22C:118 Course Syllabus Fall 2004

22C:118 Course Syllabus Fall 2004 22C:118 Course Syllabus Fall 2004

Fall 2004 Monday/Wednesday/Friday 14:30-15:20 MacBride Hall 112

Professor: Ted Herman, 201M MacLean, Telephone: 335-2833
E-mail: herman@cs.uiowa.edu Office Hours: 13:30-14:20 MWF
Note: if not in my office 201M MLH, try the network lab B1C MLH.

Teaching Assistant: Xin Lu xinlu@cs.uiowa.edu
Tuesday and Thursday, 10:00-11:00, in B20J MLH

Prerequisite: 22C:060

Textbooks:

Sync: How Order Emerges from Chaos in the Universe, Nature, and Daily Life, by Steven Strogatz.
TCP/IP Sockets in C: Practical Guide for Programmers, by Donahoo and Calvert.
The Python language will be used for network programming, so the following text is recommended: Python in a Nutshell by Alex Martelli, published by O'Reilly, 2003.
Actually, there are several O'Reilly books on Python, with different levels of expertise and specialization. Some of these other books are a better introduction to the language than the text recommended above, but we will surpass the level of the introductory books when we use some of Python's library functions (essential for networking features). You might consider using the following for the first week learning Python:
- A good beginner's book is Learning Python by Mark Lutz. This text is available online if you access it via the University's catalog.
- Another is: Python: How to Think Like a Computer Scientist by Downey, Elkner, and Meyers, Green Tea Press, 2002. No need to get this book, it is little more than a gentle introduction to the first chapter topics of Python in a Nutshell.
- Alternatively, you may want to read the online tutorial by Guido van Rossum.
Other readings will be from online sources or reserved materials in the Mathematics Library (in MacLean Hall).

Announcements: Nearly all assignments, projects, examination information, and various help files will be posted to a 22C:118 Course Web site. The URL for the course's Web site is: http://22C118.cs.uiowa.edu.

Content and Schedule: The following is an approximate plan for the semester - I may need to adjust it based on the progress of students. Changes to this syllabus will be reflected in the online version, available on the course web site.

Week	Monday	Wednesday	Friday	Theme
1	23 Aug	25	27 Jan	Networks
2	30	1 Sep	3 Sep	TCP/IP
3	(no class)	8	10	Sockets
4	13	15	17	Python
5	20	22	24	Python Web Services
6	27 `X`	29	1 Oct	Parallel Programming
7	(no class)	(no class)	8	Parallel Programming
8	11	13	15	Peer-to-Peer
9	18	20	22	Client/Server
10	25	27	29	Simulation
11	1 Nov	3	5	Simulation
12	8 `X`	10	12	Transactions
13	15	17	19	Transactions
14	(no class)	(no class)	(no class)	Vacation
15	29	1 Dec	3	Security
16	6	8	10	Sensor Networks

Note: The symbol X is an examination date.

Miscellaneous Announcements: The University of Iowa Policies.

This course is given by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS). This means that class policies on matters such as requirements, grading, and sanctions for academic dishonesty are governed by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Students wishing to add or drop this course after the official deadline must receive the approval of the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Details of the University policy of cross enrollments may be found at:
http://www.uiowa.edu/~ provost/deos/crossenroll.doc.
See the student academic handbook for administrative procedures, your rights and responsibilities, and other topics. The official classroom procedures for faculty includes policies on cheating and plagiarism, students with disabilities, and other topics. In particular, we are required to state the following: I need to hear from anyone who has a disability which may require some modification of seating, testing, or other class requirements so that appropriate arrangements may be made. Please see me after class or during my office hours.

Also, we are required to specify the following information. The name of the department, location of the departmental office, and information on how to contact the DEO or his/her designee.

Department of Computer Science
14 MacLean Hall
Professor James Cremer, DEO
"Statement that, for each semester hour credit in the course, students should expect to spend two hours per week preparing for class sessions (e.g., in a three-credit-hour course, standard out-of-class preparation is six hours)."
"Procedures for student complaints." There is rather specific language (legalese) describing the escalating hierarchy of complaint procedures in several University documents. Typically, the student tries to resolve the matter with the instructor; then it can go to the department chairman or higher levels of authority. Please see the official documents for all the details of grievances and appeals.
The collegiate policy on plagiarism and cheating Plagiarism and cheating are not tolerated. In the past, I've gone so far as making multiple versions of quizzes and examinations to discourage cheating (which had the unfortunate side-effect of being "unfair" because not all examinations were identical). Generally, students caught cheating for the first time may be given a penalty up to an automatic F in the course. Such an F cannot be removed from the transcript. Penalties up to expulsion may apply to second offences. While you are encouraged to discuss homework problems with others in the class (this is a good way to learn), do not discuss anyone's solutions prior to turning in your final copy! In some cases, I may assign group homeworks, and of course the submitted work will be by the group in those cases, where collaboration is expected.
Goals and objectives of the course. Traditional networking courses explore the insides of networks, explaining various architectures and performance issues. Unlike a traditional course, 22C118 will spend less time explaining how networks are built and more time about how applications use networks. The goal is to learn how to make use of networks, even though you may not understand all the components and how they work. Note: students will be expected to demonstrate learning of topics by programming exercises (homework). These exercises will use the Python programming language, which is available on the CS Department's machines (and there are MS Window-based versions as well, in case students would like to work on programs at home). Naturally, many of the programming exercises will require working on computers connected to networks, usually meaning the Internet.
Schedule of topics, readings, and course materials or other description of course content. See above, and frequently consult the course web page for assigned readings, pointers to online documents, and other announcements.
Grading procedures, including whether plus/minus grading will be used. Plus/minus grading will be used based on normalizing total student scores to a curve. There are four homeworks, three examinations, and possibly a programming project. Examination scores contribute 50% of the final grade, and homework/project scores contribute 50% of the score. Above, it is noted that students can expect to spend about six hours per week outside of class on this course.
Instructor's or departmental policies on attendance and tardiness, assignments, and examinations. Students are expected to attend classes. No late homeworks are accepted if solutions have been posted to the course web site. There is no guarantee that late homeworks will be accepted; if the Professor or TA agree to accept a late homework, the score will be penalized: homeworks submitted late, but before the TA has graded all the on-time homework, will be penalized by 20%; homeworks submitted after the TA has finished grading all the on-time homeworks, but within a week of the deadline, will be penalized 50%.
Dates and times of any exams scheduled outside of class time and the date and time of the final examination. The final examination is on Monday the 13th of December at 9:45am. (Taken from the University's Final Examination Schedule.)
Corrections or changes (if any) in the information about the course printed in the Schedule of Courses or other official University publications. Corrections, updates and announcements will be posted on the course web page version of this syllabus.
Resources for obtaining additional help, such as tutors, teaching assistants, or tutorial laboratories (if any). Most of the additional resources are online or in libraries. They will be announced on the course web page.