Diablo Valley College
Computer Science
2010 Spring Semester
ComSc-105
(8268) Introduction to Computer Science
Course
Syllabus
Semester 2010 Spring
Number ComSc-105
Section 8268
Title Introduction to Computer Science
Catalog
Description A beginning course for computer science majors
and students interested in programming. Basic hardware and software terminologies are
covered. Students are introduced to
program design and development methodologies, data representation, data
structures, operating systems, and machine architecture. CSU, UC (credit limits
may apply to UC - see counselor)
Outcomes Students completing this course should be
able to:
·
name
different hardware parts of a computer system and describe their purpose
·
describe
the purpose of an operating system, as well as some of the problems that arise,
and their solutions
·
use
a text editor and a compiler to create, edit, debug and execute a simple
program
Evenings Monday
and Wednesday evenings (most weeks)
Dates Monday, January 25 through Wednesday, May
26, 2010 (except for holidays)
Hours 7:00 p.m. 9:50 p.m.
Room ATC-109
Format Evening, full-semester course,
roughly half lecture (discussions
and tests) and half lab (exercises)
Units 4.0
Enrollment Each student must be enrolled with the
college and have a seven-digit student
identification number
Prerequisite (none listed)
Suggestion Any student who is not yet comfortable typing
on a computer keyboard should consider taking the course BUSIM-110 Keyboarding I Beginning Keyboarding (either before taking
this computer science course, or at the same time)
Co-requisite (none listed)
Other
Registration To see dates
for adding or dropping the course, withdrawing from the course, or choosing a
credit / no credit grading option, please visit the college web site and look
for Academic Calendar, or see the Links Out
section near the end of this syllabus and choose Calendar.
Go
to top
Name Leslie Asher
Contact In
class, students are encouraged to ask
the instructor questions. Other students may have the same or similar
questions and may benefit from hearing them asked.
Before or after
class, students may consult with the
instructor during office hours
(please see below).
At
other times outside of class,
students may also contact the instructor by electronic mail. Please see
the Links Out section near the end of this syllabus
for more information about the
instructor, including how to contact
him by e-mail. Even though this course is not an online
course, the instructor will nonetheless make himself available by e-mail which,
on most days, he should be able to check.
Go
to top
The
instructor will conduct office hours
in the room where the class normally meets for fifteen (15) minutes before and after class. Some evenings,
the instructor will arrive even earlier, and stay even later. During office hours, students would be
welcome to ask about class topics and seek advice.
If
the instructor is teaching another class the same semester, he may be
conducting office hours before and after that class as well. Please see the Links Out
section near the end of this syllabus for more
information about the instructor, including the classes he is teaching.
Go
to top

1) Main book
Brookshear, J. Glenn
Computer
Science: An Overview, 10th Ed.
Boston, MA
Pearson Education
/ Addison-Wesley, 2009
688 pages
Print Electronic
ISBN-10: 0-321-52403-9 0-321-55653-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-321-52403-4 978-0-321-55653-0
Link to
electronic edition:
http://www.coursesmart.com/9780321556530?_instructoruserid=1702724

2) Programming book
Deitel, Paul J., Harvey M. Deitel, and Greg
J. Ayer
Simply
Visual Basic 2008, 3rd Ed.
Upper Saddle
River, NJ
Pearson
Education / Prentice Hall, 2009
1484 pages
Print Electronic
ISBN-10: 0-13-605303-3 0-13-605287-8
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-605303-3 978-0-13-605287-6
Link to
electronic edition:
http://www.coursesmart.com/9780136052876?_instructoruserid=1702724
These textbooks are required. Students should buy, rent or subscribe to correct editions of them. Books
other than those listed would not be
suitable.
Students
should preferably get books by the first class meeting. Students should bring all books to every
class meeting. Students who
subscribe to electronic books may bring portable computers to class.
Material in books will provide an
important basis for lectures, class discussions, lab exercises, homework
assignments and tests.
Students who do not have the money to get
books by the first week of the semester would be at a disadvantage. Such students should
consider not taking the course until
they have sufficient funds to get books.
Students should not share books with other students. Attempting to share books would impede
students ability to read and understand the material, to follow class discussions
based on the books, and to individually complete assignments that are printed
in the books.
Please
see the Links Out section near the end of this syllabus
for bookstore information.
Go
to top
An
electronic mail account is required to submit
assignments to the instructor, and
to receive announcements from him.
An
e-mail account would also be necessary to participate in an optional program to
receive free software from
Microsoft. The e-mail address would need to be on file with the college.
A
student who does not already have an e-mail account could look on the Internet
for a low-cost or free account. Below
are a few links to web sites where such accounts may be available:
Go
to top

This
course will use Microsoft Visual Basic
2008 to write, compile and execute computer programs.
Copies
of this software, or of the entire Visual
Studio 2008 suite, should already be installed on classroom computers for instructor
and students to use during class discussions and for lab exercises.
Students
who wish to obtain their own copies of Visual
Basic 2008 could download without cost the Express Edition of it from:
http://www.microsoft.com/express/download/
For
other free software, students may ask their instructor about the Microsoft Developer Network Academic
Alliance. To participate, students
must have valid e-mail addresses on
file with the college.
Alternatively,
students may wish to check online or retail sources for discounted software with vendors such as
The
college bookstore may have
information about discounted software.
Students
who wish to buy software should buy legally-licensed
software from reputable sources.
Go
to top
Students should obtain some form of portable data storage to save and transport assignments or other data files among computers at
school, home and work (if authorized to use work computers for study).
Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory devices, also known by names
such as "memory sticks", "flash drives", or "thumb
drives", are now widely used. They
cost more than floppy diskettes.
However, their capacity is much greater. Some form of USB memory device is strongly recommended for this course.
Floppy
diskettes were widely used for many years as an economical form of portable
storage. However, the storage capacity
of diskettes is limited, and many manufacturers no longer equip personal
computers with diskette drives.
An
alternative to buying and carrying around USB sticks or diskettes may be to
e-mail assignments or other data to oneself over the Internet!
Go
to top
Ethics
require that students do their own
assignments and take their own tests;
so do college rules.
Students
should acquaint themselves with rules in the College Catalog that govern academic
honesty and other student conduct. The academic year 2009-2010 College Catalog
includes sections about these topics on pages 30, 36, and 42 thru 49.
To
read an online version of the College Catalog, please visit the college web
site and search for it, or see the Links Out
section near the end of this syllabus and choose Catalog. To obtain a printed
copy, please visit the College Bookstore.
If
a student is academically dishonest, the instructor may penalize the students
grade. Please see the Grading section of
this syllabus for more information. If a
student repeats academically dishonest behavior, the instructor may refer the
student to a college dean for further action.
Ethics
extend to intellectual property. Students should honor software licenses
and other copyrights that belong to
organizations and authors by not illegally copying digital files or printed
material.
Etiquette
requires that students be considerate
of one another and the instructor.
Students
should pose thoughtful and
meaningful questions and answers for class discussion.
When
entering the classroom, students should turn
off cell phones (or set them to a silent mode). Students should not distract others by using cell phones in the classroom.
During
class discussions, students should turn
off video monitors and avoid using
lab computers. Students should not distract others by using computers
during discussions.
During
class hours, students should use computers for class purposes only. Students should not use computers to play games,
to use social networking software
such as Facebook, or to check electronic
mail messages (except for class-related e-mail).
Go
to top
Students
will need to present a form of legitimate photo
identification to the instructor in order to receive credit for the
course. Students will preferably present
such ID in the first few weeks of the semester.
Students
may obtain college photo ID cards
without cost. For more information,
scroll down to the Links Out section near the end of this syllabus
and click a link for photo ID.
Go
to top
Students
are expected to attend every class. Students should arrive on time, take breaks
when instructed, and stay for the duration of each class.
The
instructor must take attendance at the beginning of the semester and report
initial attendance data to the college.
The instructor may continue recording attendance throughout the
semester.
If
a student misses the first class, or is absent for the equivalent
of two (2) weeks during the semester, the instructor may drop the student from the
course. However, the student is ultimately responsible for dropping or withdrawing
by dates that the college publishes.
For
further information about attendance policies, please refer to the college
catalog. The academic year 2009-2010
College Catalog includes a section about Registering
for Classes on pages 17 thru 19.
To
read an online version of the College Catalog, please visit the college web
site and search for it, or see the Links Out
section near the end of this syllabus and choose Catalog. To obtain a printed
copy, please visit the College Bookstore.
Go
to top
Students
taking this course are expected to study approximately one (1) hour outside of
class for every hour in class.
In
other words, for a class that usually meets for six (6) hours per week,
students are expected to study for approximately another six (6) hours per week
outside of class.
Studying
should include quiet time at a desk reading assigned book(s) and handouts, and
it should include time at a computer using assigned software.
Students
are expected to thoroughly read assigned material, to thoughtfully complete
assigned exercises, and to submit homework assignments on a timely basis.
Go
to top
Below is the beginning of a tentative course schedule*, which the instructor may modify at his discretion.
Discussion / Homework
Wk of
Reading Assignment Test
01 01/
25
Careers, Syllabus,
Introduction
Read: CS Ch00
Quiz
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. Qz00
Data Storage Read: CS Ch01, §1.1 - §1.3
Do: CS Ch01, CR #1, 5, 6
02 02/
01
Data Storage (more) Read: CS Ch01, §1.4 - §1.6
(thru
overflow)
Do: CS Ch01,
CR #7
(all), 9 (all),
12
(all), 17, 20,
24
(all), 26 (a,c,k),
27 (a,c,e), 32 (a,c,e),
33
(a,c,f), 34 (a,c),
35 (a,c)
03 02/
08
Quiz .
. . .
. . .
. . . . .
. . .
. Qz01
DOS commands
Command-line VB
Hello2 program Do:
Hello2 program
Do: Download example files
Read: VB
Preface
Read: VB Before
You Begin
Do: Download/install
MS VB
Express 2008
GUI VB Read: VB Ch01
Do: Painter Application
VB 2008 IDE Read: VB Ch02
Do: Welcome Application
04 02/
15
Holiday on Monday
Do: Show homework to
Instructor
Read: VB Ch03
Do: Welcome Application
05 02/
22
Data
Manipulation Read: CS Ch02 (all)
Do: All parts to each problem
unless
otherwise noted
CS
Ch02,
CR
2, 3, 5, 7 ,
9,
11,
14, 19, 23, 25,
34(a,c,e,g,i,k), 35, 45
06 03/
01
Quiz
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. Qz02
VB Arithmetic Do:
Command-line lab program
VB Text Boxes Read: VB Ch04
& Buttons Do:
Inventory Application
VB Programming Read: VB Ch05
Do: Inventory Application
VB Variables, Read: VB Ch06
Memory & Arith. Do:
Inventory Application
07 03/
08
Operating Systems Read: CS Ch03
Do: CS Ch03, CR 1, 2,
5, 8,
10, 13, 14, 16,
19, 21, 30, 44,
45, 47, 49
08 03/
15
Quiz
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. Qz03
VB Algorithms, Read: VB Ch07
Flowcharts Do
: VB Ch07
VB Check Boxes, Read: VB Ch08
Message Dialogs Do :
VB Ch08
09 03/
22
VB Conditions Do:
Command-line program
Networking Read: CS Ch04
Do: CS Ch04, CR 1, 2, 3
, 7 ,
9, 10, 15c, 16
,
17, 20, 27 , 35b,
38, 40, 48
10 03/
29
Quiz
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. Qz04
VB Programming - Read: VB Ch09, Ch10
Loops Do: VB Ch09, Ch10
Due: Mon. 7:00 p.m.
after break
11 04/
05
Holiday Spring
Break
12 04/
12
VB Programming - Do:
Lab assignments
Loops Due: In lab
Algorithms Read: CS Ch05
Do: CS Ch05, CR
5, 8, 11, 13,
14, 22, 23, 25,
48, 54
Due: Sat. night
13 04/
19
Review
Quiz
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. Qz05
VB Programming - Read:
VB Ch11 in lab
Loops & Selection Do
: VB Ch11 in lab
Read: VB Ch12
Do : VB
Ch12 by Mon. 7:00 p.m.
14 04/
26
Programming Read:
CS Ch06,
Languages §6.1 thru §6.4
Do: CS Ch06, CR
1, 2, 6, 10,
13, 14, 15, 16,
17, 18, 23, 25,
27, 32, 33
by Sat. 11:59
p.m.
15 05/
03
Quiz
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. Qz06
VB Programming - Read:
VB Ch13, Ch14
Procedures
Dates... Do: VB Ch13 in lab on Wed. 9:45pm
VB Ch14 in
lab on Wed. 9:45pm
VB Ch15 at
home by Mon. 7:00pm
16 05/
10
Software Read: CS Ch07
Engineering
Do: CS Ch07,
CR 6,
7, 9, 10, 12,
13, 17,
26, 45, 51
by Sat. 11:59
p.m.
17 05/
17
Review
Quiz
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. Qz07
VB Programming - Read: VB Ch16
Random Numbers... VB Ch17
1-Dim. Arrays ... Do:
VB Ch16 in lab
Do: VB Ch17 in lab
18 05/
24
Exam
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. Final
* Legend
Wk = Week CS = Computer Science book (main)
of = starting day VB = Visual Basic book (programming)
of school week
Ch = Chapter Qz =
Quiz
§ = Section
Em =
Exam
Pp = pages
CR = Chapter
Review Problems
(at end of
chapters)
Pg = Program
TBD= To Be
Determined
Go to top
Overview Grades will depend on exercises and tests that
students submit.
Exercises Exercises may consist of lab exercises and homework exercises. Exercises
may involve answering questions from textbooks (or similar questions), and writing
computer programs.
There
will be NO late (make-up) exercises. To receive credit for lab exercises, students
will typically show results to the instructor before the end of lab (unless the instructor
says otherwise). To receive credit for
homework exercises, students will e-mail them to the instructor by the
end of the week before midnight Saturday. These arrangements may permit the instructor,
on some Sundays, to review submitted exercises and provide timely feedback
(early the following week).
Tests Tests may consist of quizzes and exam(s). Tests may involve
answering multiple-choice, true/false, matching, or fill-in-the-blank
questions, and writing computer programs (or segments of them). Test questions may be based on textbook
readings, class discussions, lab exercises and homework exercises.
There
will be NO late (make-up) tests. Students will take and submit tests online while seated at computers in a lab room with the instructor present. Tests
will be timed. Tests will be closed book so, while taking them, students may NOT refer to books, notes, classmates, web pages, cell phones or other
sources for assistance. Testing software
will automatically score most test questions and provide immediate
feedback. However, the instructor will
manually score fill-in-the-blank or programming questions and provide feedback
later.
Quizzes will be shorter and may occur
about every other week. Quizzes will usually be announced in advance,
but could occur any time. Quizzes will usually contain questions only
about material covered since the last quiz. The one lowest
quiz score during the semester will be discarded
(will not count).
Exception:
if a student cheats on a quiz and receives a score of zero, that score and all
scores count (none will be discarded).
Exam(s) will be longer and will occur
only once or twice in the semester.
Exams will be announced in
advance. Near the middle of the
semester, there may be a mid-term exam.
At the end of the semester, there will be a final exam. Exams will be cumulative. Exam scores will count (will not be discarded).
Grades A student's letter grade will mainly
depend on the rounded percentage of points he or she earns out of a total
number of possible points.
Grades
will be assigned approximately as:
90
100% = A
80
89% = B
70
79 % = C
60
69 % = D
0
59% = F or W
The
instructor may consider the classes' overall performance, observing where gaps
and clusters of points occur, then consider adjusting the scale.
Students
must abide by college regulations governing academic honesty to avoid receiving
scores of zero on assignments or tests, or to avoid receiving more severe
penalties that college guidelines permit or that college deans recommend.
If
students do not attend class, the instructor may administratively drop them
from the course. However, the ultimate
responsibility for enrolling in, or dropping, courses lies with students
themselves.
Go
to top
This page is reached directly
at http://www.LeslieAsher.com/DVC/2010aSp/ComSc105/
or from a link
at http://www.LeslieAsher.com/DVC/
in the
Courses
section
to ComSc-105.
Below are links to several other pages on
the college web site (or related to it).
College − Diablo Valley College home
page
Catalog Catalog and Schedule of Classes
Calendar
Academic Calendar
Registration Web Advisor
Bookstore College Bookstore web site
PhotoID
Information and publications
Department −
Computer Science Department web page
Directory −
Computer Science Department directory
Instructor − Leslie Asher (instructor biography)
More − Leslie Asher (more
information about instructor)
Go
to top
Materials Though the instructor may offer examples of course materials or sources
for acquiring them, he does not recommend particular companies or products (other
than required materials such as books), nor does he receive consideration from
companies (except for instructor materials).
Web links Though web links in this document were
accurate at the time they were typed, web links may change without notice. Students should use initiative to seek
addresses that work, and may inform the instructor of those that do not.
This
syllabus was last revised 5/26/2010.
Go
to top

321 Golf Club Road
Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
DVC is passionately committed to student learning through the
intellectual, scientific, artistic, psychological, and ethical development of
its diverse student body. Diablo Valley College prepares students for transfer
to four-year universities; provides career and technical education; supports
the economic development of the region; offers pre-collegiate programs; and
promotes personal growth and lifelong learning.