GCO9808 Computer programming 2 - Semester 2 , 2007

Unit leader :

Madhu Chetty

Lecturer(s) :

Gippsland

  • Madhu Chetty

Introduction

Welcome to GCO9808 Computer Programming 2 for Semester 2, 2007. This 6 point unit is a foundation unit for the masters by coursework students and also the graduate diploma students.  The unit has been introduced to supplement your first programming unit GCO9805 (alias unit of GCO1811 or FIT1002) to provide you with an understanding of more advanced concepts in object-oriented programming.

Unit synopsis

This unit introduces more advanced object-oriented programming topics and techniques than its prerequisite, and gives students a deeper understanding of programming and data structures and more practical skills in designing, building and testing computer programs.

Learning outcomes

At the completion of this unit, students will have an understanding of:
  • K1. Object-oriented concepts such as inheritance, polymorphism, and abstract classes.
  • K2. The implementation in Java of object-oriented concepts such as multiple inheritance.
  • K3. How to test a program consisting of many interacting classes.
  • K4. The collection classes in the Java API.
  • K5. Design principles for building an object-oriented program.
  • K6. Problem-solving techniques for debugging an object-oriented program.
  • K7. The concept of recursion in a computer program.
  • K8. Dynamic data structures.

At the completion of this unit, students will have attitudes that will allow them to:

  • A1. Write programs that conform to programming standards
  • A2. Use good design principles when constructing systems
  • A3. Take a patient and thorough approach to testing
  • A4. Acknowledge any assistance they have received in writing a program
  • A5. Search for supplementary unit-related information in appropriate places when necessary

At the completion of this unit, students will be able to:

  • P1. Design an object-oriented program consisting of many interacting classes with association, generalization and aggregation relationships.
  • P2. Construct a test harness for testing a multiple class object-oriented program.
  • P3. Write code to implement a multiple class object-oriented design in Java including association, generalization and aggregation relationships.
  • P4. Debug and modify an existing program consisting of many interacting classes.
  • P5. Use the Java API classes as part of their programs.
  • P6. Use the Java collection classes to store and retrieve data appropriately.
  • P7. Use recursion to solve new problems
  • P8. Read data from keyboard and files, and write data to screen and files.
  • P9. Use exception-handling techniques in programs.
  • P10. Use UML to design an object-oriented program.
  • R1. Document a program correctly
  • R2. Produce appropriate documentation for designing and testing a program
  • R3. Explain how parts of a program work

Workload

For on campus students, workload commitments are:

  • two-hour lecture and
  • two-hour tutorial (or laboratory)
  • a minimum of 2-3 hours of personal study per one hour of contact time in order to satisfy the reading and assignment expectations.

  • You will need to allocate up to 5 hours per week in some weeks, for use of a computer, including time for newsgroups/discussion groups.

Off-campus students generally do not attend lecture and tutorial sessions, however, you should plan to spend equivalent time working through the relevant resources and participating in discussion groups each week.

Unit relationships

Prerequisites

Before attempting this unit you must have satisfactorily completed either GCO9805 (or the equivalent units such as CSE1202 or GCO1811 or CPE1001 or FIT1002).

Students beginning Programming 2 are assumed to be able to:

  • Design an object-oriented program using class diagrams
  • Implement a design in Java using multiple interacting classes and techniques such as sequence, selection, repetition, parameter passing, scoping, recursion
  • Debug an existing small program
  • Test a small object-oriented program thoroughly
  • Read existing Java code (at a basic level)
  • Integrate existing classes into their programs
  • Produce basic program- and user-documentation to taught standards

Relationships

GCO9808 is a foundation unit in the masters by coursework and the graduate diploma students.

It is a prerequisite for:

  • FIT2009 Data structures and algorithms
  • FIT3061 Handheld applications and operating systems

Before attempting this unit you must have satisfactorily completed either GCO9805 (or the equivalent units such as CSE1202, GCO1811, CPE1001, FIT1002).

You may not study this unit if you have studied or intend to study any of the following units in your degree: CFR1124, CFR2128, CFR3112, GCO1812, GCO3821, SFT1102, CSE1203, CSE2305, CPE1004, FIT1007, FIT1008, FIT1015, FIT2034.

Continuous improvement

Monash is committed to ‘Excellence in education' and strives for the highest possible quality in teaching and learning. To monitor how successful we are in providing quality teaching and learning Monash regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. Two of the formal ways that you are invited to provide feedback are through Unit Evaluations and through Monquest Teaching Evaluations.

One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through Unit Evaluation Surveys. It is Monash policy for every unit offered to be evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys as they are an important avenue for students to "have their say". The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied and areas for improvement.

Student Evaluations

The Faculty of IT administers the Unit Evaluation surveys online through the my.monash portal, although for some smaller classes there may be alternative evaluations conducted in class.

If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to http://www.monash.edu.au/unit-evaluation-reports/

Over the past few years the Faculty of Information Technology has made a number of improvements to its courses as a result of unit evaluation feedback. Some of these include systematic analysis and planning of unit improvements, and consistent assignment return guidelines.

Monquest Teaching Evaluation surveys may be used by some of your academic staff this semester. They are administered by the Centre for Higher Education Quality (CHEQ) and may be completed in class with a facilitator or on-line through the my.monash portal. The data provided to lecturers is completely anonymous. Monquest surveys provide academic staff with evidence of the effectiveness of their teaching and identify areas for improvement. Individual Monquest reports are confidential, however, you can see the summary results of Monquest evaluations for 2006 at http://www.adm.monash.edu.au/cheq/evaluations/monquest/profiles/index.html

Improvements to this unit

Previously, the unit assessment consisted of two assignments. In this semester, there will be one assignment and a number of assessible tutorial/lab exercises. The change will facilitate help tidentify early any students with problems during the semester.

Unit staff - contact details

Unit leader

Dr Madhu Chetty
Senior Lecturer
Phone +61 3 990 27148

Lecturer(s) :

Dr Madhu Chetty
Senior Lecturer
Phone +61 3 990 27148

Contact hours : Contact via email for appointment

Teaching and learning method

The approach to teaching and learning include a weekly two-hour lecture and a two-hour (laboratory). Additionally, each student should spend a minimum of 8 to 12 hours for personal study every week and should allocate up to 5 hours per week in some weeks for use of a computer, including time for newsgroup and discussion. 

Communication, participation and feedback

Monash aims to provide a learning environment in which students receive a range of ongoing feedback throughout their studies. You will receive feedback on your work and progress in this unit. This may take the form of group feedback, individual feedback, peer feedback, self-comparison, verbal and written feedback, discussions (on line and in class) as well as more formal feedback related to assignment marks and grades. You are encouraged to draw on a variety of feedback to enhance your learning.

It is essential that you take action immediately if you realise that you have a problem that is affecting your study. Semesters are short, so we can help you best if you let us know as soon as problems arise. Regardless of whether the problem is related directly to your progress in the unit, if it is likely to interfere with your progress you should discuss it with your lecturer or a Community Service counsellor as soon as possible.

Unit Schedule

Week Topic Study guide Key dates
1 Revising Java Concepts SG 1  
2 Designing objects SG 2  
3 Association/Aggregation relationships SG 3 Week 2 Tutorial Due
4 Inheritance and Polymorphism SG 4  
5 Interfaces and Abstract Classes SG 5  
6 Exceptions SG 6 Week 5 Tutorial Due
7 File Input and Output SG 6  
8 Testing and Debugging SG 7  
9 Utility Classes SG 8 Assignment due on Friday 14 Sep
10 Recursion SG 9  
Mid semester break
11 Dynamic Data Structures SG 10  
12 ADTs and Collection classes SG 11 Week 11 Tutorial Due
13 Revision All Study Guides  

Unit Resources

Prescribed text(s) and readings

Prescribed Text:

  • Horstmann, C. (2005) Big Java, 2nd edition, Wiley & Sons. (ISBN: 0-471-69703-6)
Text books are available from the Monash University Book Shops. Availability from other suppliers cannot be assured. The Bookshop orders texts in specifically for this unit. You are advised to purchase your text book early.

Recommended text(s) and readings

  • Savitch, W. (2006) Absolute Java, 2nd edition, Addison Wesley. ISBN: 0-321-33024-2
  • Knox-Grant, R. (2005) Java 2 Beyond the Buttons, 2nd Ed., Greenoil, ISBN: 0-620-33395-2
  • Robertson, L. (2003) Simple program design : a step by step approach, 4th edition, Thomson. ISBN: 0-17-010704-3
  • Nino, J. (2005) An Introduction to Programming and Object Oriented Design Using Java Version 5.0, Wiley. ISBN: 0-471-71227-2

 

Required software and/or hardware

Prescribed Software

You must have the Java 2 SE SDK version 1.5.0 (also called Java 5) installed on your computer. OCL students should be able to find this on the GSIT Unit Software CD-ROM in the J2SE folder. It can also be downloaded from the internet by going to http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp and selecting the JDK 5.0 Update 7 or later.

Other Useful Software

BlueJ

Some locations will be using BlueJ. This also works on Macintosh computers. OCL students can find this on the GSIT Software CD-ROM in the BlueJ folder. It can also be downloaded from http://www.bluej.org/download/download.html.

JCreator LE

This is an IDE which provides many useful compilation features. It only works on Windows operating systems. The smallish download can be obtained from http://www.jcreator.com/download.htm. Be sure to select the LE version 3.5 file, which is free (unless you want to pay for the more comprehensive version).

TortoiseSVN

For experienced programmers who want a source-code management system that runs on Windows, TortoiseSVN is strongly recommended. This open-source software can be downloaded from: http://tortoisesvn.sourceforge.net/downloads. (Most users should download the very first file, the 32-bit msi file). There are also language-packs for languages other than english. On campus classes might demonstrate this tool at some point in the semester.

Equipment and consumables required or provided

Students studying off-campus are required to have the minimum system configuration specified by the Faculty as a condition of accepting admission, and regular Internet access. On-campus students, and those studying at supported study locations may use the facilities available in the computing labs. Information about computer use for students is available from the ITS Student Resource Guide in the Monash University Handbook. You will need to allocate up to 10 hours per week for use of a computer, including time for newsgroups/discussion groups.

Study resources

Study resources we will provide for your study are:

  • A printed Unit Book containing 11 Study Guides (250 pages).
  • This Unit Information outlining the administrative information for the unit
  • The GCO9808 web site on MUSO, where lecture slides, weekly tutorial requirements, assignment specifications, sample solutions and supplementary material will be posted.
  • MUSO Discussion Groups
For OCL students, you should have been sent a CD-ROM containing software (sent at the start of the year).

Library access

The Monash University Library site contains details about borrowing rights and catalogue searching. To learn more about the library and the various resources available, please go to http://www.lib.monash.edu.au.  Be sure to obtain a copy of the Library Guide, and if necessary, the instructions for remote access from the library website.

Monash University Studies Online (MUSO)

All unit and lecture materials are available through the MUSO (Monash University Studies Online) site. You can access this site by going to:

  1. a) https://muso.monash.edu.au or
  2. b) via the portal (http://my.monash.edu.au).

Click on the Study and enrolment tab, then the MUSO hyperlink.

In order for your MUSO unit(s) to function correctly, your computer needs to be correctly configured.

For example :

  • MUSO supported browser
  • Supported Java runtime environment

For more information, please visit

http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/students/downloadables-student.html

You can contact the MUSO Support by: Phone: (+61 3) 9903 1268

For further contact information including operational hours, please visit

http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/students/contact.html

Further information can be obtained from the MUSO support site:

http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/index.html

Assessment

Unit assessment policy

  • Complete (submit) all assignments
  • achieve no less than 40% of the marks for supervised assessment (the exam)
  • achieve no less than 40% of the marks for unsupervised assessment (the assignments total)
  • obtain at least 50% of the possible marks for the unit after the assessment formula is applied to the supervised and unsupervised components.

Assignment tasks

  • Assignment Task
    Title :
    Week 2 Exercise
    Description :
    Lab work to be performed in week 2.
    Weighting :
    5%
    Criteria for assessment :
    The specification and marking criteria will be distributed in week 2.
    Due date :
    Week 3 (during the lab classes for on-campus students and via MUSO for Gippsland students)
  • Assignment Task
    Title :
    Week 5 Exercise
    Description :
    Lab work to be performed in week 5.
    Weighting :
    10%
    Criteria for assessment :
    The specification and marking criteria will be distributed in week 2.
    Due date :
    Week 6 (during the lab classes for on-campus students and via MUSO for Gippsland students)
  • Assignment Task
    Title :
    Week 11 Exercise
    Description :
    Lab work to be performed in week 11
    Weighting :
    10%
    Criteria for assessment :
    The specification and marking criteria will be distributed in week 11.
    Due date :
    Week 12 (during the lab classes for on-campus students and via MUSO for Gippsland students)
  • Assignment Task
    Title :
    Programming Assignment
    Description :
    This is a non-trivial assignment which covers topics from week 1 to week 7.
    Weighting :
    15%
    Criteria for assessment :
    The specific tasks and the marking guide will be distributed in week 3 of the semester.
    Due date :
    Friday 14 Sep 2007 (Week 9)

Examinations

  • Examination
    Weighting :
    60%
    Length :
    3 hours
    Type ( open/closed book ) :
    closed book

Assignment submission

Assignments will be submitted electronically using MUSO or WebFace (gippsland only). The due date is the date/time by which the submission must be received/the date by which the the submission is to be posted.

Assignment coversheets

The work submitted must be your own work. Just as a written assignment requires you to sign a statement that the work is your own work, electronically submitted assignments must also contain a similar declaration. The cover sheet for the Faculty of Information Technology, can be found at http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/assignments/ . The text of the section titled "Student's Statement" should be typed into a file named declaration.txt, to be submitted with your other files.

University and Faculty policy on assessment

Due dates and extensions

The due dates for the submission of assignments are given in the previous section. Please make every effort to submit work by the due dates. It is your responsibility to structure your study program around assignment deadlines, family, work and other commitments. Factors such as normal work pressures, vacations, etc. are seldom regarded as appropriate reasons for granting extensions. Students are advised to NOT assume that granting of an extension is a matter of course.

Late assignment

Assignments received after the due date will be subject to a penalty of a drop in grade for each 5 day period. Assignments received later than one week after the due date will not normally be accepted.

Return dates

Students can expect assignments to be returned within two weeks of the submission date or after receipt, whichever is later.

Assessment for the unit as a whole is in accordance with the provisions of the Monash University Education Policy at:

http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/assessment/

We will aim to have assignment results made available to you within two weeks after assignment receipt. Even if there is a delay in returning your assignment result, the sample solution will be made available within two weeks after the due date.

Plagiarism, cheating and collusion

Plagiarism and cheating are regarded as very serious offences. In cases where cheating  has been confirmed, students have been severely penalised, from losing all marks for an assignment, to facing disciplinary action at the Faculty level. While we would wish that all our students adhere to sound ethical conduct and honesty, I will ask you to acquaint yourself with Student Rights and Responsibilities (http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/about/committees-groups/facboard/policies/studrights.html) and the Faculty regulations that apply to students detected cheating as these will be applied in all detected cases.

In this University, cheating means seeking to obtain an unfair advantage in any examination or any other written or practical work to be submitted or completed by a student for assessment. It includes the use, or attempted use, of any means to gain an unfair advantage for any assessable work in the unit, where the means is contrary to the instructions for such work. 

When you submit an individual assessment item, such as a program, a report, an essay, assignment or other piece of work, under your name you are understood to be stating that this is your own work. If a submission is identical with, or similar to, someone else's work, an assumption of cheating may arise. If you are planning on working with another student, it is acceptable to undertake research together, and discuss problems, but it is not acceptable to jointly develop or share solutions unless this is specified by your lecturer. 

Intentionally providing students with your solutions to assignments is classified as "assisting to cheat" and students who do this may be subject to disciplinary action. You should take reasonable care that your solution is not accidentally or deliberately obtained by other students. For example, do not leave copies of your work in progress on the hard drives of shared computers, and do not show your work to other students. If you believe this may have happened, please be sure to contact your lecturer as soon as possible.

Cheating also includes taking into an examination any material contrary to the regulations, including any bilingual dictionary, whether or not with the intention of using it to obtain an advantage.

Plagiarism involves the false representation of another person's ideas, or findings, as your own by either copying material or paraphrasing without citing sources. It is both professional and ethical to reference clearly the ideas and information that you have used from another writer. If the source is not identified, then you have plagiarised work of the other author. Plagiarism is a form of dishonesty that is insulting to the reader and grossly unfair to your student colleagues.

Register of counselling about plagiarism

The university requires faculties to keep a simple and confidential register to record counselling to students about plagiarism (e.g. warnings). The register is accessible to Associate Deans Teaching (or nominees) and, where requested, students concerned have access to their own details in the register. The register is to serve as a record of counselling about the nature of plagiarism, not as a record of allegations; and no provision of appeals in relation to the register is necessary or applicable.

Non-discriminatory language

The Faculty of Information Technology is committed to the use of non-discriminatory language in all forms of communication. Discriminatory language is that which refers in abusive terms to gender, race, age, sexual orientation, citizenship or nationality, ethnic or language background, physical or mental ability, or political or religious views, or which stereotypes groups in an adverse manner. This is not meant to preclude or inhibit legitimate academic debate on any issue; however, the language used in such debate should be non-discriminatory and sensitive to these matters. It is important to avoid the use of discriminatory language in your communications and written work. The most common form of discriminatory language in academic work tends to be in the area of gender inclusiveness. You are, therefore, requested to check for this and to ensure your work and communications are non-discriminatory in all respects.

Students with disabilities

Students with disabilities that may disadvantage them in assessment should seek advice from one of the following before completing assessment tasks and examinations:

Deferred assessment and special consideration

Deferred assessment (not to be confused with an extension for submission of an assignment) may be granted in cases of extenuating personal circumstances such as serious personal illness or bereavement. Special consideration in the awarding of grades is also possible in some circumstances. Information and forms for Special Consideration and deferred assessment applications are available at http://www.monash.edu.au/exams/special-consideration.html. Contact the Faculty's Student Services staff at your campus for further information and advice.