CS 102 Basic Programming This course will pull back the veil of mystery surrounding programming using one of the most popular programming languages in the world: Visual Basic.NET. As a cornerstone of Microsoft's strategy to dominate programming languages, Visual Basic.NET is: - easy to learn for the novice - easy to combine with a graphical interface - easy to combine with a database - easy to combine with the web In the beginning of the course, you will learn about the basics of programming like variables, control execution, events, and visual programming. In a short amount of time you will be able to create interesting graphical programs. As the course progresses, you will learn more programming skills including how to connect your programs to databases and the web. By the end of the course you will be amazed at your ability to create powerful, graphical, and useful programs. You will have gained important insight into what programming is and how programmers think. This insight will help you in any career that uses computer technology.

What's New:

12/2/09 - Hard to believe, but I am posting the last homework of the term to the page today. Other things added too. They are:

• Homework 10
• Handout from class today that describes how to add bitmaps to your programs
• Two trivia answers
  

11/20/09 - I added homework 9 to this page for download.

11/15/09 - I added the following to this page:

• Powerpoints on file I/O and common dialogs
  
• Homework 9
• Solution to homework 8
• Trivia answer
  

10/28/09 - I added the following to this page:

• Homework 8
• Solution to homework 7
  
• Answers to some previous trivia questions
  

      
10/22/09 - I added the following to this page:

• Solution to homework 6
• Homework 7
• The midterm exam
• Updated schedule for the rest of the quarter
  

10/8/09 - Added the solution to homework 5, and homework 6. Also added answers to the first 5 trivia questions!!

10/2/09 - Several solutions to previous week's homeworks have been posted to the website, including:

• Tax/tip calculator
• Controls program
• War flowchart
• Distance calculator
• Card names

9/30/09 - Homework 5 is now posted to the website.

9/23/09  - I added homework 4, and four more lecture note powerpoints to the page.

9/16/09 - Before lecture on Wednesday I added the new homework assignment (and some other things) to this page. Somehow it went missing after that. I just added them all back. This includes:

• HW #3
• Course Reading (Questions)
• Course Reading (Essay)
  
• I cleaned up the due date section
• I've added a link to some very nice bitmaps of cards that you may choose to use for your programs
  

9/10/09 - I finally got access to everything I needed to get this website up/running. Right below you will see links to the sections of this document. The class notes, homeworks, and homework solutions are also posted here, and will be updated every week.

9/10/09 - IMPORTANT!!!! I have removed one problem from HW #2 (reflected in the file below). I have taken out (for now, it will come back!) the flow chart problem on that homework assignment. If you have already started on this problem, don't worry. Your effort will not be wasted. If you haven't started on it (which I suspect will be all of you), just don't do that problem at this time...

Table Of Contents:
 

Textbooks:

• Starting out with Visual Basic 2008 (4th Edition), by Tony Gaddis and Kip Irvine, ISBN 978-0136076957
• The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy through the Maze of Computer Espionage, by Clifford Stohl, ISBN 0743411463

• How to Create a Visual Basic.NET Program - a quick tutorial on using Visual Basic .NET
• Visual Basic.NET Reference - use this if you need to lookup how to declare a variable, do an if statement, add a control to a form, etc.
• Guessing Game - Takes you step by step through the basics of creating a simple number guessing game.
  

Other Useful Links:

•  If you want, you can download some nice bitmaps of playing cards for your programs (or not!). Here are some examples of the bitmaps:

Class Notes:

• Introduction - This is the overall introdution to the class
  
• Numbering systems - Including binary, octal, and hexadecimal
• Variables/data types - A variety of topics you need to understand basic variables
• Programs/algorithms - Flowcharting and how to structure progams
• Graphical and event-driven programs - Basic graphical program architecture and approach
• Control structures - Key control structures such as if/then/else and select case
• Loops - Basic looping, including for loops, while loops, and do loops
• File I/O - Basics for opening and using text files
• Common Dialogs - How to use some of the most often-used common dialogs
• How to show bitmaps. A tutorial.
  

Homework Assignments:

• Week 1 - Binary/hexadecimal math
• Week 2 - Basic variables and data types
• Week 3 - Flowcharts
• Week 4 - Subroutines
• Week 5 - Nested loops. Prime numbers
• Week 6 - Arrays.
• Week 7 - Randomization.
• Week 8 - The Game of War. Part I.
• Week 9 - Common Dialogs, File IO.
• Week 10 - The Game of War. Part II.
• Week 11 - Showing card bitmaps.
  

Homework Solutions:

• Week 1 - Solutions to week 1 homework
• Week 2 - Solutions to week 2 homework
  
• Tax/tip calculator
• Controls program
  
• Week 3 -  Solutions to week 3 homework
• War flowchart
• Week 4 - Solutions to week 4 homework
  
• Distance calculator
• Card names
• Week 5 - Solutions to week 5 homework
• Prime Numbers
• Week 6 - Solutions to week 6 homework
• Driver Exam
• Week 7 - Solutions to week 7 homework
• Shuffle A Deck of Cards
• Week 8 - Solution to week 8 homework
• Deal a card for War (don't handle Wars yet!)
  

Trivia Answers:

I know, you're all dying to know these answers - it is without doubt the most important thing in your week!! Here are the answers to the homework trivia questions:

• Week 1:  It stands for: Tom Albert Swift Electromagnetic Raygun. The inventor was a huge fan (as am I!) of this book series from the 1950s.
  
• Week 2:  He is the only man in US History to be both father and son of a US President.
  
• Week 3: If you drive due South from Detroit, MI, the first country you come to is Canada!! Look at the map...
  
• Week 4: This is a VERY tough question. The way to think about this question is to think of people who are on TV every day with new programming. #4 is Walter Cronkite (TV News). #3 is Johnny Carson (Tonight Show). #2 is Bob Keeshan (who is that, you ask? It's "Captain Kangaroo"!), and #1 is: Hugh Downs. He was on the Today Show for a VERY long time. He also anchored the daily news. He also has been on 20/20 for years, and many other shows...
  
• Week 5: The answer is NOT (as many of you think), "ET". It never won Best Picture (and shouldn't in my humble opinion - I don't think it was a very well made movie). The answer actually is "Gigi" (Won best picture in 1958). There are only two letters in the title (G and I)
• Week 6: The answer, believe it or not, was Ronald Reagan (yes, the President)!! He was a "B" movie actor in the 1940s, but was a rugged leading man, who they wanted for the role of "Rick".
• Week 7. Oddly enough, the answer to this question is also Ronald Reagan. Not one US President (in the first 200 years or so) was elected President after he was divorced. Ronald Reagan was married in the 1950s to actress Jane Wyman, then divorced, and then remarried Nancy before he was elected in 1980.
• Week 8. I love this question (and answer!) Turns out that the ONLY reason that you have to be a natural-born citizen of the USA to be elected President is because the founding fathers really (REALLY) feared Alexander Hamilton ever becoming President. He was very, very right wing, and they feared that the Union would not last if he became President. Since he was born outside of the US (in the Carribean), they put that clause in the constitution to make sure that he never became President. Talk about petty!
• Week 9.  The first computer "bug" was a moth that actually flew into an early computer (at Harvard), and caused all sorts of havoc... You can read more about it here.
• Week 10. The common understanding of this is that Alfred Nobel (the inventor of dynamite, BTW) was furious because his wife had an affair with a mathematician. He swore that no mathematician would ever have any of his money.
  

Syllabus:

Course Logistics:

Lectures are held W,F 1:00-2:15 in Old Student Union #120.

Lab Work:

Technically, you don't need to use the computers in the lab because you can install Visual Studio .NET on your own computer at home.
However, working up in the lab on these programming assignments is a great way to meet other people in the course. The labs (also in
Stanger) are open from 8AM to 12AM during the week. Sometimes, the labs are being used as a classroom. You can find the schedule
for here. Also, the lab is occasionally reserved for a special meeting (this is rare). During the weekends and holidays the lab is normally
closed but you can still gain access. If you arrive at Stanger and the lab is closed, you can call campus police at x5555 and tell them
that you are taking this course and that you are on a list of students allowed access to the lab.

Office Hours - Duffy 012:

I will be in the "office" on Mondays from 12:00-1:00. You do not need to schedule a time - just drop in and we can chat about anything
you need help with. If you need additional time (or need to meet at another time), just email me and we can schedule a time.

Grading Policy:

I will try, very hard, to be as helpful and understanding as possible in the grading process. Having said that, there is a policy, and I will s
tick to it. If you have difficulty, issues, or questions, the best policy is to contact me. If something has come up - I understand. But only if
you speak with me in advance.

Grading programming assigments:

All Programming assignments will be graded on an 100 point scale:
a. Points will be given for program clarity, efficiency, and documentation. Programs with no
     commenting/documentation will have points deducted.
b. Each program will be tested on up to three data sets. Points will be given for each correct run of the program.
c. Points will be deducted for each day a program is late.
d. Programs which do not compile and run will receive decreased points

Homework will be turned in at the beginning of class on the day they are due. Late homeworks will not be accepted
without prior arrangement with the instructor.

This policy is firm because homework solutions will usually be handed out on the due day.

Two points will be deducted for each day a program is late.

Exams are to be taken at the specified date and time. If you miss the exam, you will receive a 0.

Sometimes things happen. If there are circumstances that prevent you from meeting your obligations for this course,
you need to talk to me to make arrangements IN ADVANCE.

Dropping the Course

I want you to stay in the course! Please talk to me before you decide to drop.

Getting Help:

Instructor: Dr. Marty Sirkin Office: Duffy 012 Office Hours: Mondays 12-1 (or by appt) Office Phone: N/A (Use email!) Email: marty@sirkin.net Microsoft IM: martysirkin@hotmail.com