What are the rules on break, continue, and inline if?
Unless an assignment explicitly says otherwise, if you want to use a break/labeled break (other than in a switch), a continue, or an inline if, you must leave me a comment with a convincing (brief) argument why it is a better solution than other options (i.e. fixing the logical condition in your loop, or an if). You are unlikely to convince me for a continue, but you can try.
What do you mean by zipped netbeans project directory?
When you created your project in netbeans, following the directions for creating a project one of the first steps involved naming your project (using our naming convention) and setting the location. This step showed you a "Project Folder"* in that location, named based on the project name, and the directions told you that this is the directory you will zip and submit. That's because... that is the directory that I want you to zip up and submit.
So, if you named your project cwk01jsmith99, and saved it on your W drive in a directory called CIS, then when you wanted to submit, you would go into W, then into CIS, and you should see cwk01jsmith99 as a directory. Right-click on it and zip it.
(*remember that "folder" is baby-talk for a directory on a computer drive because the icon for a directory looks like a manila folder)
I'll just search through a bunch of folders until I find the .java files and then zip up just those and submit them, right?
WRONG.
Please, go back and read about the project directory. Do not try to pull out individual files. That would mean you doing much more work to end up not sending me what I'm asking for. Don't waste your time to deliberately get a worse grade or no credit at all (inevitably, somebody tries to do this and sends me the .class files or something instead).
Can I use Eclipse or some other IDE for my homework? Don't you know that NetBeans sucks and Eclipse is awesome? Or if we're using NetBeans can't we use Maven or Graedle or ...
I will be grading using my HCC issue computer, which has Netbeans 8.1, which I do not have admin rights to do updates on. NetBeans projects made in the current version using Ant open and run correctly on this setup. Other formats don't.
So, you can use any IDE you want, but if you want me to open and grade your work, what you turn in to me must be a complete NetBeans project folder, so it will be up to you to convert before turning in.
I have used different IDEs in other semesters for this class, including a text editor and command line compiler/interpreter. We are currently using NetBeans. You will probably be subjected to a variety of different IDEs in your career.
How do you open a project you have downloaded from Brightspace?
Once you have downloaded it, you will have a zip file. Then you need to unzip it. NetBeans will not open anything from inside a zip file.
A quick way to extract your files from the zip (in Windows) is to double click the zip file to navigate the contents. Inside you should see your project directory. Drag this out of the zip file to another destination. It may take a moment to finish unzipping.
Then you will have both the folder and the zip file. Drag the folder to the main editing area of NetBeans (not to the Projects area).
I submitted the wrong project / only part of my project / some other file instead of submitting the correct zipped complete NetBeans project. Can I resubmit?
It is your responsibility to be sure that what you have submitted is a .zip file containing a complete NetBeans project made with Ant. Up until the due date, you may resubmit as often as you want. Beyond the due date I will not accept it for credit.
Why did you give me a zero for the way I zipped my project? AwesumZip75992 is a great open source program that is 9000% more efficient than what Windows does! All you have to do to open a .awsm75992zp file is...
It is your responsibility to show that you can follow the format requirements of this class, including using a .zip file that opens natively on a Windows computer. This should not be a difficult hurdle to clear, please come discuss with me if you are having trouble figuring out how to zip a file using something other than your pet program.
When I open my Netbeans project from home on an HCC machine (or my project from HCC on my home machine) I get an error like invalid target release: 1.7 and I can't compile or run my code. How do I fix this?
How should I indent my code?
Code should be indented one tab stop inside each structure (class, method, conditional, loop, try, etc). For example
/* format example */
public class Doge {
private String name;
// print message based on name
public showMessage() {
if (name == null) { // name not set!!
System.out.println("so null pointer, much error");
} else if (name.equals("Shiba Inu")) {
System.out.println("wow. such original");
} else {
System.out.println(name+ ", very java, many code");
}
}
}
NetBeans will do this for you as you type. If you have edited your code and got it a bit muddled, use Source > Format and it will fix it for you.
Did you know that if it only has one line, you don't NEED curly braces? You don't really want curly braces on every single conditional and loop do you?
Yes, I know that.
YES I want curly braces EVERY SINGLE TIME.
I know those two extra keystrokes exhaust your little finger and drain your soul, but for the purposes of this class, do it.
I think it would be better to name variables with capital letters / have mutators return / whatevs. Why are these wrong?
They are the wrong answer to how to write code following the standards used in this class. In general, I try to stick with the most widely used conventions, so that the habits you learn are most likely to match the code you will read and be asked to write. I don't always think these conventions are the best, just the most common.
If nothing else, you are practicing your standards compliance, so you'll be prepared the day you find yourself working for a shop with some completely bonkers coding standard left over from the days when the chief coder was a cobol wizard..
Why are we using arrays/for loops/ whatever when this would be a lot easier with Arraylists / foreach / some convenient and easy-to-use tool?
There are some cases where I have ruled out widely used constructions because at this point they tend to be used as crutches to avoid learning how to work through certain kinds of problems.
Often, although you would usually make use of some common tool to solve a simple problem, I'm making you to work through the simple problem manually, rather than making you work through some large an elaborate problem where the common tool couldn't be used.
To put it another way, I'm making you reinvent the wheel because I'm pretty sure you don't need to spend a lot of time in this class learning to use a wheel, but you probably need practice inventing things in general, and inventing the hovercraft would make for a very long classwork.
I've got <default package> instead of a package in my project. What's going on?
This most often happens when you're creating your project in NetBeans and you go to change the name of the main class created automatically, and replace the whole thing instead of just the part after the period. The original name will be something like pkgnm.Filename and you changed it to MyClass instead of to pkgnm.MyClass . In this case, your java files won't have a package statement at the top.
While this usually won't make a difference in how your code runs, it would be better to have a package. You can easily fix this by right clicking the project and choosing New > Java Package (the name of the package doesn't matter). Then drag your java files onto the package you created.
If some of your classes are in a package (or you at least have a package) but some classes are in <default package> that probably means that when you added new classes you clicked on the top of the project (the coffee cup) or somewhere else instead of on the package (the icon looks like a square yellow package tied with string). You can fix this by dragging the class onto the package where it should be, and then clicking the Refactor button when prompted.
How much commenting do you require?
Use comments to explain what you're doing. There should generally be a comment on each class and method (constructors, accessors, mutators, and toString may not need them) and anywhere you're doing something that isn't blindingly obvious. Meaningful method and variable names can limit the need for comments. You may find it helps to copy the description from the assignment as a comment.
What's going on?? No comments, useless names:
public void newPuppies(int x, String y)
chow();check();System.out.println(x + "\'s " + y + " new puppies have arrived!!");if (x > 3) {chow();hire();}
}
Comments not helping readability -- wordy for no reason, names still bad:
// method newPuppies goes through process to adopt some new puppies
// buying food for the puppies and checking that the house is safe
// takes x, a variable to store how many puppies
// takes y, a variable to store the name of the owner
public void newPuppies(int x, String y)
// call method to buy puppy chowchow();// call method to check that the house is safecheck();// print out message saying how many puppies have arrivedSystem.out.println(x + "\'s " + y + " new puppies have arrived!!");//check if there are more than three puppies and if so do extra prepif (x > 3) {// call method again to buy more chow so we have double the food for the extra puppieschow();// call method to hire puppysitter needed for the extra puppieshire();}
}
Readable -- comments and better naming:
// named owner preps for and adopts some puppies
public void adoptPuppies(int howmanypuppies, String ownerName) {
// prepbuyPuppyChow();safetyCheckHouse();System.out.println(ownerName + "\'s " + howmanypuppies + " new puppies have arrived!!");//extra prep for large littersif (howmanypuppies >3) {buyPuppyChow(); // double foodhirePuppySitter();}
}
I can't log into my HCC account or have another HCC-specific technology issue. Can you reset my password / fix my account/ etc?
I do not have any access to accounts, passwords, etc. The best I can do is put in a workorder if your classrom computer hardware has a problem. Otherwise you need to talk to HCC's ITS.
For password/account problems, try this Account/Password Help Page or call 443-412-2477 option 3 during business hours.
You said this assignment is not a huge part of my grade, but it is graded out of 100. 100 is a big number!!! In fact all the assignments are graded out of 100! Doesn't that mean they are all worth the same?
A grade on an individual assignment is graded as a percentage. Percentage means out of 100. so if you got 73 on an assigment, that means you got 73% of the credit available for that assignment.
Each assignment makes a different contribution to your overall class grade depending on the class grading scheme and how many of each type of assignment there are.
For example, suppose tests are worth 30% of the class grade and we have 3 tests. Then each test is worth 10% of your overall grade. If you got 73% on that test, then you got 73% of the 10% that test could have contributed to your overall grade (so, about 7.3%). Suppose another type of assignment is worth 15% and we have 15 of them; then each is worth about 1% and if you got 73% on one that contributes 0.73% to your overall grade.
Brightspace tries to just add up all the points for all the assignments because Brightspace is designed for people who don't understand how percentages work. We should laugh at them.
Will you help me with my homework?
Sure! You can bring your questions about assignments to office hours or email me.
The more you can narrow down what you're having trouble with, the better (and faster) the answer you'll get.
If you are coming to office hours, bring as much as you have got done already, but have in mind the specific parts you need help on
If you are emailing me for help with your answer to a short answer question or written problem, please put it into the body of an email rather than just attaching a document. (Attach a document if you have a question about document formatting e.g. "My footnotes are numbered wrong, how do I fix this?")
If your question is limited to a short block of code, please paste that into the body of an email. If your question involves more of your project, attach your zipped project directory, but still if possible include the part(s) of the code you're having trouble with in the body.
Will you check my homework before I turn it in?
No. I will happily answer specific questions about any part of an assignment, but I won't just pre-grade your whole assignment.
But I need help with my whole homework! Why won't you help me without a specific question?
The help I give you needs to lead you to learning the material, so I can't give you useful help until I know what parts you are and aren't having trouble with. Otherwise I may be wasting your time "helping" with the part you can do already, rather than the part you actually need me for.
For instance, one thing you could be having trouble with is finding where a topic is covered in the course material in the first place. If you are looking at a page in a browser, such as example code or notes, CTRL+F will search for keywords. In a paper textbook make sure you look at the table of contents, index, and/or glossary. If you've done that and still can't find it, email or come by office hours to ask me where to find it; there are always a few topics that we only cover in class, so make sure you got notes if you missed a day!
Another thing you could be having trouble with is knowing what I'm asking for. Read carefully through the assignment until you narrow it down to a particular directive or question that you don't understand. That's the part to email/ask me about.
It could be that you've read all the material and you understand the question or task, but you just can't figure out how to do it. This is where real learning happens! Start identifying the parts you do understand and the parts you don't. There will probably be a lot of parts you do understand. For instance you may not need my help to know what "variable" means, or what MM stands for. Eventually, you'll hit something you really don't understand. That's when you should come by office hours or email me or ask in class, and we can spend lots of time on the stuff you really need my help on, without me wasting your time explaining stuff you already know.
I'm having trouble with the class material. How can I do better?
Face to face: Ask more questions in class. Come to office hours and ask questions. Try the learning center (Library, Room 115).
Use the discussion boards in Brightspace to ask specific questions. (Saying "I don't understand hardware." or "Arrays don't make sense." doesn't tell me enough to get a useful response.)
Why did I lose credit for using the wrong document format?? Who cares?
Understanding and following document format requirements is a baseline skill for dealing with computer technology. The incredibly common format I am requiring is available on all campus computers, many alterative editors can also save to MS office formats, and you can get a free online account to use basic versions of MS office programs.
If you use a document format Brightspace cannot handle I may or may not choose to take the extra time and effort to view your document. If I do choose to grade it at all, I will certainly not bother to give feedback; just a score.
How did I do on this assignment?
All grades are given as percentages. Percentage means out of 100. 90% and above is A, 80-89% is B, etc.
Grades are not "curved" (in most cases this would lower grades, not raise them).
Most grades will come back through electronic systems (Brightspace, MyITlab). If you did not submit an assignment, or submitted it late, I may not have bothered to type the 0 into the system yet.
Grades for hardcopy assignments will come back written on the paper (sometimes on the back page).
I think you recorded the wrong grade / added the points wrong, what should I do?
Email me telling me which assignment and what you think is wrong, and I will do a regrade. (If it was team work, also tell me your team number, if it was on paper, give me the paper back.)
Note that sometimes the result of a regrade is that I discover that I didn't note one of the places where you lost points. In which case I'll add the note and the points will stay the same.
If I am doing a regrade and I notice that I missed somewhere else I should have taken off points, I will do so.
The system shows an assignment as Not Graded. What does this mean?
If it is an assignment that you turned in on time, it means that I have not graded it yet. If it is an assignment that you turned in late, it means that I didn't bother to type in the zero.
How long until this assignment is graded?
Every time someone asks this question, it adds a week.
(If it has been several weeks, or you discover that everyone else's is graded except yours, then it's fine to check with me that yours didn't get overlooked somehow.)
If you had to have a makeup/regrade/other special circumstances, that grading will always have to wait until everything else (all grading in all classes, and administrative work) is done.
Is the online system showing my correct grade?
Grades for most individual assignments will be available in the online system you used to turn them in.
Nothing about how Brightspace displays scores can "bring down your grade" because Brightspace does not assign your course grade. I do, at the end of the semester, using the grade percentages listed for the parts of your class.
Similarly myITlab may show a score that doesn't take into account that some assignments in your semester might be extra credit.
Assignments not turned in electronically (e.g. paper tests) will come back on paper and will not be included in the online systems at all.
So how do I find out my grade?
The class handout/syllabus has the grading scheme for your class. Different assignments are worth more or less based on this scheme and on how many such assignments are given.
In general, to find a weighted average,
So, suppose homework is worth 25% classwork is worth 35% and tests are worth 40%. If your homework average is 90, your classwork average is 80, and your test average is 70, then your overall grade is 90 * .25 + 80 *.35 + 70 *.4 = 78.5 .
Excel makes this very easy to do. If you are over halfway through any of my classes, you should be able to do this.
How does extra credit work?
Extra credit is added to the rest of the score on a single assignment, and can raise that score even above 100%. So if you got 110% and 90% on two tests, that would be a test average of 100%.
You could end up with more than 100% average on one type of assignment, which would help make up for a low average on another type of assignment. But note that 110% on a type of assignment worth only 10% of the class grade would not make up for having a 60% on a type of assignement worth 40% overall.
What are the class policies on team work?
This depends on your class. In general, in my face to face courses, unless stated otherwise, classwork is to be done as team work and team work may be allowed in other circumstances. If you work alone when team work is assigned I will deduct 15-25%
The work turned in by a team should be agreed on by the whole team. The whole team will share the grade, positive or negative -- if you turned it in, you are saying it was the team's work, not just one team member's.
If an assignment is team work, the whole assignment is team work. One team member cannot turn in one part (extra credit or otherwise) independently.
Every team member must contribute to all parts of the assignment. Parallel work is not allowed (unless the assignment explicitly says so). If the team agrees to turn in work and leave, a single member cannot choose to stay and work further (on extra credit or otherwise). I will deduct points if the "team" does not function as one.
If you come in late or leave early enough that you cannot contribute to all parts of an assignment, you must work alone and take the point hit. If you join a team but leave your teammates to finish without you before everyone agrees you're done, you will receive no points at all. If you have been abandoned, tell me.
You are strongly encouraged to work with different people each time. Please don't make me have to assign teams; it is tedious and you are not small children.
You are strongly encouraged to switch off between team members during an assignment so that everyone is involved in typing/writing, in planning, in watching for typos/syntax errors, etc.
You must cooperate with your team members. This means that one team member's preferences cannot rule over the team's needs.
Someone in a team never does any work / takes over and does everything. What should I do?
When you are in a team with a person who is not cooperating, the first thing to do is just try to politely change what's happening. "Let me see if I've got the way this works -- I think we should..." or "How about you try this this part - how should we start?" or even "I feel like I'm/you're always typing, let's switch it up for this part."
If that doesn't help, it might be worth calmly and respectfully saying, "I feel like you're not saying much, could you try to be more active in the team?" or "I can see you've got this down, but I need a little more practice, I'd like to try some things first, before you just speed through everything."
After that classwork, however, remember that you are strongly encouraged to try working with different people. You can cut down on how often you have to work in a situation that you don't like.
Can I audio-record class / take a picture of the board?
It is fine to do this, using your own equipment. Neither I nor any classmate should appear in pictures (unless your classmate has given you their explicit permission).
Can I get the Powerpoint slides you used in class?
These may be found in the Brightspace for your course under Lectures, but note that my powerpoints are not verbose and do not make a good replacement for notes.
In programming classes, code examples the same or equivalent to any on the slides will be available on the class page.
I missed class, what did we do?
On the class page, content goes up almost every day, so you can easily answer this question for yourself by going to the class page. These include any new assignments (except any assigned in myITlab, which you can find in the assignment calendar). If no new content has been added, we probably continued the previous topic or topics (for example we may have reviewed several previous topics.)
Will you send me the powerpoints / give me notes for a day I missed?
No.
You are expected to get notes from a classmate. Read throught these and come to me with questions and you can haunt my office hours indefinitely until you have a handle on the material.
I missed turning in an assignment. Can I make it up for credit?
No, late work will not be accepted for credit.
If you are afraid of your internet going out, turn in the work on campus. You don't have to wait until 11pm the night it is due to turn something in.
Paper homework can be turned in early under my office door or in my mailbox in the Joppa office. If you cannot get to campus to turn in paper homework but let me know before it is due I may, at my discretion, arrange an alternate method of turning it in on time.
I missed class on a day there was classwork assigned. Can I make it up for credit?
No, class policy is that missed classwork cannot be made up for credit. Classwork must be done in class with me observing.
I suggest you do read through the classwork, to determine whether you understand the material, and then get in touch with me with specific questions. Make sure to read the classwork solutions; this is always part of your reading assignment!
HCC requires that students who miss class for official HCC athletic events are allowed to make up any work from the days missed. This unfair policy is HCC's, not mine. Athletes who will miss class for a game must send me official notice at least two weeks in advance and will be required to complete the makeup work before the day we would do it in class.
I will not be here at the time of a test, can I still take it?
If you let me know before the date of the test, I can arrange for you to take the test in the test center early. Give me at least a week's notice before the time you will leave, to make arrangements.
I missed a test, can I make it up for credit?
If you contact me before the end of the period we are taking the test, and give me a compelling explanation why you cannot make it, I may, at my discretion, allow you to take a makeup test. Makeup tests are always harder.
If you contact me after this, but can prove that you could not get in touch with me sooner, I may, at my discretion, allow you to take a makeup test. Makeup tests are always harder.
Otherwise, no, you have missed this test.
Most of my classes just put everything in Brightspace. Why is some of our material somewhere else? Can't you just put it all in Brightspace?
Unfortunately, Brightspace's editors are terrible at creating anything but single paragraphs of unformatted text. Also most information typed into Brightspace is difficult to get back out of Brightspace except in special proprietary formats.
Also, Brightspace will eventually time out your login. I'd rather students be able to keep the material open and available however long they need to.
Systems like MyLab are outside of Brightspace and while they can be connected, they still cannot become part of Brightspace as they require separate access.
I can't open something from the class page. I get a page that says "The page you are trying to reach cannot be found"
If you typed the address or chose it from a drop-down in the browser, double check the url is right. If you clicked a link on one of my pages, email me to let me know the link is broken.
Where should we save files on campus ?
Not on the C: drive of the computer you are sitting at! On campus computers are set up to automatically delete anything saved on C: (e.g. in Documents) when you log out. Saved work may also be deleted if the power goes out (e.g. if someone trips over the power cord of your computer).
A W: network drive should have been set up for all students in my classes. You should be able to save there directly from all programs on campus machines, including putting your projects there from NetBeans. See this page on campus drives.
You may also choose to use a thumb drive.
Can I make an appointment to come by your office hours?
It is always fine to come by office hours You don't need an appointment; just show up at my office. (Office hours are first come first served, so you may sometimes have to wait a few minutes until another student is finished.)
You weren't at your office hours!
Was there a sign on the door saying that office hours were cancelled? If so, then you're right, sorry about that, I'm probably ill.
There may instead be a sign on the door saying "Back in 5 minutes," or telling you another room in Joppa where you can find me. In which case you need to wait/come find me.
If there is no sign, I may be holding office hours in the classroom where I ended the previous class. Look at the door schedule to see which classroom this was.My office hours are
Other times you happen to come by my office, including 5 minutes before or after office hours, are not my office hours.
Can I work in the classroom when you aren't there?
No, according to HCC rules, classrooms are supposed to be closed and locked when no faculty are present. Lab hours may be available for students.
You said I copied text from a certain website but I've never been to that site. I got it from another website/ the textbook/ a friend.
That also counts. Yes, including the textbook.
You said I copied text from a website or other source but my text isn't exactly the same.
The requirement is that you put it in your own words. Tiny cosmetic changes like removing or inserting an extra word, swapping punctuation, or deliberate misspelling does not constitute putting it in your own words.
Suppose, for instance, you were looking for info about compilers and found on the wikipedia page for Compiler:
A compiler is a computer program that transforms source code written in a programming language (the source language) into another computer language (the target language, often having a binary form known as object code). The most common reason for wanting to transform source code is to create an executable program.
If you basically quoted this with minor changes, that would not be putting it in your own words:
It is a computer program which transforms source code in a programming language, the source language, into another computer language, the target language, very often having a form known as object code and the most common reason for wanting to transform source code is to create an executable program
However if you understood it well enough to paraphrase, you'd be fine:
Compilers translate programs from one programming language to another, usually creating a program that can run.
But my copied text was the right answer! Shouldn't I get credit for the right answer?
No, none of my courses offer credit for googling a keyword and copy-pasting. If you cannot express a class concept in your own words, you have not learned it well enough for a passing grade. The process of formulating your own description or explanation is a key part of learning. Trying to use someone else's words to trick me into thinking you've done this is dishonest and counter-productive.
Also, almost every time, the answers students have received -100% for have in fact been terrible answers to the question I actually asked, and would have received 0 points even if I hadn't noticed they did not sound like student writing.
You said I copied text from a website or other source, but that was just for one question! You can't give me a -100% on the whole assignment!
Yes I can. This policy was discussed on the first day of class.
You said I copied text from a website or other source, but actually that was someone else in my team, so I shouldn't be penalized.
By turning in work as a team, you are attesting that it was a collaboration between all team members, including you. Everyone receives the credit; including negative credit.
You said I copied text from a website or other source, but a -100% will hurt my grade! A lot! Can't you just give me a zero?
If you got a zero, you'd be no worse off than if you hadn't turned work in. That turns out not to be a sufficient deterrent.
Since people sometimes do it anyway, perhaps -100% isn't sufficient either. Maybe it should be -200% for the second offense...
You said I copied text from a website or other source. Actually, I can prove I was the original creator of the content of that website.
This is the only explanation that would make a difference.
I know all the stuff that's really important about this topic. I can build my own computer and program pong in assembly. Why doesn't my grade reflect this?
I can only grade you on the knowledge of class-specific concepts you demonstrated through the work you turn in. For credit, you need to prove that you have mastered all of the class material, not just the part that interests you. I also can't give you credit for homework you don't turn in, no matter how far beyond 9000 your skillz are.
Can I do a special project or other assignment for extra credit?
No. There is no secret menu just for special students. Extra credit will not be offered that is not available to the whole class.
Similarly, extra credit will not be offered on anything outside the class material. (In other words, your ability to field-strip a PDP-11 is impressive but isn't worth any class credit.)
Can I have an extension on this assignment?
No. Extra time will not be offered that is not available to the whole class. Turn in as much as you did get done, for partial credit.
I lost something in the classroom, how do I find it again?
Anything turned in to me I will leave at the front of the classroom in the hope you will return soon to find it. If it is not there, also check at the secretary's office for the building, and at the lost & found in the security office in the library.
The weather is bad! Is class cancelled?
HCC uses the AlertMe system to alert students when we are closed for weather, by email and/or phone -- whatever contact you give them. They're also usually pretty good at putting a banner across the HCC main page to announce closing, or you can call 443-412-2322 to check.
If we are open, I will hold class unless I can't get there, in which case I will probably send an email (unless the weather has also knocked out my power/internet...).
I was told shaking hands with my professors was a way to show respect and professionalism. Can we shake hands?
Please don't. Shaking hands is also a way to multiply the power of the college as a disease vector. A fist bump is plenty respectful for me and less likely to exchange germs.
Hey! You used "they" as a singular pronoun! That's incorrect grammar! "They" is plural!
Thou art using "you" as a singular nominative! Fie! Did no one teach thee that "you" is an oblique plural?
How many hats have ye?
Approximately 53. Not all of them get worn to class.
(better. still plural tho'. )