CS433 Programming Assignments

This repository contains the starter code for programming assignments in CS433.

Get Started

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/csusm-cs/cs433_assign_starter.git 

2. Develop your program in a Linux system The assignments are designed to compile and run on a Linux environement. You can use the cs433.cs.csusm.edu server or set up your own Linux environment. Contact the instructor if you need help on using Linux.

Submission

The completed source code should be submitted to Gradescope. Gradescope will auto-grade your submission and give you immediate feedback. You can submit as many times as you want before the due date. See each assignment instruction for more details.

Program Design Guidelines

your programs are to be structured and implemented according to common programming guidelines, including but not limited to

• Check for validity of input data to program and functions to prevent abnormal behaviors, e.g. program shouldn’t just crash if input values are invalid, but should exit graciously and print clear error information.

• Programs should not be built around a specific dataset but should work correctly for any reasonable test dataset.

• Programs that use threads should ensure that their functions are re-entrant.

• Programs should be robust, for example to avoid comparing equality of floating point numbers.

• Function coherence: each function should correspond to one sub-task in the overall algorithm to solve the problem.

• Function independence: each function should be independent, i.e., it should be self-contained and it should perform its task successfully without needing to know the inner workings of the calling function.

• Use appropriate parameters rather than global variables (stay away from global variables whenever possible). Avoid side effects.

Documentation and Report

Code comments and a written report will count for 20% of programming assignments.

Code Comments

You must provide sufficient comments in your code so that others can understand what you have done.

• Each function should have a brief comment explaining the purpose of the function, input parameters to the function, and output. The comments might also state the limitations of the function using possibly pre-conditions and post-conditions.
• Most variables should have a brief comment explaining their purpose. Looping control variables such as: “x” or “i” need not be commented.
• Comment your code to explain tricky and important points (not every line).
• Comments should be comprehensible and useful. Comments such as: “This adds 1 to Count” are trivial and should be avoided.
• Comments should be clearly organized and easily distinguishable from the actual code.

Report

You should also write a report for each programming assignment and submit it in PDF format. The report should include the following sections:

Problem Description

In this section, describe the problem you are solving and the functionalities of your program to solve the problem.

Program Design

Describe the overall design of your program.

What algorithms and/or data structures did you choose for implementing the program? Why this algorithm is applicable here? Why do you choose to use those data structures?

System Implementation

Describe the details of your implementations. Did you run into problems in your implementation? How did you overcome those problems?

Results

If applicable, your report should include any results for the assignment, the features implemented or missing from the submission. You should give references to the code you used from online/book resources and explain your contributions. You may also discuss extra things you have done in the project, future improvements to your program.

Conclusion

Give the conclusion and summary of your project. Did it solve the intended problem successfully? What functionalities does your program have? What lessons have you learned from this assignment? Any comments about the project that you want to communicate to the instructor.

Your reports should contain sufficient details and are usually expected to be 2 to 4 pages long. Your report will be graded according to its organization, content, and writing. To receive full credits for the report, it should satisfy the following:

1. Organization: Structure is logically clear and conforms to standards if required. Provides smooth transitions in between sections.
2. Content: Provides all key technical components and details. Provides ample supporting details (such as figures, tables, analysis, etc.)
3. Writing: Flow smoothly, effective in using strong topic sentences to start paragraphs, transitions to link sentences, a varied sentence structure, and logical connections between ideas. Demonstrates thorough proofreading. Defines all high-tech terms (acronyms or abbreviations); Uses highlighting techniques appropriately to emphasize main points to help information accessibility; clear cross-references.

Academic Honesty

Students must follow the Campus Academic Integrity and Student Conduct Policies. The following are what is allowed and not allowed for completing the assignments.

Allowed:

• Talking about general strategy including general class design and general algorithms. Though it's definitely better if you try to come up with these on your own first.
• Using general C++ code you find online for common operations like:
  • General input/output
  • Using the STL classes

NOT Allowed:

• Designing "pseudocode" together such that your pseudocode is directly translatable to C++
• Even LOOKING at code that is a solution or partial solution to your assignments
• Posting your code publicly or showing it to anyone else
• Using ChatGPT or any other generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools for programming assignments