CSCI 140 Introduction to Computer Science

Time/Place

This section of the course (Spring 2011) meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:00AM to 12:15PM in Ritter Hall 225.

General Description

The first two or three courses taken by Computer Science majors have traditionally been "programming" courses in languages like C, C++, and Java, or in the more distant past, Pascal or Fortran. At SLU we believe that it is valuable to provide first-year students with a broad introduction to the entire discipline of Computer Science, which, after all, involves much much more than just software development. This is the purpose of CSCI 140.

A detailed list of topics to be covered can be found on the course schedule page; as advertised, there is a bit of everything: units on hardware, algorithms, various programming paradigms, operating systems, networking, and some theoretical topics. On the course schedule page you will also find announcements of exams, homework assignments, and other date-sensitive material.

The course prerequisite is three years of high school mathematics.

Textbook Information

The required textbook for the course is Computer Science Illuminated, 4th edition, by Nell Dale and John Lewis. It is available from the SLU Bookstore, or from amazon.com.

Computer Accounts

You should already have been emailed the details of your account on our department server turing.slu.edu: a username (likely the same as your SLU email username), and a randomly chosen password. The easiest way to log into the server is directly from the computers in the Linux Lab, Ritter Hall 121. This is a great place to do your homework - there will be lab tutors staffing that room at various times during the week, including some nights and weekends. The tutors are there to help you, so make use of them! Alternatively, if you'd like to log in from somewhere else on campus, e.g. your dorm room, you can install a program on your computer called the NX Client and use that to connect to turing. The NX Client should be available from other computer labs on campus as well. Here are some instructions supplied by the Math and CS department web site.

It is a good idea to change your password to something a bit easier to remember the first time you log in. You can do this by opening a terminal and using the "passwd" command. You'll need to enter your old password first followed by your new password, and again for confirmation.

Please read our department and university policies on appropriate use of computer systems.

Homework and Exams

There will be homework and reading assignments every week. It is essential to keep up with the reading since there is a lot of material to cover, and only a limited amount of time we're able to spend together in class.

There will be an in-class midterm exam given Thursday, March 10th which accounts for 20% of your final grade. The final exam is scheduled for Tuesday, May 17th from 12:00-1:50PM; it is comprehensive and is worth 30% of your final grade. Class participation and homework assignments count for 50%, and so it essential to get your homeworks done, and attendance at every class meeting is mandatory. Make-up exams will not be given. The College of Arts and Sciences has a policy concerning academic honesty with which you should be familiar.

Saint Louis University is committed to providing equal educational access for all of its students by ensuring that students with documented clinical or medical disabilities receive reasonable accommodations that support effective participation in all aspects of the educational experience. For more information, visit SLU Disability Services.