First Course in Java (U.C. Berkeley Extension, Spring 2003)

calendar (week-by-week schedule)

THOMAS ALBERT, Ph.D., is senior technical communicator in the programmer/writer group at MDL Information Systems, where he writes about an object-oriented computer language. His ten years of experience documenting software include a wide range of platforms, audiences , and industries. He holds a doctoral degree in English and a U.C. Berkeley Extension Certificate in Computer Information Systems. His five years of experience teaching University Extension courses include serving as co-instructor for First Course in Java, as well as instructor for Technical Communication in the UNIX Environment, and and Technical Communication I and II. He has also taught Computer Administration and Information Architecture.
Email: java@WORDesign.com

TEXTBOOK

Java 2: The Complete Reference, 5th Edition
Author(s): Herbert Schildt 
ISBN: 0072224207
Softcover, 1184 pages.
(Osborne McGraw Hill, July 2002)
$49.99 US
http://shop.osborne.com/cgi-bin/osborne/0072224207.html
(Note: The publisher's web site offers free downloading of the sample code in the book. You can purchase the book from the publisher's web site, other web sites, and possibly at local bookstores, such as Barnes & Noble.)

Calendar (week-by-week schedule)

Note: Lectures Notes and Homework Assignments are subject to change until the Date of Lecture.
Week by week tally

Week Date Chapters & Link to Lecture Notes Homework due the following Sunday at 10 a.m. Exams
1 17 March 1: The Genesis of Java Download the 1.4 SKD, get it to run HelloWorld, and email the source code and output  
2 24 March 2: An Overview of Java Write a program nesting if and for  
3 31 March 3: Data Types, Variables, and Arrays Write a program that converts to and from the metric system  
4 07 April 4: Operators Write a program that calculates how many of which coins to return as change  
5 14 April 5: Control Statements Write a program with nested control statements MIDTERM
6 21 April 6: Introducing Classes Design a set of classes for a university library system  
7 28 April 7: A Closer Look at Methods and Classes Write a program that exercises the Java features we discussed in the lecture [students receive midterm grades]
8 05 May 8: Inheritance and Applets Write a simple applet that works with shapes  
9 12 May 9: Packages, Interfaces, and Exception Handling Study for final  
10 19 May Final exam (and javadoc demonstration)   FINAL

Course Description

http://www.unex.berkeley.edu/cat/306720.html
First Course in Java
X429.9 (2 semester units in EECS)

This is an introductory Java course for nonprogrammers who want to become programmers eventually. Java uses syntax similar to C/C++. However, even if you are unfamiliar with C/C++, you should be able to learn Java. The course focuses mainly on the Java programming language using JDK 1.4, its syntax and semantics. It covers data types, variables and constants, assignment and initialization, relational and Boolean operators, control and flow constructs, classes and objects, basic object-oriented programming with Java, understanding Java applets, and graphics programming with Java.

World Wide Web pages are becoming truly interactive, with embedded applets for content, animation, graphics, and sound. This is made possible by using Java, with its promise of platform independence. What this means is that "write once, run anywhere" may become a reality for software development (that is, software written for Windows would work equally well on Macintosh, UNIX, and other platforms, and vice versa).

On completion of this course, you should be able to write basic Java applications and applets, and you should be prepared to undertake advanced courses in Java. Enrollment is limited.

Grading

Grade         Score (in %)
A  90% -100% 
B 80% - 89%
C 70% - 79%
D 60% - 69%
F <60%

Criteria for Grading the Homework, Midterm, and Final

Attendance

You are responsible for your work. You do not have to contact the instructor with a reason of absence.

Withdrawing

If you decide to withdraw, it is your responsibility to make sure that U.C. Berkeley Extension processes your withdraw request and removes your name from the final grading form. If your name appears on the official grading form, the instructor will assign you the grade you earned at the end of the five weeks.

Grading Options for UCBX Courses

CLG - Credit-Letter-Grade is the normal grading option.
 
P/NP - Pass/No-Pass. Requires 70% for a Pass.
 
C/NC - Credit/No-Credit. A grade of No Credit will be assigned if you have done
insufficient work for any of the other grading options.
 
W - Withdraw. If you cannot complete the course, you will normally be assigned a
grade of NC. Under certain circumstances, you may be eligible to Withdraw from the
course. You must initiate this action directly with UC Berkeley Extension.
 
INC - Incomplete. If you have completed 60% of the course work, but cannot finish the
work by the end of the term, you are eligible for an Incomplete.

Method of Assigning Course Grades

If you earned a 'B' or better, I assign the earned grade.
 
If you have at least a 70% AND you have requested the P/NP option, I assign a grade of Pass.
 
If you have not completed 60% of the course work, I assign a grade of No Credit.

If you have done 60% - 79% of the course work and have not requested P/NP, I assign an Incomplete.

Clearing Incompletes

If you received an Incomplete, you have 90 days from the last class meeting (17 August 2003)
to submit all remaining work. In this situation, please submit all remaining work at one time. If you are
submitting work by email, please remember to send one assignment per email. It is much easier
for me to know when to clear the incomplete if you send all remaining work at the same time,
rather than having it trickle in a little at a time.
Remember to identify each assignment with your full name, the term it pertains to, and the name
and EDP number of the course it pertains to.

Clearing incompletes involves significant administrative overhead on my part. To minimize
the work, I only address the clearing of incompletes once a month, on the last weekend of the
month. Therefore, it may actually be several weeks before I clear an incomplete once all work
has been submitted. When you see the updated grades on the website, you may wish to contact
Extension directly to get an updated transcript.

Academic Dishonesty

The mid-term and final exam must be each student’s individual work without the help of others, books, or notes.
If you cheat, you fail that exam.

Submitting Homework & Questions

The instructor prefers not to accept floppy disks because of the risks of a computer virus.
In general, the instructor request that students submit each homework solution as plain text with the source code and sample output.
Do NOT email executables or attachments of any kind.
Please verify the quality of your work before you submit it.

The email body should have a header (see description below), your source code, and sample output.
The email header should follow this format:

Software to Develop Java Code

Download Sun's JDK (Java Development Kit) for your computer's platform:

You will need to compile and run your Java source code, and the instructor supports this official JDK.

For this First Course in Java, we recommend that you write your source code using a text editor you like. Some text editors add color to your source code to indicate comments, keywords, etc.

There are integrated development environments (IDEs) with sophisticated features, but the instructor does not recommend them for the first course because gaining familiarity with a new tool costs time and can distract the student from the fundamental language concepts. The instructor lists some IDEs for your information only.

last updated: 16 March 2003
Copyright © Feb 2002 granted to the Regents of the University of California