General Information

Computing Environment

We will use DrRacket/Version 8.15, a programming environment for a family of programming languages. We will use the HtDP teaching languages plus a small number of teachpacks.

We strongly recommend you install DrRacket on your own computer so that you can work on CS 2500 wherever, whenever you like. It is freely available on the web. Please make sure to install the version with the version number mentioned above (if this is not the most recent DrRacket version, click on Download -> All Versions to find it).

DrRacket runs on most popular platforms (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and other *nixes). Programs written in the teaching languages have mostly the same behavior on all platforms. You therefore do not need to worry what kind of machine you use when you run your programs.

All that being said, should you have issues installing DrRacket on your machine, you may use the college’s virtual desktop infrastructure. We do, however, strongly recommend installing and using DrRacket on your own computer.

Homeworks

The purpose of the homeworks is to give you hands-on experience with the course material you learned in lecture and lab, as well as to prepare you for the exams. There will be one homework per week, due Wednesdays at 9pm.

Late Work

Make it a high priority to not fall behind on homework: the course is fast-paced and presents new material every lecture day, making catching up harder and harder.

However, we know that your time is not always easily scheduled, and sometimes “stuff happens.” We will therefore allow you to turn in your work up to 24 hours after the deadline, at a 4% per hour penalty. The submission server automatically blocks any submission even 24-hours-and-one-second after the deadline (since the penalty would be 100% at that time). Submitting a fraction of a second after the due time counts as one hour late. The server uses its own clock to determine what time it is, so it is a bad idea to try to sneak in a submission in those last few seconds. Additionally, you may request an extension before the original deadline. You must request the extension via the following form: CS2500 24hr Homework Extension Request. If your request is filed after the original deadline, any late penalty accrued up to that time will stand. So, make sure you file the request in a timely fashion.

Regrades

Sometimes mistakes can happen and so if you are confused or concerned about feedback, please don’t be afraid to reach out to a member of the instruction team for further explanation. You must submit any requests for regrading (of homework, exams, quizzes) at most 7 days after the feedback was released. (Towards the end of the term, this 7-day window will be shortened.)

When you have a regrade request you should first reach out to the individual who graded your work. Their name will be attached to their comments on the handin server. If the individual is unable to address your concerns you can approach the course instructor for further assistance.

Labs

The labs start the first week of class, on Friday, January 10.

You signed up for a lab section during registration. You must attend the lab section for which you are registered.

The purpose of labs is to give you hands-on experience with the actual tools, and to explain some of the principles from lecture with hands-on examples. The labs will require you to submit your solutions to the lab exercises.

Khoury Account

In order to submit homeworks and lab quizzes in this class, you will need to have a Khoury account. You are eligible for such an account if you are a Khoury major, or if you are in a Khoury class (such as this one). You can apply for a Khoury account at this link, and you should do so during the first week of class, so that you have the account activated by the day of the first lab.

Exams and Quizzes