: Wednesday, May 13.
Learning Objective: to write C++ programs that using decisions and while loops and use shell commands to find versions and documentation.
Each week, there will be a paper quiz on the lecture notes, reading, submitted programs, and online lab exercises.
There will also be weekly walk-throughs ("code reviews") where you explain one of the programs you wrote for homework to a teaching assistant. Code reviews are integral to software design and development: explaining your coding decisions and convincing another it works correctly leads to improvements in the design and lessens unexpected behaviors and errors.
Unless otherwise noted, all quizzes and code reviews are in-person in 1001E HN. There is up to 15% extra credit for completing the quiz and code review before the due date: 5% for 1 day early, 10% for 2 days early, and 15% for 3 or more days early.
| Week: | Start Date: | 3 Days Early: (15% Extra Credit) | 2 Days Early: (10% Extra Credit) | 1 Day Early: (5% Extra Credit) | End Date: | Quiz Topics: | Code Review Topics: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #0 | Tuesday, January 20 | None | None | None | Tuesday, February 3 | Quiz 0: On Brightspace: covers syllabus. | None |
| #1 | Monday, January 26 | Thursday, January 29 | Friday, January 30 | Monday, February 2 | Tuesday, February 3 | Quiz 1: Turtles and Loops: Focuses on turtle commands and for-loops. Use Lab 1 to study. | Code Review 1: Hello (HW 1) |
| #2 | Wednesday, February 4 | Thursday, February 5 | Friday, February 6 | Monday, February 9 | Tuesday, February 10 | Quiz 2: Looping through strings and using ASCII values; Unix commands: files & directories; see Lab 2. Quizzes include reference sheet with ASCII chart. | Code Review 2: Using Turtle Library (HW 3 & 5) |
| #3 | Wednesday, February 9 | Thursday, February 19 | Friday, February 20 | Monday, February 23 | Tuesday, February 24 | Quiz 3: Color formats, slicing, and Unix commands from Lab 2 and Lab 3. | Code Review 3: String Methods (HW 7 & 9) |
| #4 | Wednesday, February 25 | Thursday, February 26 | Friday, February 27 | Monday, March 2 | Tuesday, March 3 | Quiz 4: Inputting, decisions, & list comprehensions. See Lab 4. | Code Review 4: Definite Loops (HW 8 & 10) |
| #5 | Tuesday, February 30 | Friday, March 3 | Monday, March 6 | Tuesday, March 7 | Wednesday, March 8 | Quiz 5: Manipulating strings and lists with split() and join(); Loops & Turtles. See HW 11-15. | Code Review 5: Getting Input (HW 11 & 16) |
| #6 | Wednesday, March 11 | Thursday, March 12 | Friday, March 13 | Monday, March 16 | Tuesday, March 17 | Quiz 6: Converting between binary, decimal, and hexadecimal; Logical Circuits. See Lectures 2 & 5 and Lab 5. | Code Review 6: Images (HW 19 & 21). P19 modifies the map-making program from Lab 4, so, you can start with that program loaded in IDLE for the code review. |
| #7 | Wednesday, March 18 | Wednesday, March 18 | Thursday, March 19 | Monday, March 23 | Tuesday, March 24 | Quiz 7: Manipulating CSV files with Pandas (Lab 6) and Unix paths (Lab 4 and Lab 5). | Code Review 7: Logical Expressions & Circuits (HW 23 & 25: first draw in CircuitVerse, then give logical expression. |
| #8 | Wednesday, March 25 | Thursday, March 26 | Friday, March 27 | Monday, March 30 | Tuesday, March 31 | Quiz 8: Decisions, Python's zip (see Lab 4, Lab 5, and Lab 7). | Code Review 8: Decisions (HW 24 & 26). P24 modifies the turtle string program, so, you can start with that program loaded in IDLE for the code review. |
| #9 | Friday, April 10 | Friday, April 10 | Monday, April 13 | Tuesday, April 14 | Wednesday, April 15 | Quiz 9: Functions (Lab 7) and Regular Expressions (Wildcards) in Unix (see Lab 8). | Code Review 9: Pandas (HW 27 & 28). P27 modifies the program from Lab 6, so, you can start with that program loaded in IDLE for the code review. |
| #10 | Thursday, April 16 | Thursday, April 16 | Friday, April 17 | Monday, April 20 | Tuesday, April 21 | Quiz 10: Dictionaries (see Lab 8). | Code Review 10: Functions |
| #11 | Wednesday, April 22 | Thursday, April 23 | Friday, April 24 | Monday, April 27 | Tuesday, April 28 | Quiz 11: Spatial Data & Finding Errors (Lab 9). | Code Review 11: Dictionaries |
| #12 | Wednesday, April 29 | Thursday, April 30 | Fridayday, May 1 | Monday, May 4 | Tuesday, May 5 | Quiz 12: Indefinite Loops and Unix Scripts (see Lab 10) | Code Review 12: Pandas & Plotly |
| #13 | Wednesday, May 6 | Thursday, May 7 | Friday, May 8 | Monday, May 11 | Tuesday, May 12 | Quiz 13: Machine Language (see Human Resource Machine in Lab 11) & C++ (see Lab 12). | Code Review 13: Indefinite Loops |
| #14 | Wednesday, May 13 | Wednesday, May 13 | Thursday, May 14 | Friday, May 15 | Quiz 14: C++ (see Lab 12 and Lab 13). | Code Review 14: C++ |
The final exam is required. It is comprehensive, covering all the material of the course.
On the day of the exam, there will be two parts to fill out:
Both the seat slip and the final exam must be submitted.
The final exam has 10 questions, each worth 10 points. The best way to study is to work through the problems we have done throughout the semester. The questions are very similar to the homework, quizzes, examples from lecture, labs, and the reading.
On the last lecture, Tuesday, May 12, we will have a mock final exam. It will be similar to the actual final exam, except that the time will be shorter, since lecture is 1 and 15 minutes while the final exam is 2 hours. An answer key will be available later that afternoon.
Below are the past exams, along with answer keys. To study for the final exam, choose a past exam and work through it as if you were taking the exam but allow yourself 1 hour (instead of the 2 hours for the real exam). When done, check your answers with the answer key, adjust your note sheet for topics and key ideas that would be useful, and repeat.