Getting set up and submitting assigned work

Getting set up for this class

Since you've had the pre-requisites, we will assume you know how to compile and execute Java programs at the command-line.

If this is not the case, you will need to do that IMMEDIATELY because nothing will work in the class without that. Generally, the steps involved are:

Mac or Linux:
- Open a terminal window.
- In the terminal window, make sure you have Java installed by typing:
```
 
  javac --version
```
  and hit return. You should see something like:
  In your case, the version number may be different. That's fine, as long as it's 6.0 or higher. (You'll need to re-install the JDK if it's a lower version.)
- Make a directory for this course and enter that directory:
```
 
  cd
  cd Desktop
  mkdir contalg
  cd contalg
```
  This creates a subdirectory from the Desktop, as an example.
- From your browser (where you are reading this), download HelloWorld.java and save to the new contalg directory.
- Compile and execute in the terminal:
```
 
   javac HelloWorld.java
   java HelloWorld
```
- You should see something like:
  (We did this in the Desktop above, you can do this in any directory, such as the contalg directory).
- Spend a little time learning basic commandline Unix on your own. Find a tutorial and learn how to use the following commands
Windows: with Windows, you have three options:
1. (Recommended) Gitbash: Get Unix to work inside Windows using Gitbash.
2. Install a complete Linux OS in a virtual machine like VirtualBox. Then, do all your work for this course inside that virtual machine (using Linux). This is have the effect of a "computer inside a computer" in some sense. For this purpose, do a search on something like "How to install Ubuntu inside VirtualBox on Windows".
3. Use the remote-Unix facility provided by GW. This gives you a Unix shell account accessible from a browser. See these instructions. You will also need to install the GW VPN client if you use this option from off-campus.
Note: We are not going to be able to help you with the above. Since you've had several CS courses already, you should be able to make one of the above options work for you.

Editing and compiling:

Please DO NOT plan on using an IDE. We will have various jar files that you'll need to use; these are challenging to integrate into an IDE. In any case, it's a good idea to practice using the command-line.
For an editor, consider learning a simple text editor such as emacs, vim, notepad++, sublime, atom, and the like.

Getting your directory structure set up:

You already created the contalg directory under your desktop above.
Under this, create one directory per module. That is, contalg/module1, contalg/module2, etc.
Similarly, under contalg create one for each assignment as and when you need to. For example, for Assignment 1, you will have contalg/assignment1,
You will end up creating a zip of these sub-folders for submission.

Categories of work

In-class (module) exercises:

As you will see, each module will feature small exercises. Some of these involve writing code. Others will require a text answer or a graph.
For exercises that require code, it will be obvious what to call your program because, most often, we will provide the templates. All of this code needs to be in the module folder. For example, all your code for module1 needs to be in the contalg/module1 folder, which will end up in the module1.zip that you will upload to Blackboard.
For all others, you will need to submit a single PDF for each module. For example, in your module1 your written work should be in module1/module1.pdf
Simply include this PDF in the same module. Most often, students type up their answers in Word and convert to PDF. But you can use any editor.
NOTE: Sometimes, the module exercises will feel like busy work. Yet it's important that you do them conscientiously because such repetition and practice is crucial to long-term retention of key concepts.

Assignments:

These are slightly longer, some over a two-week period. Most of these involve programming.
Although you are assigned to teams, you will submit your own work. The teams are only to discuss. See the no-hands policy regarding teamwork vs. individual work.

Team project:

This will focus on learning some aspect of continuous math not directly covered in the course.
What you will do is identify a topic, develop code to explore the topic, and write up the results. We will explain more about this later.

Grading

The approximate grade breakdown is:

2600 points for module exercises.
3000 points for Assignments 1-5 (600 points each).
1500 points for the team project.

Note:

The above distribution is preliminary and subject to change if needed.
The TA simply cannot grade all module exercises, nor will there be much feedback on them. Instead, a random subset will be selected for grading. Since you won't know which random subset (which will be decided after submission), it is in your interest to do all of them.

Submitting work

You will upload a zip file for each assigned module or assignment, or other type of work. For example:

When it's time to submit the module exercises for Module 1, upload module1.zip into the appropriate place in Blackboard.
When it's time to submit Assignment 1, for example, upload assignment1.zip to Blackboard.