CS 5003
Fall term 2009
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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Course Information

Resources

  • Textbook
    • Languages and Machines, 3rd edition
      Thomas Sudkamp
      Addison-Wesley
      ISBN 0-321-32221-5
  • Instructor
    • Dan Dougherty: dd at cs dot wpi dot edu

      Office hours (Fuller Labs 136): I'm available before and after class, and of course by arrangement at other times.
      Please don't hesitate to contact me!

Course philosophy and logistics

The philosophy part

The only way to learn anything is by **doing it.** In particular, to learn the material in this course it is necessary, and sufficient, to solve problems. My job is to give you good problems to solve, and to entice you to actually work on them. This leads to…

The logistics part

  • There are homework problems assigned for each week. Working on these problems consitutes your main job for the course.
  • But I will not grade the work you do on the homework problems.
  • Instead, I will give regular quizzes.
  • Your grade will be based on the average of the quiz grades.


FAQ

  • How does that make sense: you say that working the problems is the most important part of my work, yet it is the quizzes which make my grade?

    Answer: The quizzes will be based on the homework problems.

    The quiz problems will not be verbatim from the assigned problems, since that wouldn't really test whether you understood what you did when you solved them. What I mean by a certain quiz problem being "based on" a certain assigned problem is just this: my intention is that if you can solve the homework problem and understand what you did, then you will get the quiz problem right.

    But there will never be a problem on an quiz which is not based on an assigned homework problem. What I mean by a certain quiz problem being "based on" a certain assigned problem is just this: my intention is that if you can solve the homework problem and understand what you did, then you will get the quiz problem right.

  • What if I do a good job on the homework and do poorly on the quiz?

    Answer: That almost certainly will not happen.

    There will never be a problem on an quiz which is not based on an assigned homework problem. I have no interest in tricking you or setting you up to fail. In fact, the only reason to give the quizzes (besides the unfortunate fact that I have to give a grade to each of you) is to give you an incentive to do the homework problems.

    If you solve the problems carefully you will do fine on the quizzes. (I've been using this system for years and have never gotten a complaint about a quiz not matching up with the homework.)

  • Can we work in teams on the homework?

    Answer: YES!

    Indeed, you are strongly encouraged to collaborate on the homework problems. Real work, either in industry or in academics, is almost always collaborative.

  • Can I get help from other books, or websites?

    Answer: Well, yes…

    My advice is to do this only if you are stuck after trying the problem yourself: there is a lot of benefit in generating your own ideas. But ultimately, whatever it takes to learn the material and get the problems solved, do it.

  • Can I make up a quiz if I miss one?

    Answer: No, no makeup quizzes will be given. We will have 13 quizzes during the semester, and I will drop the lowest 2 scores. So missing any one quiz should not hurt you.

    Special note, fall term 2009: the H1N1 flu may complicate things, especially since people with flu symptoms might not visit their doctors. If you get sick we will work something out. But it is stil very important that you contact me as soon as possible if you have a health issue that affects your class performance.

  • Any general advice about how to succeed in this class?

    Answer: I'm glad you asked.

    • Study with other people. The absolute best way to learn something is to explain it to someone else.
    • Start the homework early, get some initial thoughts going, let the problems rattle around in your mind. Many scientists have noticed the strange phenomenon that the brain often makes progress on problems subliminally.
    • Several shorter homework sessions are much better than one long one.
    • Stay current with the class: do **not** let yourself get behind.


  • Can I submit homework anyway?

    Answer: Sure.

    You are welcome to submit homework for evaluation. This feedback is for your guidance only, it will not play any role in your final course grade. You may benefit by having your work evaluated and seeing whatever suggestions for improvement I or the grader might make.

  • Is there a course mailing list?

    Answer: Yes, " cs5003-all at cs dot wpi dot edu".

    Sending to this mailing list will reach all the registered students in the course, as well as the instructor.

    I do not have any control over these lists, they are managed by Beings With Permissions And Powers far beyond mine. So if for some reason you are not on the class mailing list and want to be, or you are on the list and want to be removed, you can manage this yourself via the "Majordomo" facility.

    Majordomo is explaned here.


Please note:

This is somewhat bizarre, but although the name of the mailing list for the purposes of actually sending messages is **cs5003-all ,** Majordomo refers to it by the name **cs5003.** So the way to add yourself to the mailing list is to tell Majordomo **subscribe cs5003 .** Then to send messages to the list you use the email **cs5003-all "at" cs.wpi.edu .**

Academic Honesty.

For this class, since grading is based purely on the quizzes, things are simple. You are allowed — encouraged — to colaborate on understanding the material and solving the problems. The quizzes are closed book, no notes, do-it-all-yourself affairs. My response to any sort of cheating on the quizzes will be to pursue the strongest remedies available to me.

The details of the university's policies and procedures can be found here.

Date: 2009-11-14 12:19:03 EST