Instructor: Richard Gesick              office: J-388

Means of Communication:

email (preferred):        rgesick@spsu.edu                office phone:    (678) 915-3534

 office hours:     M W 5–6 pm or by appt.

Required Text:  None, the following are available free online:

Rob Miles CSharp Yellow Book 2008.pdf

C# Programming for Beginners

Programmer's Heaven:  C# School

Co- requisite:  MATH 1113

Overview:   This course provides an introduction to computer science with a focus on structured programming. Topics include an overview of programming, problem-solving and algorithm development, simple data types, arithmetic and logical operators, selection and repetition structures, and arrays.  Emphasis is placed on the techniques of good programming style and how to design, implement, debug, and document programs.  Designs and implementations use object-oriented programming.

Objectives:

1. Accurately use primitive data types and arithmetic expressions in programs.
2. Apply basic programming structures in program solutions, including logical expressions, selection, and repetition.
3. Define and use classes in program solutions.
4. Solve programming problems which include array handling, searching, and sorting.
5. Develop correct, efficient, and documented code.
6. Compile and run programs in the Windows environment.

Students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact the counselor working with disabilities at (678) 915-7226 as soon as possible to better ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.  

Grading

The course grade will be determined in the following manner. 

          Assignments         40%                               

          Lab grade              15%                               

          Tests                     30%                               

          Final Exam            15%                               

 Grading Scale

[90 – ∞)                A

[80 – 90)               B

[70 – 80)               C

[60 – 70)               D

(-∞ – 60)               F

 Course Philosophy

Creating games is a great way to learn to program, but it can be quite daunting if you are starting from first principles. XNA 2.0 makes serious game creation easier than it has ever been before. Even so, the fact remains that for a beginner it is hard to understand how even a simple game like Pong is made to work using XNA 2.0.  From a programming point of view, the focus is on the algorithm that controls the behavior of the game. This approach allows programming fundamentals, and the essential nature of the way that computers store and process data, to be explored at the very start of the learning process.  So the games may not be very sophisticated, but they are still games and will teach you the basics of programming at the same time.

It is important to remember that learning to create programs is not just about writing code. There are also ethical and professional aspects to the business of building software. Great programmers take pride in their work, give consideration to their colleagues, and take steps to ensure that what they create is of high quality.

It is not possible in a single introductory programming course to cover everything. The intention of this course is to provide enough knowledge of programming fundamentals to allow someone to have fun writing code. It also includes enough game ideas to allow them to explore the creation of original material. It will also give you a foundation of programming skills to build on should you continue to study computing.

Class Rules:

1.   Students are responsible for all announcements and assignments made in class.

2.   Students are expected to do their own work for all assignments unless otherwise indicated by instructor.  Group discussion and study of the assignments are permitted, but, when you begin to prepare your assignment to turn in, all collaboration must cease.  If collaboration is suspected, the grade will be a 0.  Multiple occasions of collaboration will earn you an academic dishonesty F for the course.

3.   All assignments are due by MIDNIGHT on the day indicated.

4.   No late assignments will be accepted.

5.   If a student must miss an announced test due to illness work travel or other valid excuse, he/she must make alternate arrangements with instructor PRIOR to test date.  There will be NO make-up tests unless prior arrangements have been made.

6.   If a class is cancelled for any reason, any assignment due that day will immediately be due the next scheduled class period.  Any topic or test scheduled for that day will occur the next scheduled class period.

7.   Class attendance and participation is expected.  Meaningful and relevant class discussion is encouraged.

8.   All current Southern Polytechnic State University policies will apply.

Lab Rules:

1.   Students are expected to attend lab each day that a lab is scheduled.  

2.  Labs are expected to be done and completed during lab time.  Each lab is worth a maximum of 15 points. 

3.  Students are expected to work in groups of 2 for lab assignments.  Groups may be assigned or chosen, depending on the lab.

4.  If you have more than 2 missed lab grades (grades of 0), your final grade for the course will be penalized 1 letter grade.

5.  Labs are due at the end of the lab period.  Any lab turned in “late” will be worth a maximum of 1 point.

6.      If a student must miss a lab due to class cancellation, holidays, illness, work travel or other valid excuse, he/she must make alternate arrangements with the instructor.