Open Campus Section 11056 - 16 week

Course Description: Investigation of techniques for program design, testing, and debugging. Data structures are studied, including stacks, queues, linked lists, and binary trees. Searching, sorting, recursion, strings, and arrays are also covered. Taught in appropriate high-level language (C++). (CSC 1044) Course Type: T.

Pre-requisite: COSC 1320 C++ Programming or departmental approval.

Approved Course Text: ADTs, Data Structures, & Prob Solving w/C++ 2nd Edition, by Larry Nyhoff, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005, ISBN 0-13-140909-3.

Instructional Methodology: This is a distance learning course which has assignments and examinations equivalent to a campus-based course with 3 hours of lecture and 3 hours of lab a week. All assignments, programs, and exam reviews are available on the instructor's web site:

www.austincc.edu/comer/

The course material will be covered in reading assignments from the textbook. All programming assignments will be submitted via email. Tests will be administered in the ACC Testing Centers or other approved testing center.

Course Rationale: This course is designed to teach students the fundamental data structures and the algorithms used to manipulate them. The data structures and algorithms will be implemented in a modern object-oriented programming language (C++).

Course Objectives/Learning Outcomes:

1. Develop correct, well-documented programs using data structures.
2. Define, compare, and contrast the fundamental concepts of object-oriented programming: data abstraction, encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism.
3. Design algorithms using object-oriented techniques.
4. Design and develop template classes to implement the fundamental data structures.
5. Perform searching and sorting operations on data structures.

Course/Class Policies:

Grade Policy: Grade will be based both on concepts and practical application. Examinations and lab (programming) assignments will be used to determine the student's grade. Numerical scores on exams and assignments will be combined and the resulting score will provide a letter grade based on the following scale.

I do not automatically round grades up. For example, 89.9 % is a B. The student must score 60 % or above to pass the course.

1. The student is unable to complete the course during the semester due to circumstances beyond their control.
2. The student must have earned at least half of the grade points needed for a "C" by the end of the semester.
3. The request for the grade must be made in person at the instructor's office and necessary documents completed.
4. To remove an "I", the student must complete the course by two weeks before the end of the following semester. Failure to do so will result in the grade automatically reverting to an "F".

Testing Center Policy: See http://www.austincc.edu/testctr/stu_policies.htm for more information.

Course Web Site:Web pages for this class are located at:
www.austincc.edu/comer/dss08/

You will need access to the web to periodically check for updates to course information. A log of changes will be posted on the class home page. It is your responsibility to check for any new information or changes.

Software: You must have access to a C++ compiler that supports ANSI standards. You may also use the C++ compilers in the Computer Studies labs on any of the 7 main ACC campuses. In addition, the Computer Studies Department has an agreement with Microsoft Corporation called the Microsoft Academic Alliance. This agreement allows students to obtain compilers and certain other software at a greatly reduced cost. Contact your instructor for more information.

Orientation: Orientation is required. Students who do not complete orientation during the first week of class and do not contact the instructor will be dropped from the class.

Class progress: Students are expected to keep up with the schedule of the class. In this course, each new concept builds on previous concepts so that regular progress through the material is crucial to success on tests and assignments.

Participation: Students are expected to participate in discussions. Questions and comments of general interest should be sent to the class Listserve so that everyone can benefit from the discussion. Other questions, such as questions about your grades, should be sent directly to the instructor. Students are encouraged to ask questions. There are no "dumb" questions! The instructor knows that the material is difficult to grasp at times and will be glad to give additional examples or one-to-one assistance when asked.

Success in this course depends on the ability to successfully complete the assigned homework. Students are expected to do the assignments, which are designed to provide experience and practice with the concepts and techniques covered in the course.

Submitting Assignments: Turn in a copy of your program source code by email. The preferred method is to attach your source code files to your email message. If your email does not support attachments, you may copy your source code and paste it into the body of your email message. Assignments should be sent to comer@austincc.edu. Please include the program number in the Subject field (for example: Data Structures Program 2). If you have questions, please do not include them with your assignment - send them in a separate email. Do not send programming assignments to the class listserve.

Deadlines: Programming assignment due dates will be posted on the course schedule. Programs are due by midnight on the due date. See my policy for late programs below. In addition, all programs except for the last 2 must be turned in by Sunday, May 4. The last 2 programs must be turned in by Friday, May 9.

Assignment Grading: Assignments will be graded on the following basis:

• 20 % - Documentation and Style - proper use of variable names, indentation, comments, etc.
• 80 % - Program operates correctly with instructor input data and performs all required functions

Program documentation involves the proper use of variable names, indention, comments, etc. These conventions are summarized on the Documentation and Style page. It is very important to make the programs as readable as possible and the instructor will strictly enforce the documentation guidelines for this course.

Please contact me if you have questions about the assignment expectations or grading process.

The material covered in each chapter of the textbook builds on material covered in previous chapters. For this reason, the second and third exams will include material from previous exams. If a mistake is made related to material covered on a previous exam, points will still be deducted. Exams will cover material from the textbook and may include supplemental material from class web site. Topics for each exam will be listed on the Exam Review web pages.

All exams will be administered at an ACC Testing Center or other approved testing center. Testing facilities are located at all major campuses and are open throughout the week. Check the current schedule for the testing facility you wish to use. Please allow at least two to three hours for each exam.

You may bring up to 3 pages (8.5 x 11" maximum) of notes for each exam. You may write on both sides of the page. The notes will be attached to the test and sent to the instructor, so you will want to make a copy before you take the exam. Exams will be graded and students will be notified by email of the items that were missed and the grade received. A student wishing to review and discuss the test with the instructor may do so by scheduling an appointment with the instructor. Exams are not returned to the student.

Deadlines: I will post due dates for exams on the course schedule. See my policy for late exams below. In addition, exams 1 & 2 will not be accepted after Sunday, May 4. Exam 3 will be available at all Testing Centers through Wednesday, May 7. Exam 3 will be available at the RVS Testing Center through Friday, May 9. Otherwise, see section above on Incomplete grades. 

There is a one week grace period for programs and a two week grace period for exams. During the grace period exams or programs will still be accepted for full credit. After the grace period, a 10% penalty will be deducted. For example, a program due on 2/3 can still be turned in up to one week later (2/10) for full credit. Note: the purpose of the grace period is to allow you some flexibility in scheduling your coursework. If you consistently complete assignments after the due date, it will be very difficult for you to complete all the coursework by the end of the semester. Important: all exams and programming assignments are subject to the absolute deadlines posted above. There is no grace period for the final exam and the final programming assignment.