CME 211 Syllabus (Fall 2020)

(cross listed as Earth 211)

Software Development for Scientists and Engineers

Basic usage of the Python and C++ programming languages are introduced and used to solve representative computational problems from various science and engineering disciplines. Software design principles including time and space complexity analysis, data structures, object-oriented design, decomposition, encapsulation, and modularity are emphasized. Usage of campus wide Linux compute resources: login, file system navigation, editing files, compiling and linking, file transfer, etc. Versioning and revision control, software build utilities, and the LaTeX typesetting software are introduced and used to help complete programming assignments. Prerequisite: introductory programming course equivalent to CS 106A or instructor consent.

Goals

To become a productive user of unix-like and remote computing systems.
To become an effective user of tools for software development such as version control (git), text editors (vim, emacs), and build systems (make).
To be able to write Python and C++ programs of intermediate complexity for science and engineering applications.
Develop skill in computational thinking, that “is the thought processes involved in formulating a problem and expressing its solution(s) in such a way that a computer, human or machine, can effectively carry out.”

Topics Covered

Linux

Remote login and file transfer using ssh and scp
Filesystem navigation (moving through and creating directories, finding files, etc.)
Creation and editing of code and data files

Python

Variables, conditionals, file I/O, data structures (lists, tuples, dictionaries, sets)
loops, functions, exceptions, and modules
Objects and references
Objected Oriented Programming (OOP) using classes
Numerical Python (NumPy) and Scientific Python (SciPy) extensions for scientific computing
matplotlib for visualization

C++

Creating C++ Programs: preprocessor, compiling, linking
Containers (vector, map, etc.)
Object oriented programming (classes and methods, etc.)
Pointers, addresses, and memory management
Note that more advanced features of C++ (operator overloading, templates, etc.) will be covered in CME 212

Software Development and Industry Practices

Creating and using a basic Makefile
Version control: use of Git and Github for managing software projects
LaTeX markup (figures, tables, equations, references, managing a bibliography, and publishing a PDF document)

Communication

We will be using Canvas to send announcements and as a discussion board for the homework projects. Please use this if you have questions regarding course material.

Please visit the CME211 Canvas page: https://canvas.stanford.edu/courses/123262

We’re also using Piazza this year. If you’d like to, sign up at: https://piazza.com/class/kf5txwmjbc676e

All other correspondence should be sent to cme211-staff@lists.stanford.edu.

Do not send questions related to course material to the staff mailing list or to individual staff emails (including the instructor). We will not answer these. Questions may be posted to the Canvas discussion board or asked during office hours.

Teaching staff

Instructor:

Andreas Santucci (santucci at stanford)

Teaching assistants:

Carolyn Kao (chkao831 at stanford)
Guillermo Bescos (gbescos at stanford)
Maoguo Shi (smgyl at stanford)
Tom Morvan (tommrvn at stanford)

Time and location

Days: Tues, Thurs
Time: 6:30 PM - 7:50 PM
Location: Remote

Zoom meeting details are on Canvas.

Office hours

All office hours will be held remotely. TA office hours are posted on Canvas. Andreas will hold office hours after each class, from 7:55 P.M. to 8:45 P.M.

Join the Zoom meeting during office hour times using the links provided in Canvas. Feel free to join even if you don’t have any questions. You can listen in on the conversation (which might spark a question for you) or we can use the time to get to know each other!

Resources

Recommended readings come from the following books, which are available online to Stanford students through the library. These are great books to have in your collection.

Learning Python, 5th Edition by Mark Lutz (link)
C++ Primer, 5th Edition by Lippman, Kajoie, and Moo (link)

Other resources are listed in the CME211/notes repository.

Grading

This year, your course grade will be based on assignments (60%), one exam Python (12.5%), and a final project (27.5%).

Course letter grades are at the discretion of the instructor. If at any time you have questions about your standing in the class, please contact the instructor. Please don’t wait until after the course is over if you have concerns about your progress in the class.

It’s critical that you read through the grading guidelines that are posted in the CME211/guidelines folder on our Github course webpage.

Exam

This year there will only be one examination; it will occur midway through the quarter and it will be based on your knowledge of Python.

Note that students must pass the exam in order to earn a passing grade in the course.

You will have two hours to complete the exam, but you will have a window of 24 hours in which you can open the exam and complete it within two hours. The two hours start when you open the exam in Canvas. If you foresee or encounter extenuating circumstances that would not allow you to complete the exam within the two hour limit or before the deadline, please contact the teaching staff as soon as possible.

Assignments

There will be 7 assignments (although the first is required, it is not graded in the same way as subsequent assignments). In general, assignments will be posted on Friday afternoons and be due the following Friday at 4:30 pm via online submission.

This year, students are expected to complete all assignments. Across all assignments, students are permitted a total of 3 late days, which can be used one day at a time. I.e., each late day used grants up to a 24-hour extension, and a late day cannot be used partially (e.g. if you hand in an assignment 2 hours after the deadline, you will have used up an entire late day). Usage of additional late days (beyond 3) will be penalized at the end of the quarter, by an amount subject to the discretion of the staff! E.g. with one additional late day, we might choose to penalize 25% of allowable marks, and with two additional late days, we might choose to penalize 50% of allowable marks, and with three additional late days, we might choose to penalize 75% of allowable marks.

Note that failure to submit even a single assignment corresponds to at least a full final letter grade deduction.

Final Project

This year we will not do a second C++ exam as we usually do. Instead, we are placing more weight on the final project which allows students to showcase what they’ve learned cumulatively throughout the course. More details will be provided later in the quarter.

Note that students must pass the final project in order to earn a passing grade in the course.

Course Privacy Statement

As noted in the University’s recording and broadcasting courses policy, students may not audio or video record class meetings without permission from the instructor (and guest speakers, when applicable). If the instructor grants permission or if the teaching team posts videos themselves, students may keep recordings only for personal use and may not post recordings on the Internet, or otherwise distribute them. These policies protect the privacy rights of instructors and students, and the intellectual property and other rights of the university. Students who need lectures recorded for the purposes of an academic accommodation should contact the Office of Accessible Education.

Honor Code

All students are expected to abide by the Stanford Honor Code. The work you submit to us for grading must be your own. The computer science website has a good explanation of the honor code as it relates to courses involving significant amounts of computer programming. In particular, for remote examinations, the Office of Community standards has provided guidance for remote teaching and learning. Some takeaways from the remote-teaching resources:

“Permitted informational resources only includes material a reasonable student would have found to be helpful when trying to understand class material or preparing for an assignment or exam. This does not include material that becomes useful once the assignment or exam begins and questions are known.”
“In all cases, it is not permissible for students to enter exam questions into any software, apps, or websites. Accessing resources that directly explain how to answer questions from the actual assignment or exam is a violation of the Honor Code.”
“Answers to assignment or exam questions must be written in the student’s own words, or else be cited, otherwise it is plagiarism. Use of all sources, including internet resources, must be cited. Similarly, consulting or collaborating with other people is not permitted and does not fall within the definition of an open-book or informational resource…”

Students are expected to read the three resources on (honor-code, cs-code, and remote-guidance) in full, as there are serious consequences for not abiding by the honor code! Compromising your academic integrity may lead to serious consequences, including (but not limited to) one or more of the following: failure of the assignment, failure of the course, disciplinary probation, suspension from the university, or dismissal from the university.

Note that at various times we may use special computer software called MOSS to assist us in detecting plagiarism. If you are having difficulty completing an assignment please contact a TA or the instructor so that we may help you (for exams, we cannot offer any assistance). We would much rather spend time helping you than dealing with honor code violations!

Guidelines for Assignments

It’s great (and encouraged) to work with other people on high level ideas, concepts, and methods.
But, you must write your code on your own.
Please seek help early and often, if and when you encounter problems.
Keep your code closed and separate if you are helping another student with a debugging or technical issue in code.
Do not copy code from another student (current or previous).
Do not give your code to another student (current or future).
It is acceptable to copy small blocks (a few lines) of code from public sources, such as stackoverflow.com. You must cite your source and abide by any copyright and licensing restrictions. You do not need to cite course notes, example programs provided by CME211, reference information from python.org docs, or reference information from cppreference.com.
Do not use or reference work from previous students of CME211 or any solution files that may be out there.
Do not post homework PDFs or your solutions in a publicly available location.
Please let us know if you come across available solutions. We will kindly ask the provider to remove the resource.

Grading and End of Quarter Policies

Cr/NC Grading policies: by University policy (https://registrar.stanford.edu/students/definition-grades), Cr is earned for C- work or better.
Coursework Deadline: by University policy (https://registrar.stanford.edu/coursework-deadline-2020-21), “all coursework is due by the last day of the last week of instruction in each quarter.’’

Students with Documented Disabilities

Students who may need an academic accommodation based on the impact of a disability must initiate the request with the Office of Accessible Education (OAE). Professional staff will evaluate the request with required documentation, recommend reasonable accommodations, and prepare an Accommodation Letter for faculty dated in the current quarter in which the request is made. Students should contact the OAE as soon as possible since timely notice is needed to coordinate accommodations. The OAE is located at 563 Salvatierra Walk.

(Phone: 723-1066, URL: http://studentaffairs.stanford.edu/oae).

Carolyn Kao