COS 111, Fall 2001: Home Page
Princeton University
Computer Science Department

Computer Science 111
Computers and Computing

Perry Cook

Spring 2002
Back to COS 111 front page | Schedule and Assignments | Web links of interest | What's New

Reading

There is no required text for the course.

For some lectures, you will be assigned reading in advance.

Most lectures will be self contained. This makes class attendance essential.

Lecture notes will be available online after class.

The course will be run in interactive fashion and you will be expected to come to class prepared to participate in the discussion.

For further elaboration on topics covered in the course, you might want to consult the books that have been put on reserve in the Engineering Library

Computer Science: An Overview - - sixth edition , by Glenn Brookshear.
Principles of Computer Science by Cullen Schaffer
An Invitation to Computer Science by G. Michael Schneider and Judith L. Gersting.
These texts have been used as the primary text in COS 111 in the past. They are also overviews of computer science, but each has its own different emphasis. Some students may find these helpful for more detailed explanations of material discussed in class.

The New Turing Omnibus, by A. K. Dewdney.
The Dewdney book is a collection of short, mostly self-contained chapters covering a large number of discrete topics in computer science. Many of the topics we cover in this course are discussed, often at a level of mathematical sophistication or background well beyond the level of this course. It is intended for student enrichment.

Communication

This course will be ``paperless''. All assignments will be posted only on the course Web site. (See details below.) ``Hand-outs'' will be posted on the course Web site as well. Important announcements on all aspects of the course will be made on the ``What's new'' page (accessible from the course home page.) Students are responsible for monitoring the postings under ``What's new''. Schedule changes will be made on the on-line schedule page. and announced under ``What's new''. The only paper we will exchange is your solutions to the problem sets, which we will grade and hand back.

You are encouraged to use electronic mail to set up appointments, leave messages, and ask quick questions. We are available for longer discussions which can typically be arranged by email or discussion after class. Old fashioned face-to-face talking is still best for clarifying confusions and other technical discussions.

Problem sets (9)

Nine problem sets will be assigned. Each should take at most 3 hours to complete for students who have been attending lectures. Problem sets are due by 5 PM sharp on Thursday, with the first assignment due on February 14. No credit will be given for late assignments, unless there are extraordinary circumstances and/or prior arrangements. Students may collaborate on problem sets, but each student must turn in his/her own writeup of solutions. The problems assigned will be posted (typically on the preceeding Tuesday, so giving minimum 9 days) on the Web each week and are accessible from the course schedule page. The lowest problem set grade will be dropped. Students must complete 7 out of 9 problem sets to pass the course.

Labs (8)

There will be eight hands-on computing laboratory exercises to be done during a scheduled laboratory period. Labs begin the week of October . Students will use Intel PCs with the Windows operating system. The labs are designed to be easily completable in less than three hours during the scheduled lab sections. Assistants will be in the labs to help out. Most labs require about one hour of preparatory reading. Students obtain the lab assignments from the course Web site, accessible from the course schedule page. To receive credit, students must complete labs by 5PM Friday of the week they are assigned, unless there are extraordinary circumstances and/or prior arrangements. Students must complete all 8 labs to pass the course.

All lab sections take place room 007 of the new Friend Center. Labs will be scheduled as we determine the course enrollment.

Examinations

There will be an open-book in class mideterm given on Thursday, March 12, 2002 and an open-book final examination given during the Fall-term exam period.

Grading

Course grades will be computed according to the following rules: