This is a freshmen seminar without any prerequisites.
Tuesday, Thursday 4-6pm in John Greene Hall 216. In order to get a door code for the Computer Lab please visit the labcode webpage (after signing up for an account). The code is updated on weekly basis.
Guide to LaTeX (4th Edition) by Helmut Kopka and Patrick W. Daly.
Free Software, Free Society: Selected Essas of Richard M. Stallman.
Privacy: What Developers and IT Professionals Should Know, by J. C. Cannon.
"Version
Control with Subversion", on-line book (no need
to buy a copy). You must know how to use subversion as
a developer (not as an administrator) in order to submit
your assignments. Use this book as a reference if you
encounter problems. Basic knowledge of chapters 1-3
should be sufficient.
Specific topics that will be covered:
There will be weekly assignments involving the
preparation of documents. The assignments will
require the preparation of essays, literature
searches as well as knowledge of the various
document preparation tools discussed in class.
Students are encouraged to discuss the materials
and homework projects together. However, all
documents must be written and prepared individually. Academic
dishonesty includes, but is not limited to: plagiarism,
cheating in exams, unauthorized collaboration and
falsifying academic records. Violation of any of these
may result in a grade penalty on assignments, an "F" in
the course, dismissal from an academic unit, revocation
of admission and possibly suspension from the University.
There will be a midterm but no final exam. Your final grade will depend on the written assignments and the midterm. The different kinds of assignments are weighted as follows:
| Homeworks | 70 Pts |
|---|---|
| Midterm | 30 Pts |
| Grade | Points |
|---|---|
| A | > 85 Pts |
| B | > 70 Pts |
| C | > 55 Pts |
| D | ≥ 40 Pts |
| F | < 40 Pts |
You will need various applications for the class, all of which are freely available for GNU/Linux. The computer science department has a GNU/Linux lab which provides all of the required software and is open to students who are enrolled in this class.
Each student will get access to a subversion
repository. Assignments must be committed to that repository by the respective
deadline. Students are encouraged to use the repository for version control while
still working on the assignment. Only the last version commited before the deadline will
be used for grading.
In order to access your subversion repository, you must first request an account.
For this, you first need to generate an encrypted password. On any GNU/Linux or UNIX
machine (or even a Microsoft system with Apache) enter
$ htpasswd -nb $USER PASSWORD
where PASSWORD is your desired password. You will not be able to change the
password later. Send the output of the command to
grothoff@cs.du.edu to request
an account. Once your account has been created, you should do an initial check out:
$ svn checkout https://svn.cs.du.edu/courses/comp1111/f2007/$USER
$ cd $USER
You should then proceed to create a directory for the first project
and commit it:
$ mkdir A1
$ svn add A1
$ svn commit -m "comment"
Afterwards, you can add the files to submit just like you added the directory.
Make sure to commit the final version with all files (hint: svn status)
before the deadline. It is also a good idea to do a seperate checkout and
verify that the result works.
We all know how to count. And we're pretty comfortable answering questions like "do you have more fingers than toes?" But if someone asks whether there are more whole numbers than fractions, or if there are more whole numbers than even numbers, things get more interesting. The reason is that infinite sets, like the whole numbers, behave in a different way than finite sets, like your toes, when it comes to counting. This talk will be about counting infinite sets.
You are the Class of 2011! For some that year is a "long time away" so
not to worry. For others, 2011 suggests that there is much to be done
in a very short period of time. Whichever may be your view, the things
you do, and the way(s) you do them between now and June 2011 will have
a significant impact on you, our country, and the rest of the
world. Is it "idealistic thinking" or "awesome responsibility?"
In this presentation, I will not offer the views of a seer, but rather
explore with you some of the personal and global transformations you
are likely to experience and witness in the next four years and what
they will mean for you and the future of society. Among some of the
factors that will influence those transformations is first of all your
commitment to taking seriously this opportunity you have been given by
excelling in and out of the classroom at the University of
Denver. Another factor will be your willingness to think in global
terms about your future while remaining aware of the social, economic,
political, and cultural influences, challenges and opportunities that
will present themselves to you everyday.
The schedule consists of a mixture of three major tracks. The first track focuses on teaching fundamental technical skills. The second track focuses on philosophical and legal debates around free software and computer security. The third track introduces standards. The selected standards are relevant to many disciplines; the concept of standardization itself is fundamental for all engineering.
This is a preliminary schedule. Feedback is welcome.
Grades will be sent via e-mail to each student once assignments have been graded. Graded assignments can be picked up from the instructor's office during office hours.