SWE 619 Course Syllabus

Software Construction

Spring 2007

 

 

Professor:	Walcelio Melo (Pronouces: Val-s`e-lio Me-llow)
Office:	TBD
Email:	Walcelio_Melo[at]yahoo[dot]com
URL:	http://www.geocities.com/walcelio_melo/
Class Hours:	Wed, 7:20pm to 10:00pm
Prerequisite:	SWE Foundation Courses or equivalent
Office Hours:	anytime electronically; by appointment; after my Thursday class, by request

1.1.1     Course Description

To give the students a solid understanding of modern software construction. To prepare students to construct sequential and concurrent programs. To encourage the construction of software systems of high quality. In-depth study of software construction in a modern language including control structuring and packaging. Concepts such as information hiding, data abstraction, and object-based and object-oriented software construction are discussed and illustrated. This course is part of the core of the SWE program. This section of 619 uses Java.

1.1.2     Course Materials

• Barbara Liskov with John Guttag. Program Development in Java . Addison Wesley, 2001, ISBN 0-201-65768-6. Required.
• Joshua Bloch. Effective Java: Programming Language Guide. Addison Wesley, 2001, ISBN 0-201-31005-8. Required.
• Some assignments require programming techniques not covered in the two required texts. I will provide pointers to online material at the appropriate time. Required.
• Any Java reference, either text or online . Recommended. Online Java documenation is available from Sun.

1.1.3     Quizzes

Each class, except for the first class, begins with a short quiz. Each quiz covers material from the previous session(s).

The goal of the quizzes is to keep students abreast of the material covered in class. Because of the quizzes, there is no midterm exam.

Missed Quizzes

In recognition of the fact that many students have occasional but unavoidable commitments that preclude attendance at every class, I drop each student's three lowest scores prior to final grade computations.

Please do not ask for an exception.

1.1.4     Middle-Term

A middle term exam is held during the University-scheduled middle-term exam period.

1.1.5     Final Exam

A final exam is held during the University-scheduled exam period. On the final, a student must demonstrate reasonable competence with the course material to receive a satisfactory grade (i.e. B or better) in the class.

1.1.6     Honor System:

Students are reminded that the honor system governs all work turned in for credit. Each assignment must be worked on individually. A submission carries with it an implicit statement that the submission is your own work. You may discuss the requirements and syntactical issues, but not solutions or designs. Collaboration is not allowed on the quizzes or on the final. I will refer violators to the GMU Honor Committee according to the procedures given in the GMU Course Catalog.

1.1.7     Grading

Grades are computed as: Quizzes (30%), Middle-Term (30%), Final (40%).

1.1.8     Other Resources

Of course, is a good place to go for Java help