About the Course/Instructor
CSC 161 - Imperative Problem Solving and Data Structures - Weinman
1 About the Course
- Q
- Will the daily readings generally include exercises to be completed
on the MathLAN computers, or will they most often just be readings?
- A
- Usually they are only readings, but you are always encouraged
to try the examples out on your own.
- Q
- I am just wondering how the exams will be formatted since they
are in-class exams.
- A
- They will mostly ask you questions on writing and reading code,
algorithms, representations, and principles. (Think of them like an
extended CSC 151 quiz.) In addition, the syllabus states:
As a special incentive for mastering the laboratory exercises, 30-50%
of the problems on each test and on the final exam will be taken from
the laboratory exercises (with only slight editing).
- Q
- Prof. Rebelsky taught the 6Ps style of documentation in CSC-151.
Do you have any additional suggestions for documenting our programs
in this class?
- A
- Yes! See the details on Comments
grading rubric.
- Q
- How possible is it to do work for the class from my laptop
or without mathLAN access?
- A
- For problems that do not involve the robots, it's relatively
easy. On windows, you can use the Cygwin environment to access the
GCC compiler. On a Mac, you need the developer tools.
- Q
- How can we test codes in our laptops so that we don't have
to go to the computer labs every time?
- A
- You can't for the robots, but for other problems, see above.
- Q
- What is your advice to students in order for them to do well
in this course?
- A
- Don't panic. Practice. Go to mentor sessions. Solve problems
for fun. Ask LOTS of questions whenever you have them, of your partner,
mentor, tutors, or the instructor.
- Q
- Do we get the chance to choose our own partners for some activities?
- A
- Partners for in-class labs and projects will be assigned on
a rotating basis in order to expose you to a wide range of thoughts,
practices, and people. My goal is that you'll never work with the
same person twice.
- Q
- Will we do any work with any other languages besides C in this
course?
- A
- We will learn a bit of bash shell scripting.
- Q
- Are there any other external learning opportunities that you
would heavily recommend here at Grinnell to complement our work in
computer science (other books, papers, talk sessions etc.)?
- A
- Yes! Come to the departmental "Extras" (seminars, panels,
etc.) usually held Thursday afternoons at 4. Our weekly CS table discussion
is Tuesdays at noon. Ask to get on the csstudents email list.
2 About Me
- Q
- What is your middle name?
- A
- James. It's my father's given name and also my son's middle
name.