CS 168 Syllabus

5 September 2018

Welcome to CS168. In this course, we will use the Haskell language to explore the functional programming paradigm. Functional programming makes the mathematical notion of a function a centerpiece of our programs. It also eliminates or reduces “side effects” that make programs difficult to reason about and parallelize. We will explore the basics of Haskell, recursion, list processing, patterns and guards, algebraic data types, type classes, combinators, applicative functors, and monads.

When:
Monday, Wednesday 12:00–1:50pm
Where:
M412
Credits:
3

Contact Info

Instructor:
Prof. Christopher League, Ph.D.
Email:
christopher.league@liu.edu — please include the course number (CS168) in the subject. I have several email addresses, but all messages end up in the same place, so please use only one.
Instant Messaging:
cleague@gmail.com (Google Hangout)
Office hours:
Monday, Wednesday 3–3:50 PM, or make an appointment at https://bookme.liucs.net/
Office phone:
+1 718 488 1274 (voice mail only)
Office location:
H-700, LIU Brooklyn

Resources

We will use several web resources:

There is an required extra fee for the Mimir platform, which we will use for assignments. You can purchase access at that link with a credit card, or buy a pass from the campus book store. Once you join, the course access code is 596d9b87b2.

There is no required textbook, but it’s a really good idea to gain access to one or more books to supplement and for reference. Here are some good suggestions:

Requirements

There are a total of 1,000 points available, broken down as follows:

  • There will be 12 weekly assignments. The exact requirements and expectations for each will be posted to the course web site, but most involve some amount of programming. The assignments are worth 80 points each, but I will drop the lowest two, so that only ten assignments count, for a total of 800 points.

  • There will be a midterm and final exam, worth 100 points each for a total of 200 points.

On the 1,000-point scale, you can expect the following letter grades:

   ≥ 870: B+ ≥ 770: C+
≥ 930: A ≥ 830: B ≥ 730: C ≥ 600: D
≥ 900: A–    ≥ 800: B–    ≥ 680: C–    else: F

In the end, I may choose to adjust the scale slightly to compensate for assignments or questions that turned out to be trickier than I intended. Such adjustments would never lower your grade from what is designated in the above table; if you achieve 930 points, you are guaranteed an A.

Policies

It is important to complete milestone requirements on time, so you don’t fall behind. Late work will be graded as follows.

This formula specifies a lateness factor \(f\) that is multiplied by your earned score to determine a late score. The variable \(h\) represents the number of hours the submission is late.

\[ f = \frac{8.5 - \log_2{\left(\frac{h}{24}\right)}}{10} \]

You can adjust the sliders beside the graph below to visualize the effect of this formula. The green slider at the left controls the score you would have received based on the content of the work. The red slider below controls how late the assignment was turned in. The red circle in the graph indicates the adjusted score.

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There will be no extra credit. Students usually ask for extra credit late in the semester after they have already squandered their original opportunities. Be sure to start your work early, so that we can detect and solve any problems before they can affect your grade.

Plagiarism is the use or presentation of ideas, words, or work that is not one’s own and that is not common knowledge, without granting credit to the originator. Plagiarism is a practice that is not only unacceptable, but which is to be condemned in the strongest terms possible on the basis of moral, educational and legal grounds. Under University policy, plagiarism may be punishable by a range of penalties from a failing grade in the assignment or course to dismissal from the School of Business, Public Administration and Information Sciences. All students are required to read the handbook on avoiding plagiarism by visiting https://liucs.net/u2

Cheating includes, but is not limited to the following: falsification of statements or data; listing sources that have not been used; having another individual write your paper or do your assignments; writing a paper or creating work for another student to use without proper attribution; purchase of paper or research work for one’s submission as his/her own work; using written, verbal, or electronic or other sources of aid during an examination (except when expressly permitted by the instructor, depending on the nature of the examination) or knowingly providing such assistance to aid other students.

In a course with programming assignments, it is usually okay to work with and learn from other students to some extent, but what you submit in the end needs to be your own. The most reliable way to do that would be to set aside whatever code you created together, and then recreate it from scratch on your own.

Showing up on time to class is extremely important. If you must be absent or more than 5 minutes late, please try to notify me in advance. I will be keeping track of whether you are in class, and when you arrive. A few missed classes will not count against you, but habitual absence will significantly hurt your grade. Additionally, there will be no make-up quizzes. I do not distinguish between ‘excused’ and ‘unexcused’ absence. Unless you miss an exam due to a severe medical emergency, I don’t want to see a doctor’s note. If you do miss an exam, the make-up exam will be different – and probably not easier.

In accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, including changes made by the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008, the Long Island University does not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities. If you are a student with a documented disability/impairment (psychological, neurological, chronic medical, learning disability, sensory, physical) and require reasonable accommodations, please register with Student Support Services and provide me with an accommodation letter. Visit Sloan Building 1st floor, call 718 488 1044, or visit http://www.liu.edu/Brooklyn/SSS

I participate in the LIU Safe Zone program. Representatives of the program serve as contacts for individuals on campus with questions or concerns related to sexual orientation and gender identity, whether of self or of a friend or family member. The goal of the program is to promote a safe and free campus for all students. Safe Zone areas can be identified by a sticker with the LIU Safe Zone logo.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) gives students control over the disclosure of their educational records. During this course you may have the opportunity to create accounts or register with certain public online services. In these cases, you need not make any personally identifying information public. You may use a pseudonym or online handle, as long as you identify yourself to the instructor.

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