Bryn Mawr College
CMSC 110: Introduction to Computing
Fall 2014
Course Materials
Prof. Deepak Kumar
General Information
Instructors:
Lecture Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 2:25 p.m. to
3:45 p.m.
Room: TBA
Lab: Wednesdays 10:00 a to Noon in Room 231 (additional lab
hours will also available, see below)
Laboratories:
- Computer Science Lab Room 231 (Science Building)
- You will also be able to use your own computer to do the labs
for this course.
Lab Assistants: The following Lab assistants
will be available during the week for assistance on lab assignments.
- Kalina Kostyszyn Mondays & Wednesdays 9:00a to 11:00a
- Bryce Lewis Wednesdays & Thursdays 8:30p to 10:30p
- Leqi Liu: Tuesdays 8:00p to 10:00p and Staurdays 9:00a to 11:00a
- Adrianna Castilla-Hernandes Fridays 2:00p to 4:00p and Tuesdays 9:15a to 11:15a
- Ziyan Yang: Mondays & Wednesdays 3:00p to 5:00p
Texts &
Software
Processing: Creative Coding & Generative Art in Processing 2 by
Ira Greenberg, Dianna Xu, Deepak Kumar, Friends of ed, 2013.
Available at the Campus Bookstore. Also at amazon for $42.75
A Kindle eBook is available for those comfortable learning from an eBook (Amazon price is $19.79). The Bryn Mawr Bookstore price is $47.75.
Processing Software (This software is
already installed in the Computer Science Lab). The
software is also available for your own computer from
Processing web site (www.processing.org). Download the latest stable 2.X version for your own computer/Operating System.
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Syllabus
Course Description: An introduction to the
nature, subject matter and branches of computer science as an
academic discipline, and the nature, development, coding,
testing, documenting and analysis of the efficiency and
limitations of algorithms. Also includes the social context of
computing (risks, liabilities, intellectual property and
infringement).
This semester, we will be exploring the creative aspects of
coding as a context for learning the above concepts. You will
exercise your creativity by desiging programs in a language
called, Processing. Processing is a new language/environment
built upon the programming language Java. Processing was created
by artists, designers, and computer scientists to explore ideas
of creative coding sing computer algorithms.
We will cover the entire text during this semester. Please
refer to the text for more details.
Important Dates
September 2: First lecture
October 9: Exam 1
December 11: Last lecture/Exam 2
Assignments
- Assignment#1 (Due on Tuesday, Septmber 16): Click here for details.
- Assignment#2 (due on Thursday, September 25): Click here for details.
- Assignment#3 is posted (Due on Tuesday, October 7, 2014): Click here for details.
- Assignment#4 is posted (Due on Thursday, November 6, 2014): Click here for details.
- Assignment#5 is posted (Due on Thursday, November 20, 2014): Click here for details.
- Assignment#6 is posted (Due on Tuesday, December 9, 2014): Click here for details.
Lectures
- Week 1 (September 2, 4)
September 2: Course introduction, adminstrivia. Computing: an introduction, examples of modern day computing. Algorithms, programs, and programming languages. Creative computing: an introduction with examples. Introduction to Processing.
Slides: 01_Introduction
Do: Lab#1 (see class handout) [Read Chapter 1, pages 1-12. Skim pages 12-32] Plus do the tutorials mentioned in Lab Handout.
September 4: Art By Numbers. Processing, Drawing basics: canvas, shapes, and colors. Introduction to Processing commands: size(), background(), 2D shapes (point(), line(), triangle(), rectangle(), quad(), ellipse(). Drawing attributes and modes. Structure of a static processing program. CS/Programming principles: Algorithms, psuedocode, code, syntax, sequencing.
Slides: 02_ArtByNumbers
Do: Lab#2 (see class handout)
Assignment#1 (Due on Tuesday, Septmber 16): Click here for details.
- Week 2 (September 9, 11)
September 9: Lecture#3
Topics: Basic drawing & 2D shapes contd.: arc(), quad(), curve(), beginShape(), endShape(), vertex(), curveVertex(). Basic structure of a static Processing program.
Slides: 03_2DShapes
Pre-Survey: Please take this survey!
Do: Finish reading Chapter 2. For more on drawing curves read the Drawing Curves tutorial on processing.org.
September 11: How to draw simple text. Variables, types (int, flot, String, boolean, color), naming rules, declarations, arithmetic operators. Predefined Processing variables: width, height, displayWidth, displayHeight, PI, HALF_PI, TWO_PI, mouseX, mouseY.
Static vs. Dynamic Program modes, (usijng setup() and draw() functions), code blocks ({..}), interactivity with mouseX and mouseY variables, event listeners, frame rates. Functions...
Do: Read Chapter 3 (pages 65-72)
Slides: 04_Functions
- Week 3 (September 16, 18)
September 16: Functions: mathematical functions, parameters/arguments, return values, definition vs. application, defining and using functions in Processing, variables and scope. Creating shape abstractions using functions, using mathematical functions in Processing: random().
Do: Read Chapter 3 (pages 65-72)
Assignment#2 (due on Thursday, September 25): Click here for details.
September 18: Transformations: translate, rotate, and scale. More functions: drawing with curves. In honor of Scotland's vote: Code a Kilt (A Tartan Fest!!)
Sample Code: Code A Kilt
- Week 4 (September 23, 25)
September 23: Functions, contd. Control structures: loops, conditionals.
Slides: 05_ControlStructures
Do: Read Chapter 3 (pages 73-80, 88-91)
Sample Code: Sliding ball
September 25: Computing points on the plane using Trigonometry. Drawing Polygons & Stars.
Assignment#3 is posted (Due on Tuesday, October 7, 2014): Click here for details.
Ziyan's TA hours on September 29 will be from 2:30 to 4:30 today.
- Week 5 (September 30, October 2)
September 30: Drawing regular polygons and stars. Experiments with random() and Perlin noise - noise() functions.
Sample Code:
Drawing Polygons, random() vs. noise()
October 2: Using perlin Noise creatively. A step-by-step introduction to the creative process via line art creation.
Sample Code: line art program
- Week 6 (October 7, 9)
October 7: Review for Exam 1. Today, we will cover everything we have done this semester, and review!
Processing Review [the Java part],
the Processing part
October 9: Exam 1 is today.
- Week 7 (October 14, 16)
No Classes. Fall Break
- Week 8 (October 21, 23)
October 21: Data Visuailization: An introduction. Drawing Pie Charts. Arrays: how to define and use them.
October 23: Arrays: Defining and using them. Storing data in arrays. Drawing Bar Charts.
Read: Chapter 5 from GXK.
Assignment#4 is posted (Due on Thursday, November 6, 2014): Click here for details.
- Week 9 (October 28, 30)
October 28: Arrays as parameters. File input in Processing. Plotting time series data.
Read: Chapter 5 from GXK.
Sample Code: Pie Chart, Bar Graph
October 30: No class today. Deepak is out of town.
- Week 10 (November 4, 6)
November 4: Plotting Time Series. Making it interactive.
November 6: Introduction to Objects, Object-oriented programming in processing. Modeling objects.
Read: Chapter 6 from GXK.
- Week 11 (November 11, 13)
November 11: Modeling objects. Composition & inheritance. Examples: ball in a box (boxes), Shapes, etc.
Read: Chapter 6 from GXK.
November 13: OOP contd. Strings: a more detailed introduction. String methods. Text processing in Processing. How to read a text file and tokenize it.
Read: Chapter 7 from GXK.
Assignment#5 is posted (Due on Thursday, November 20, 2014): Click here for details.
- Week 12 (November 18, 20)
November 18: Text processing. Reading and tokenizing text. Counting tokens/words.
November 20: Text processing & Visualization, contd.
Read: Chapter 7 from GXK.
Assignment#6 is posted (Due on Tuesday, December 9, 2014): Click here for details.
- Week 13 (November 25, 27)
November 25: Text processing & Visualization, contd. Drawing Word Clouds.
November 27: No class. Thanksgiving!
- Week 14 (December 2, 4)
December 2: Designinging a creature: A Tutorial
Post Survey is now open. Click here.
December 4: Today is our last lecture. We will do a review and wrap up.
- Week 15 (December 9, 11)
December 9: No class, Deepak is out of town.
December 11: Exam 2 is today.
Course Policies
Communication
Attendance and active participation are
expected in every class. Participation includes asking questions,
contributing answers, proposing ideas, and providing constructive
comments.
As you will discover, we are proponents of two-way communication
and we welcome feedback during the semester about the course. We
are available to answer student questions, listen to concerns, and
talk about any course-related topic (or otherwise!). Come to
office hours! This helps us get to know you. You are welcome to
stop by and chat. There are many more exciting topics to talk
about that we won't have time to cover in-class.
Although computer science work can be intense and solitary, please
stay in touch with us, particularly if you feel stuck on a topic
or project and can't figure out how to proceed. Often a quick
e-mail, phone call or face-to-face conference can reveal solutions
to problems and generate renewed creative and scholarly energy. It
is essential that you begin assignments early, since we will be
covering a variety of challenging topics in this course.
Grading
There will be seven assignments,
weighted equally in the final grading. Assignments must be
submitted according to the Assignment Submission
instructions. You should pay careful attention to the Code Formatting Standards and Grading Policy when doing your
assignments. The grading structure for individual
assignments is broken down in the Grading Policy, posted in each assignment.
At the end of the semester, final grades will be calculated as a
weighted average of all grades according to the following weights:
| Exam 1: |
18% |
| Exam 2: |
26% |
| Assignments: |
56% (8% each)
|
| Total: |
100% |
Incomplete grades will be given only for verifiable medical
illness or other such dire circumstances.
Submission and Late Policy
All work must be turned in either in hard-copy or electronic
submission, depending on the instructions given in the
assignment. E-mail submissions, when permitted, should request
a "delivery receipt" to document time and date of submission. Extensions will be given only in the case of verifiable medical
excuses or other such dire circumstances, if requested in advance
and supported by your Academic Dean.
No assignment will be
accepted after it is past due.
No past work can be "made up" after it is due.
No regrade requests will be entertained one week after the graded work is returned in class.
Exams
There will be two exams in this course. The exams will be
closed-book and closed-notes. The exams
will cover material from lectures, homeworks, and assigned
readings (including topics not discussed in class).
Study Groups
We encourage you to discuss the material and work together to
understand it. Here are our thoughts on collaborating with other
students:
- The readings and lecture topics are group work. Please discuss
the readings and associated topics with each other. Work
together to understand the material. We highly recommend forming
a reading group to discuss the material -- we will explore many
ideas and it helps to have multiple people working together to
understand them.
- It is fine to discuss the topics covered in the homeworks, to
discuss approaches to problems, and to sketch out general
solutions. However, you MUST write up the homework answers,
solutions, and programs individually without sharing specific
solutions, mathematical results, program code, etc. If you
made any notes or worked out something on a white board with
another person while you were discussing the homework, you
shouldn't use those notes while writing up your answer.
- Under ABSOLUTELY NO circumstances should you share computer
code with another student. Similarly, you are not
permitted to use or consult code found on the internet for any
of your assignments.
- Exams, of course, must be your own individual work.
If you have any questions as to what types of collaborations are
allowed, please feel free to ask.
Links
Created on August July 28, 2014.