Overview

CMSC 132 is the second introductory level course in computer programming using the Java Programming language. CMSC132 emphasizes dynamic data-structures, advanced control structures, concurrency, files and I/O, and some preliminary treatment of computational complexity. The main topics of this course include, but are not limited to:

• Implementing a variety of data-structures using the Java language, e.g., linked-lists, binary trees, general graphs, and associative structures;
• Using lambda expressions (an introduction to functional programming constructions);
• Implementing common searching and sorting algorithms;
• Exploring asymptotic complexity of common algorithms; 
• Using Inheritance to reuse functionality;
• Using Generic types to construct mid-sized applications;
• Documenting complex applications.

Although this course uses the Java language, the concepts, structures, and methodologies presented are language-independent, and are essential to the student's understanding and use of any software development environment.

General Information

Recommended Text

No textbook is required for this class. Students who wish to have a text, however, should use

Title	Authors	ISBN
Java Foundations Introduction to Program Design and Data Structures	Lewis, J. Depasquale, P, Chase, J.	ISBN10:0-13-337046-1

Participate in Piazza

A Piazza link has been created for this class. You are invited to use Piazza as forum for posting questions about course content and participating in discussions. Do not post code on Piazza. Posting code on Piazza is a violation of the University's Academic Integrity policies and will be vigorously prosecuted.

Grades

Your grade is determined by the percentages indicated in the table below. Please note: these are approximate and may be adjusted at the end of the semester as circumstances may arise that require modification.

Item	Approximate Percentage of Grade
Projects	30%
In-Recitation Labs	20%
Midterm Exams	20%
Final Exam	30%

 

Posting Grades

Project and Lab assignments are managed and graded on the Department of Computer Science Submit Server (see details on how to use the Submit Server.) The Submit Server grades are uploaded to the Department of Computer Science Grades Server, which is found at the following location. Note that these are "raw scores," which are then transferred to the Elms Gradebook where Teaching Assistants complete the grading process by examining students' source code, etc.

The official grade recorded for each Project and Lab, therefore, is the grade that appears in the Elms Gradebook.

Midterm and Final exams are graded and recorded directly into the Elms grade book.

Attendance

Students are expected to attend all Lectures and Recitations. Although some instructional material will be available on this site, its use is intended to supplement and not to supplant classroom instruction. Students should consult this site daily as new information, such as changes in assignment delivery dates, or meeting times that may result because of weather or other circumstances, will be be published as Announcements. 

Overall course organization

The course follows the structure outlined on the Modules page. Modules will typically contain a copy of the slides and other classroom materials used during instruction, links to external sites, where appropriate, as well as downloadable instructional materials.

 

Instructor & TA Contact Information

Name	Contact (Email)	Office Hours & Location
Tom Reinhardt	tomr55@cs.umd.edu	M,W: 10am - 12pm in AV Williams Office 3239

 

Recitation Sections: Teaching Assistants & Contact Information  

Sections: Teaching Assistants, Times & Locations

Section	Teaching Assistant	Day: Time	Room (CSIC)
0501	Timothy Wang	MW: 11am-12noon	3117
0502	Gavin Watson	MW: 3-3:50pm	3117
0503	Gavin Watson	MW: 11am-12noon	2117
0504	John Murray	MW: 5-5:50pm	2117

 

Teaching Assistants: Office Hours & Locations 

Teaching Assistant	Email (contact info)	Office Hours	Room (AV Williams)
Ahmed Ghoneim	elgohary@cs.umd.edu	Wednesdays: 8am-11m Wednesdays: 1pm-2pm	1112
John Murray	johnreillymurray@gmail.com	Mondays & Wednesdays: 4pm - 5pm	1112
Timothy Wang	twang126@terpmail.umd.edu	9am - 10am: Mondays & Wednesdays	1112
Gavin Watson	gkwatson@email.wm.edu	Mondays: 1pm - 2pm Tuesdays: 11:20am - 12:20pm Wednesdays: 12:50pm - 2:50pm	1112
Tim Wood	goeagles4life5@gmail.com	Mondays: 2pm - 3pm	1112

The following table gives you the individual Teaching Assistant responsible for Grading each section of this class. You should direct questions about grades to the assigned Staff member in this table below, first.

 

Teaching Assistants responsible for Grading Section(s)

Section	Teaching Assistant responsible for Grading
0501	Tim Wood
0502	Ahmed Ghoneim
0503	Ahmed Ghoneim
0504	John Murray

Additional Tutorial Services provided by the University

In addition to your Instructional staff, the University's Academic Achievement Program (AAP) provides tutors for this course through the Academic Success and Tutorial Services (ASTS). Interested students are encouraged to visit their website or contact their offices at 301.405.4736.

In addition, the University also hosts OMSE (Office for Multi-Ethnic Student Education) tutors. You should reference their website at the following  Link to the OMSE page.

 

Policy re: absence from class

Any student who needs to be excused for an absence from a single lecture, recitation, or lab due to a medically necessitated condition shall:

• Make a reasonable attempt to inform the Instructor of his/her illness prior to the class;
• Complete an Illness Report in the CS Gradebook;
• Before returning to class, the student must complete the "report illness" option on the grades server attesting to the date of their illness.  This note is assumed to be signed when submitted due to user authorization and therefore is an acknowledgement by the student that the information provided is true and correct. Providing false information to University officials is prohibited under Part 9(i) of the Code of Student Conduct (V-1.00(B) University of Maryland Code of Student Conduct) and may result in disciplinary action.

Note: self-documented excuses may not be used for any Major Scheduled Grading Event as defined below, and it may only be used for 1 quiz or 1 in-class lab exercise during the semester (assuming that the absence is for a valid reason, such as sickness or a personal emergency). Any student needing to be excused for a prolonged absence (2 or more quizzes or Labs), or for a Major Scheduled Grading Event, must provide written documentation of the illness from the Health Center or from an outside health care provider. This documentation must verify dates of treatment and indicate the time frame that the student was unable to meet academic responsibilities. In addition, it must contain the name and phone number of the medical service provider to be used if verification is needed. No diagnostic information will ever be requested.

Major Scheduled Grading Events

The out-of-class-time projects, multiple quizzes or labs, the two midterms and the final exam comprise the major grading events for this course.  The project due dates will be posted as each project is assigned, and the exams are scheduled as follows:

Event	Date & Location	Time
Midterm 1	6 March (Monday)	During regular lecture
Midterm 2	19 April (Wednesday)	During regular lecture
Final	15 May (Monday)	4-6pm PHY1412 (Physics)

 

Procedures for making-up missed assignments

Students who miss a second quiz, a second in-class lab exercise, an exam or require an extension on a project must submit written documentation within three days of that grading event that provides valid documentation for the reason for the absence.  

Note: Projects will not be excused, but a later submission deadline can be given if sufficient documentation has been provided, such as documentation from a heath-care provider, etc.  Projects that are submitted late (within 24 hours of their posted Due Date) incur a 20% penalty. Projects will not be graded that are submitted after their Late Date. Labs, however, have NO provision for late submission. Labs not submitted by their deadlines receive 0 points.

Students are advised to submit all projects and labs before the posted deadlines to avoid late submissions penalties. Given the nature of communications and processing limitations, work submitted at a particular time on your device might not be received/processed immediately on the Submission Server.

When a quiz or lab exercise is missed with valid documentation (self-documented for one and external-documented for all others), the grade will be averaged as if that graded event did not happen.  Valid reasons for an absence include, but are not limited to

• Illness: This must be accompanied by a Physician's Note, indicating the dates of the illness; we do not require that the document indicate the specific nature of the illness.
• Personal/Family emergencies: For example, death in the immediate family, or automobile accidents. Note, automobile accidents must be supported by a Police Report filed at the time of the accident. Please discuss family illness, etc., with your Instructor.
• Religious observances.
• Computer and software-related problems do not constitute a reason for extended time on a project.

As a result of any of these situations, the assignment may be re-submitted at a later date, or, if circumstances permit, additional arrangements may be made on a case by case basis.

In any event: requests for exceptional consideration must be made in writing within one week of the delivery date. Do NOT post requests for reconsideration of Project or Exam grades later than one week of the date they were graded/returned to you.

Appeals

Students may appeal the grade on a particular item on either of the mid terms or the final exam. Student appeals must be presented in writing within 48 hours of the return of the exam in question.

Note that all exams are managed through GradeScope, which means that each student needs to register with that program (instructions for doing this are provided elsewhere). Results will be posted in Recitation on either a Monday or Wednesday. Students have two working days from that date to file their written appeals.

Instructions for registering on the Grade Scope program are provided in the Elms announcements, Piazza Forum, in regular lecture and in recitation during the first six weeks of class. You are expected to register for the Grade Scope program in order to view your results (for Midterms) and to review grader's feedback. 

Final exams will be administered on-paper, graded on GradeScope but are not published; final exams are NOT returned to students, but are property of the Department where they remain available for examination for a minimum of one semester, per University regulations.

Valid reasons for appealing an exam question include cases where the appeal can demonstrate that the student-provided solution or response to the question was correct but was incorrectly graded. Appeals based upon an opinion about the the number of points deducted for a particular item, or claims that other students' were graded differently for the same item for example, are not considered valid and will be returned unread.

Note: student appeals will result in a re-evaluation of the item in question, and, in some cases, the entire examination. As a result of this re-examination, additional points may be rewarded or deducted from the student's score.

 

DSS & Accommodations

Students who qualify for DSS testing should present their documentation to the Instructor within the first two weeks of the semester. Note: TAF forms should be given to the Instructor during normal Lecture no later than one week before the scheduled examination. The Instructor will check the appropriate items, provide additional information for post-examination handing, sign the form, and return it to the student.

It is the student's responsibility to ensure that forms are submitted to DSS in a timely and appropriate manner. Do not depend upon the Instructor to edit and post email transmissions in place of signed forms.

Academic Integrity

Issues of Academic Integrity are taken seriously. If you have not already done so, you should review the University's Policy on Academic Integrity (which is available at the Office of Student Conduct Link) and ask your Instructors or TAs if you have any questions. In addition to what is provided in the code, you should know that the posting or use of software solutions for assignments in this (or any other class at the University of Maryland) is a violation of Academic Integrity and will be vigorously pursued. This includes, but is not limited to, the posting of code fragments on Piazza or in any application that is accessible to other students.

Unforeseen Events

A variety of unanticipated circumstances may arise that would require changes to dates and/or several provisions of this document. In these cases, the Instructors reserve the right to make such changes; in these events, every effort will be made to keep you informed in a timely manner. You should monitor this site frequently because the Announcements is one tool that is used to communicate changes to instruction and/or general information. Email notifications will also be posted through the Course Reflector.

In any event, you are responsible for monitoring your classes through the various means made available to you.

Course Evaluations

Your participation in the evaluation of courses through CourseEvalUM is a responsibility you hold as a student member of our academic community.  Your feedback is confidential and important to the improvement of teaching and learning at the University as well as to the tenure and promotion process.  CourseEvalUM will be open for you to complete your evaluations starting about two weeks prior to the last day of the term before exams begin.  Please go directly to the website (www.courseevalum.umd.edu) to complete your evaluations.  By completing all of your evaluations each semester, you will have the privilege of accessing online evaluation reports for the thousands of courses for which 70% or more students submitted their evaluations.  You can access results at www.CourseEvalUM.umd.edu, the same link you use to submit your evaluations.  Click View Past Results instead.

 

Use the CourseEvalUM URL and choose Take Evaluations to discover upcoming evaluation dates:  www.CourseEvalUM.umd.edu