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Instructor: Chengkai Li

• Office hours: Friday 10am-12pm
• Office: Nedderman Hall 334
• Phone: (817) 272-0162
• E-mail: cli [AT] uta [DOT] edu

Assistant Instructor: Weimin He

• Office hours: Tuesday / Thursday 5-6pm
• Office: GACB 107
• Phone: (817) 272-7618
• E-mail: wmhe [AT] exchange [DOT] uta [DOT] edu

Course Description

To analyze and evaluate important features found in a variety of programming languages, to study formalisms for specifying language syntax and semantics, and to gain understanding of the important programming language paradigms.

Prerequisites

• Background: CSE 3315 Theoretical Concepts in Computer Science and Engineering.
• Programming: experiences with at least one major programming language.

Textbook

• Programming Languages - Principles and Practices, 2nd Edition, by  Kenneth C. Louden. Publisher: Thomson Course Technology.
Textbook homepage: errata, selected solutions, and reference materials.
• Reference book: Principles of programming languages: design, evaluation, and implementation, 2nd Edition, by Bruce J. MacLennan.

Grades

• Homework (HW):               25%.  
• Machine Problems (MP):     20%.   
• Essays (ES):                        10%.  
• Midterm exam:                    20%.   (3:30-4:50pm, Tuesday, Mar. 4th, GACB 105)
• Final exam:                          25%.   (2-4:30pm, Thursday, May 8th, GACB 105, open-book and open-notes)
• Bonus points:                         5% (class participation) + 5% (bonus problems in MP2 and HW5).

Note: The essay assignment will count for the ABET requirements for written communication. You must get a passing score (37.5) for the essay in order to satisfy ABET requirement. If a student does not demonstrate timely achievement of the assessment and would otherwise pass the course, then the student will receive a grade of incomplete (I) for the course until such time when the assessment instrument is satisfactorily complete. The student will be allowed to re-attempt demonstration of satisfactory completion during the next offering of the course. In such case, certain penalty will be given when calculating the final course grade.

Lectures

Lecture notes will be posted online. Students are strongly encouraged to attend classes and actively participate in discussions. Don't hesitate to raise questions in lectures.

Readings

Read the textbook and extra readings before lectures, and study them carefully after class. Please note that all the required readings are fair materials for exams. These materials may not be fully covered in lectures.

Announcements

Stay tuned and make sure to check the announcements page frequently. Important announcements will be posted there.

Assignments and Deadlines

• Each assignment (HW, MP, and ES) is due by 11:55pm on its due date (listed in the schedule page). The deadline is automatically managed by WebCT. You can still turn in assignment after the deadline. However, you automatically lose 5 points per hour after the due time, till you get 0. (Each individual assignment is 100 points.) We cannot waive the penalty, unless there was a case of illness or other substantial impediment beyond your control, with proof in documents from the school.
• Before the deadline, the WebCT will allow you to submit as many times as you want. However, you will only be allowed to submit once after the deadline. If you submit something before the deadline, you won't be able to re-submit after the deadline.
• You must submit your assignments online through WebCT. We will not take submissions in E-mail, unless the school verifies that WebCT was malfunctioning or unavailable.

Regrading

Scores of HWs, MPs, ESs, and Exams will be posted on WebCT, announcements will be made on the announcements page. After the scores are announced, you have 7 days to request for regrade, by contacting the TA (office hours or email). Note that we will regrade every question/component in the assignment, and the resulting score can be either higher or lower than the original score. If you are not satisfied by the regrade result, you may make petition to the instructor, and the decision will be final.

Before you request for regrading, make sure to compare your answer with the solution. In your request, explicitly point out why you think you should get more points.

WebCT

The WebCT page is http://www.uta.edu/webct. Use your NetID and password to login. The item "Start Here!" links to WebCT tutorials. Please consult them for help if necessary. Try to post a message in "Junk". Let me know if there is any problem. We use WebCT for the following activities:

• Posting assignment instructions and files.

• Student submit assignments electronically.

  • When submit on WebCT, click button "Upload file" to upload your file first. Then you must click button "submit assignment". Otherwise, your file will not be submitted.
  • If you want to receive automatic confirmation after you submit your assignments, please follow the steps below:
    (1) Go to WebCT.
    (2) Go to Communication Tools > Mail.
    (3) Click button "Message Settings", which is above the Folders table.
    (4) Check the box next to "Forward my mail to:", which is in the section "Mail forwarding" under "Message Settings".
    (5) Enter your UTA email address in the box. Automatic confirmation of your homework submission will be delivered to this email address. Don't use emails outside UTA.
    (6) Click "Update" at the bottom of the page.
  • You can also fill in your email address for each individual assignment, in the "Notification" box.

• Discussion group (bulletin board).

  Various topics have been created for your discussion. Most of the names of the topics are self-describing.

  • The Announcements on the course homepage will also be replicated in the discussion group.

  • If your post doesn't fit into any topic, use "Miscellaneous".

  • The "Junk" is for testing purpose only.

• Posting students scores and grades.

Get Questions and Need Help?

• Discuss with classmates first: You get immediate help. You also get deeper and more thorough understanding of the materials by discussing with others and explaining things in your own way. (However, students must finish the HWs independently although they can discuss HWs.)
• Post questions in the discussion group/mailing list. We monitor the discussion group and addresses the questions. Please be aware that the we may not be able to answer every question in a timely manner. You can discuss class-related materials and assignments and answer others' questions. However, you are not allowed to post the solutions for assignments, or give hints that directly lead to the solutions.
• Email your TA or instructor. General questions should be posted to discussion group. Use email only for individual-specific questions that are inappropriate to ask publicly.
• Come to office hours.

Ethics Policies and Academic Integrity

The College cannot and will not tolerate any form of academic dishonesty by its students. This includes, but is not limited to cheating on examinations, plagiarism, or collusion (explained in the document below).

Students are required to read the following document carefully, sign it, return the signed copy to the instructor, and keep a copy for their own records. Hardcopies of this document will be provided to the students in the first class, and also can be picked up in the instructor's office. If you print by yourself, please make it double-sided.

Statement on Ethics, Professionalism, and Conduct for Engineering Students

Students with Disabilities

If you require accommodation based on disability, I would like to meet with you in the privacy of my office during the first week of the semester to ensure that you are appropriately accommodated. Please read the page of the office for students with disabilities.