Computer Science 126

Spring 1999
  • Announcements
  • General Information
  • Programming Assignments
  • Readings, Exercises, and Exams
  • Lectures
  • Help!

    • If you find a bug in the course materials, check the appropriate errata list. Please follow the directions given to report the bug if it's new. You will receive extra credit proportional to the severity of the bug.
  • Algorithms, 3rd edition, in C errata list
  • COS 126 course packet errata list

    Current Announcements

  • 5/22 Exams are graded. Here are the solutions. You should have received an email with your score. The median score was 110/170. Here's a histogram of all final exams scores. We'll send you email when we've computed course grades.

    • Past Announcements

  • 5/13 The review session will be at 7pm on Tuesday, May 18 (before Star Wars opening) in CS 104 (large auditorium). We have scheduled 18 office hours before the finals, so you should get as much individual attention as you need. Of course, office hours tend to get much more crowded as the final approaches.
    Day Date Time Preceptor Room
    Wed 5/12 1:30-3:30 Jon 317
    Thu 5/13 3-4 Kevin 322
    Mon 5/17 1-2 Kevin 322
    Mon 5/17 2-3 Emil 416
    Mon 5/17 3-4 Mao 313
    Tues 5/18 2-4 Mao 313
    Tues 5/18 7- Review 104
    Wed 5/19 10-12 Lisa 316
    Wed 5/19 1:30-3:30 Lisa 316
    Thu 5/20 11-1 Lena 314
    Thu 5/20 1:30-3:30 Emil 416
    Thu 5/20 3-4 Kevin 322

  • 4/30 If you'd like additional practice questions, you can pick up extra copies of the Fall, 1997 final outside Room 322.

  • 4/30 Here's a link to a one page summary of the main objectives and ideas from COS 126.

  • 4/21 The final exam is Friday, May 21 at 1:30-4:30pm in McCosh 10. As usual, the exam is closed note and closed book, except that you may bring one 8.5 x 11 cheat sheet (both sides) written in your own handwriting. No calculators allowed. The exam is comprehensive.

  • 4/16 Exams are graded and were returned Friday in precept. The mean was 95/120. Here's a histogram of all midterm scores. Here are the solutions.

  • 4/13 Notes on TOY, grep, formal languages, and unsolvability/intractability are available via the FAQ page. Also, there is commentary on many of the lecture notes available via the Lectures page.

  • 4/8 The second midterm exam is 7-9pm on Wednesday, April 14 in McCosh 50. The exam is closed note and closed book, except that you may bring one 8.5 x 11 cheat sheet (both sides) written in your own handwriting. No calculators allowed. The exam will stress material covered since the first midterm, including circuits, machine architecture, TOY, RE, grep, formal languages (grammar, computability, etc.), machines (FSA, PDA, Turing machine), recursion, strings, and PostScript.

    As usual, the best way to prepare for the midterm is to review the exercise questions. Also relevant exam questions from last semester are good practice, i.e., Midterm 1: 1, 5, 6, 11, Midterm 2: 1-7, 9-12, Final: 2-5, 12-14, 16-20, 22.

  • 4/8 We will have a review session (Lisa and Kevin) on Monday April 12, starting at 8pm in CS 104 (large auditorium).

  • 4/8 In addition to the regularly scheduled office hours, we have the following extra ones. Feel free to go to any or all that fit your schedule.
    Day Time Preceptor Room
    Tues 4/13 4:30-5:30 Emil 416
    Tues 4/13 7-8pm Mao 313
    Tues 4/13 7-8pm Lena 314
    Wed 4/14 1:30-2:30pm Jon 317

  • 3/21 Please take a minute and fill out our mid-semester feedback form. Your input is greatly appreciated!

  • 3/11 We will email your midterm grade later today. Here are the solutions. The average was 58/80 and standard deviation was 14. Here's a histogram of exam scores. Mid semester grades will not be determined until after vacation.

  • 3/10 No precept on Friday 3/12. Have a wonderful Spring Break!

  • 3/4 We will have the following midterm office hours in Room 301/302:
             Tues   3/9   8-10pm (Lisa, Kevin)
             Wed 3/10   4-6pm (Jon)
             Wed 3/10   7-9pm (Lena, Mao)
    Office hours for 3/11 and 3/12 will be canceled.

  • 3/4 The best practice is doing the exercises and relevant questions from last year's exams. (Ignore questions 5, 6, and 11 from Midterm 1, Fall 1998. But, questions 1, 2, 3, 6, and 13 from Midterm 2, Fall 1998 and questions 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 18 from Final, Fall 1998 are all relevant.) There will also be a review session Monday 8pm in CS 104.

  • 2/25 The first midterm is now in-class on Thursday, March 11 at 9-10am in McCosh 10. The exam is closed note and closed book, except that you may bring one 8.5 x 11 cheat sheet written in your own handwriting. No calculators allowed or needed. You are responsible for all course material up to and including 3/5.

  • 2/25 Believe it or not, after we handed out the syllabus in class today, we've made more modifications. Here's the most up-to-date version of the syllabus. Please print out a new copy of the syllabus and staple into your course packet.

  • 2/22 There are new lab TA sessions (as of Sunday 2/28). Here's the full lab TA schedule. If you go to the lab and there are no available computers, please sign the sheet on the door to indicate this. We are trying to collect data to see the extent of the overcrowding in the labs.

  • 2/18 If you experienced difficulty with the submit program last night, please resubmit today. Our account went over the CIT quota and stopped accepting assignments. The primary reason for this was that several students ignored the assignment instructions and inadvertently submitted huge (10MB - 100MB) PostScript files. Do not under any circumstances submit or email us any file exceeding 1MB.

  • 2/15 If you haven't done so already, please fill out the COS 126 student survey. You will receive a 0 for Assignment 2 (which cannot be made up) if this is not done by Wednesday, 2/17 11:59pm. Here are the data so far.

  • 2/10 Precept lists and room assignments are available on the General Information page. If you requested a precept change, check the on-line list to find out. No additional precept changes will be permitted.

  • 2/4 The Deitel and Deitel book (recommended for novices) is sold out at the U-store. We have instructed them to reorder. In the meantime, feel free to order from amazon.com.

  • 2/4 The login problem in CS 101 is now fixed (according to CIT). Let us know if you have a different experience.

  • 2/3 Due to limited enrollment, Precept 5 (M 7, F 2:30) has been canceled. To accommodate, we have changed Precept 7 to meet M 7, F 1:30. By default, all people in Precept 5 will be assigned to Precept 7. If you are in Precept 7 and cannot make the M 7 meeting, see Tina McCoy (CS 410) - there are 3 other MF 1:30 precepts, so we should be able to accommodate everyone!

  • 2/2 We have re-organized the syllabus (including some changes to lectures, assignments, and exercises). Check the on-line syllabus for the latest version.

  • 2/1 Assignment 0 is due Thursday 2/4 11:59pm. (All other assignments will be due on Wednesdays at 11:59pm.) Reading this page is part of Assignment 0. To show us that you've completed the assignment, while also providing us with helpful statistical information, please fill out the COS 126 student survey.

  • 2/1 The course packet is now available at Pequod copy (6 Nassau Street).

  • 1/28 Supplemental lecture notes and commentary are available through the Lectures page. Assignment checklists are available through the Programming Assignments page.

  • 1/28 The lectures will be in McCosh 10 instead of Frick 120.