CPSC 343 Assessment


Assignments and Evaluation	This course introduces many new terms and concepts, including three new languages and at least one new set of notation. This means that it is important to keep up and to actively practice with the material. Assignments are designed with this in mind - frequent, short assignments provide immediate practice and rapid feedback, and an escalation from homework to project to exam provide a chance to develop mastery. Readings: Readings will be drawn from the textbook and online resources. The textbook should be read carefully, with particular attention paid to the terminology and examples. Online resources will generally be tutorials and documentation - skim them to get a sense of what information is there and what the key points are, then go back and study particular details and examples as you need them. Reading Quizzes: Most reading assignments will be paired with a short online quiz, due shortly before the class for which the reading has been assigned. Reading quizzes are meant to motivate picking up the basics from the reading and to identify points of confusion so that class time can be used most effectively; they should not be viewed as tests of whether you've mastered everything from the reading. Homework: Homeworks are your chance to practice the course material. Homeworks will generally be short and assigned frequently. Project: A substantial course project involving the design and development of a database and web-based interface will provide a practical application for the course material. Work on the project will begin early in the semester, though most of the design and development will come after the fall break. More details about the project will be announced. Exams: There will be two take-home midterm exams and a take-home final exam. More details about the exams will be announced closer to the exam dates. Due dates for the exams are on the syllabus. Final Grades: Final grades in this course will be computed as follows: Reading Quizzes: 5% Homework: 25% Project: 25% Midterm Exams: 30% (15% each) Final Exam: 15% Participation: You are also expected to participate in class. This does not mean that you have to volunteer for everything, but you should be actively engaged in class - i.e. you are paying attention and contribute meaningfully to the class on a regular basis.

Coding Standards	Following reasonable conventions for naming, capitalization, whitespace, and commenting is important for readability of your code. You should follow the conventions used in the text and class examples; where there is flexibility, you should be consistent in the choices you make.