Land Acknowledgement
Today’s topics
- Course intro: assessment structure, policies, tools, etc
- Dive in to C++!
About me
Name: Charlotte Curtis
Background: Biomedical Engineering undergrad, Electrical Engineering PhD
Research: Vector graphics and PDF manipulation (sewing patterns)
Pronouns: She/her
Call me: Charlotte
Office: B175P
Email: ccurtis@mtroyal.ca
What is this class all about?
Introduction to object-oriented analysis and design, programming using an object-oriented language, and implementation of linked data structures. Issues of modularity, software design, and programming style will be emphasized.
- Continuing our problem solving focus from Programming I, but in C++
- Introduction to lower level concepts like memory management
- Introduction to object-oriented programming
Why another programming language?
Python
- Intuitive syntax
- Allows you to focus on the algorithm
- Lots of magic, like garbage collection
C++
- More complex syntax
- Makes you to think about memory management
- Closer to the metal
As CS students, you will learn a lot about how computers work and different ways of interacting with them
Course objective highlights
- Solve problems of moderate complexity and magnitude
- Design solutions using classes and other complex data structures
- Design and implement programs in C++ on a headless system
- Develop and debug large programs in a systematic manner
- Explain the concepts and develop programs using:
- pointers and dynamic memory allocation
- linked data structures
- recursion
- classes and objects
- lists, stacks, and queues
Where does this course fit?
What is this class not about?
“C makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot; C++ makes it harder, but when you do it blows your whole leg off” - Bjarne Stroustrup
- This is not a C++ course, we’re just using C++ as a tool
- This is not a course on modern C++, or even “best practices in C++”
- We are going to violate many rules of good C++ programming in order to:
- Recognize when you’ve shot yourself in the foot and what to do about it
- Develop an appreciation for the protections provided by modern languages
The year was 1998
- A company named “Google” was founded
- Apple released the iMac, saving the company from bankruptcy
- Almost 25% of Canadian Households had internet access
- The first C++ standard was released…
- …and we’re going to use it!
Assessments
| Assessment | Weight | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Lab exercises | 10% | |
| Assignments | 32% | 4 assignments, 8% each |
| Midterm | 20% | 80 minutes, March 6th, 2024 |
| Final | 38% | 3 hours, during final exam period |
Course Format
- Lectures (3 hours per week): Introduction to new concepts, demos, info dump
- Tutorials (2 hours per week): Hands-on practice in the lab
- Assignments: Projects to be completed outside of class time
Attendance is not mandatory, but highly correlated to success
Lab Exercises
- Exercises during each tutorial, but 15 graded labs for a total of 10%
- Autograded on INS, with manual upload to D2L weekly
- You are encouraged to work together to solve these problems, but must submit individually
- Strongly encouraged to complete during lab time, but you have one week to submit each one
Assignments
- 8% each for a total of 32%
- Start working on them early! A portion of each assignment mark is set aside for “evidence of incremental development”
- These assignments are expected to take a significant amount of time, but working on assignments is a great way to “study” for exams
- You have a total of 4 late days to use on assignments throughout the semester
Assignment late policy
- You have a total of 4 days in a “late bank” that can be used to submit assignments late
- Late bank can be used in increments of 0.5 days
- Once your late bank is exhausted, no late assignments will be accepted
- You must indicate in your D2L submission when you are choosing to use your late bank
Academic Integrity
- As deadlines start piling up, it can be tempting to copy an assignment
- Both copying and allowing your work to be copied are considered academic misconduct and will be reported
- Your submissions will be compared for similarity using compare50
- If you use an internet resource (e.g. Stack Overflow
), cite it
- Just drop the link in your code as a comment
- ChatGPT/Copilot can be used as informational resources, but straight copying is not allowed
If you read something, understand it, and can implement it without looking at the source, you’re not in violation of the academic integrity policy
Getting Help
- Instructional assistants Jordan and Steve
- In person in B103A/B107A, or online
- Me (Charlotte):
- Office B175-P, ccurtis@mtroyal.ca
- I try to answer emails within 1 business day, generally not on weekends
- Student learning services: mru.ca/sls
- Mentorship, webinars, personal appointments, etc
- Accommodations
- CAMRU Discord - join the COMP 1633 study group under channels and roles
Course resources
- D2L : Grades, announcements, assignment instructions, links
- iClicker : Interactive quizzes/polls
- Textbook: Problem solving with C++ by Walter Savitch
- Optional, but a great resource
- 9th edition is fine
Development Tools
We will be working on a Linux server called INS
Tangent: Let’s talk about Linux
- When you see the symbol, I’ll be doing an iClicker activity
- Go to join.iclicker.com and enter the code on the board
What comes to mind when you hear the word “Linux”?
Hello World
Python
print("Hello World!")
C++
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main() {
cout << "Hello World!\n";
return 0;
}
To save space on slides, I will be omitting
#include <iostream>andusing namespace std;most of the time. However, these are needed to compile!
Tracing time!
- Trace the code to the right, predict what is printed to the terminal, and submit your answer in iClicker
- Feel free to discuss with your neighbours
int main() {
int x = 0;
int z = 0;
while (x < 5) {
z += x * x;
++x;
}
cout << z << '\n';
return 0;
}
Coming up Next
- Lab: Emacs and Git on INS
- Lecture: C++ Basics
Textbook Sections 1.3-1.4, 2.1-2.5