Syllabus for SSE 550

Object-Oriented Design I

Fall Semester 2014 (14F)

Early version, changes are very likely.

Instructor: Dr. Paul E. MacNeil

Office:       Suite 223a, School of Engineering

Phone:       478-301-2185

Email:        macneil_pe@mercer.edu

Textbooks and Supplies:

Texts (including web sites):

(Read the Important Note (below the list of texts) before you buy! Three books are listed as "required", but only one is required; which text is required depends on your choice of language.)

• Head First Java (2nd ed.) , by Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates, O'Reilly Media, Inc. ISBN 0596009208 (2005) (Required for the Java option only!) Download the Java errata.
• Head First C# (3rd ed.) , by Jennifer Greene and Andrew Stellman, O'Reilly Media, Inc. ISBN 9781449343507 (2013) (Required for the C# option only!) Download the C# errata.
• C++ Primer (5th ed.), by Lippman, Lajoie, and Moo, Addison Wesley ISBN 978-0321714114 (2012) (Required for the C++ option only!) To download the C++ errata click on the "Updates" tab.

  Note regarding C++ in this course and in SSE 554: C++ has changed over the years, and instructors now face the decision of teaching the course "the old way" or "the new way". With the selection of this text, we are selecting "the new way". (This way is explained in some detail in the text.) Expect people who learned C++ "the old way" to be surprised by this approach. In particular, we will be learning C++ as it is intended to be used based on its current design; we will _not_ be following the historical approach of treating C++ as an extension of C.

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Software (including web sites):

• A software development environment for your language of choice (C++, C#, Java) (Required, but your choice.)
• TBD - more information will be forthcoming
  
• An Internet ftp client of your choice.  Core FTP LE is free and works well http://www.coreftp.com/ .  (Required, but your choice)

Other Useful Resources (including web sites):

Catalog Description (Course Purpose):

This is a beginning course in object-oriented development. It may be taken in one of several object-oriented languages, e.g., C#, Java, or C++.

This Online Learning course begins on August 19, 2014.

Course Objectives:

Breadth and Depth in Defining, Analyzing, and Solving Complex Problems:

• After successfully completing this course, you should be able to demonstrate a basic capability to apply Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) design techniques to solve complex problems.

Communicate Technical Aspects of the Solution for Complex Software Engineering Problems to a Technical Audience:

• After successfully completing this course, you should be able to demonstrate a basic ability to communicate regarding the application of OOP design techniques to a technical audience.

Prerequisites:

SSE graduate standing or permission of the SSE graduate chair.

Class Location:

• The Online Learning asynchronous "meetings" take place in Cyberspace; i.e., on the Internet.

Grading:

Credit will be given only for original work.

The Mercer University Student Handbook, including its provisions for academic honesty (including plagiarism), applies to all Mercer students.

Project reports are to be submitted complete, not as incremental partial submissions.

All course work is categorized as either Direct or Non-Direct (but not both). More information about the Direct and Non-Direct categories is contained in the Direct and Non-Direct and Report Logs. Please read these pages very carefully.

Instruction Time

Federal and regional accreditation requirements stipulate that a 3-credit hour course must include 150 minutes of direct instruction time per week. For this course, that direct instruction time includes"

• Collaborative discussions with other students regarding the content of readings assigned for the course.
• Collaborative discussions with other students regarding the content that goes beyond readings assigned for the course, but is not part of work on the projects assigned on the syllabus.
• Collaborative development of generic technology that may be useful for your project(s), but is not, in its generic form, part of your project.

In addition to the 150 minutes of direct instruction time each week, students are expected to spend a minimum of 300 additional minutes per week completing reading and writing assignments:

• Doing the assigned reading.
• Working on the projects assigned on the syllabus.

More information about the Direct and Non-Direct categories is contained in the Direct and Non-Direct and Report Logs. Please read these pages very carefully.

Use the Report Logs to help you to manage your time and keep on schedule. You should schedule your work evenly throughout the term. If you fall behind schedule for your Direct Activities, and you "catch up" by your last Direct Activity Report, your previous Direct Activity Report grades can be raised to reflect your success in meeting this requirement, provided that your previous Direct Activity Reports were submitted in a timely manner. Direct Activity Reports not submitted in a timely manner will receive a grade of 0 (zero) unless the professor has approved an extension in advance.

The Non-Direct Activity reports do not receive a separate grade, but are used to help in evaluating your project reports.

More information about project grading is contained in the General Project Rubric .

• Purpose of projects:
• Use the projects to develop your capabilities, and
• Use the projects to demonstrate your capabilities.
• Deliverables for all projects:

  All course work is categorized as either Direct or Non-Direct (but not both). Read Direct and Non-Direct and Report Logs before continuing. Please read these pages very carefully.

  • All Direct Activity Reports include a Direct Activity Log, and may include additional supporting material at your discretion.

  • All Project Reports include a Non-Direct Activity Log, in addition to your work on the project.

  • Projects shall be delivered either via the course FTP site.
  • Project reports should each be a single, standalone .pdf document, with the Bookmark feature used to support easy document navigation. Note that both MS Word and LibreOffice (which is free open-source software) support bookmarks, and will carry the bookmarks over into the pdf document when they convert your .docx, .odf, or whatever file type to PDF.
  • Project reports should focus on the development and/or maintenance that you actually do. Reports should not focus on summarizing or explaining the text or other materials.
  • Inclusion of screenshots demonstrating your work, and code you actually wrote for the project, are appropriate. Long code listings can be placed in appendices if doing so does not interfere with you presenting your work on that code in the body of the text.
  • Your report should be organized in such a way as to make the topics that you want credit for covering easy to find, and demonstrate your capabilities clearly and convincingly. Everything you want considered for credit, including code and tests (including test results), should be included in the report.
  • Each project can be a single, integrated project that tries to actually do something, or a collection of exercises that demonstrate your capabilities but don't accomplish anything else, or any combination of these two alternatives that you find convenient
  • You may include other material outside of the report (on the FTP site), if you wish, but this material may or _may not_ be considered in evaluating your work.
  • For each capability that you demonstrate within a report or major section of that report, you may present only the final result of your work; you need not demonstrate every step in the development of that result.
• Some suggestions for doing a project are contained in the One Way to Do a Project page.
• Project 1 (solo or team):
  • Java Option : Develop and demonstrate your capabilities in the topics covered in Chapters 1 through 10 of the (Java) text.
  • C# Option : Develop and demonstrate your capabilities in the topics covered in Chapters 1 through 6 of the (C#) text.
  • C++ Option : Develop and demonstrate your capabilities in the topics covered in Chapters 1 through 5 of the (C++) text.
  • TBD.
• Project 2 (solo or team):
  • Java Option : Develop and demonstrate your capabilities in the topics covered in Chapters 11 through 14 of the (Java) text.
  • C# Option : Develop and demonstrate your capabilities in the topics covered in Chapters 7 through 10 of the (C#) text.
  • C++ Option : Develop and demonstrate your capabilities in the topics covered in Chapters 6 through 10 of the (C++) text.
  • TBD.
• Project 3 (team):
  • Java Option : Develop and demonstrate your capabilities in the topics covered in Chapters 15 through 18 and Appendix B of the (Java) text.
  • C# Option : Develop and demonstrate your capabilities in the topics covered in Chapters 11 through 15 of the (C#) text.
  • C++ Option : Develop and demonstrate your capabilities in the topics covered in Chapters 11 through 14 of the (C++) text.
  • You may form your own teams. Announce your team's composition via the course listserv.
  • TBD.
• TBD

Additional Information:

• Asynchronous Learning Nets (ALNs)
• • Self Study: You study the texts and any other course study material on your own(team).
  • Collaborative Projects: After your self-study, you collaborate (via the Internet [email]) with your partner(s) to produce a team product. Your collaborative work is substantial, asynchronous, and rapid.
  • This course is an online learning course. Please read this Online Learning web page regarding online learning in this course and this program.

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• What Do I Do?

• Subscribe to the course email listserv. Your professor can tell you how to do this.
• Study the assigned material.
• Write and read email messages about ideas, problems and solutions to do with the assigned study material.
• Do the assigned work, deliver the assigned deliverables.
• Write and read email messages (to/from the listserv) about ideas, problems and solutions to do with the assigned homework.
• Review the deliverables produced by other people.

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Changes to this Syllabus:

There will be changes to this syllabus, so check back frequently, and don't forget to hit "Reload" or "Refresh".

Schedule of Events and Assignments:

Notes:

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Contact Information

• My Name: Dr. Paul E. MacNeil
• My E-mail: macneil_pe@mercer.edu .
• My Office Phone: 478 301-2185
• US Mail:
 
• Dr. Paul E. MacNeil
• School of Engineering
• Mercer University
• 1400 Coleman Ave.
• Macon, GA 31207

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Important Additional Information:

“Students requiring accommodations or modifications for a disability should inform the instructor at the close of the first class meeting or as soon as possible. The instructor will refer you to the ACCESS and Accommodation Office to document your disability, determine eligibility for accommodations under the ADAAA/Section 504 and to request a Faculty Accommodation Form. Disability accommodations or status will not be indicated on academic transcripts. In order to receive accommodations in a class, students with sensory, learning, psychological, physical or medical disabilities must provide their instructor with a Faculty Accommodation Form to sign. Students must return the signed form to the ACCESS Coordinator. A new form must be requested each semester. Students with a history of a disability perceived as having a disability or with a current disability who does not wish to use academic accommodations are also strongly encouraged to register with the ACCESS and Accommodation Office and request a Faculty Accommodation Form each semester. For further information, please contact Carole Burrowbridge, Director and ADA/504 Coordinator, at 301-2778 or visit the ACCESS and Accommodation Office website at http://www.mercer.edu/disabilityservices.

Accreditation: Mercer University is accredited by SACSCOC.