CMPT 125 Burnaby

Labs characteristics

Last update: January 28, 2012

COMPUTING LABS FACILITIES (CSIL)

Computing facilities in the Burnaby campus are available in the CSIL (Computing Science Instructional Labs) located in the Applied Science Building (ASB), rooms 9838/9804/9840. Students do not need to reserve computers in CSIL. The CSIL will be open during the whole semester, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.

You will need to have an access card to enter the CSIL labs. You have to get your access card only once: you can use your card from a previous semester. For more information about access cards check the Access Cards for CSIL webpage. You may use your own laptop with your own software in the labs. Notice that the CSIL personnel is not responsible for any problems you may have with your own laptop.

Accessing your files you created in CSIL You can access files in your H: directory from CSIL at home as is indicated in the CSIL Windows FAQs page , follow the link "Remote Access to CSIL FAQ".

For general information about CSIL please refer to the CSIL webspage. If you have any further question about CSIL, please contact the CSIL personnel, csilop@sfu.ca.

WHICH LAB TO ATTEND

Students should attend their own lab (where they are registered). However, in documented special cases, subject to space availability and with the instructor approval, it may be possible that you change your main lab to another one. Consult with the instructor.
Additionally to attending the main lab, students are welcome to attend other labs, subject to space availability and at the discretion of the instructor and TAs.
If possible, individual consultations will be addressed during the labs, otherwise, students are encouraged to attend instructor and/or TA office hours.

LABS ACTIVITIES

Typically students will work on exercises during labs, some times as individual work, sometimes as team work, as explicitly indicated in the lab exercises defined for each week. Some quizzes may also take place during lab time.
Teaching staff will be available for questions during lab times except while a quiz takes place.
Lab activities constitute 10% of the whole course: 5% from active participation, 5% from solutions submissions, as indicated in the Admin → Course evaluation section. The active participation is checked in person by the TAs or is considered as responses to lab self-evaluation questionnaries. Independently of the active participation, some selected exercises will be required to be submitted. These lab activities may take place together in the same week or in different weeks.
(1) ACTIVE PARTICIPATION CHECKED IN PERSON BY TA's

Some weeks the TAs will give points to students (1 or 2 points per lab) according to the students' active participation.
In those weeks when active participation is controlled by TAs in person, students will have to show the TAs the work they have done during the lab to obtain the corresponding points.
It is the student's responsibility to save the work they do and to make sure that a TA checks the work to get the lab participation points. . Active participation (providing 2 points) requires that students work during labs, but does not necessarily require to complete specific exercises.

(2) COMPLETING LAB SELF-EVALUATION QUESTIONNAIRES

Some weeks TAs will not provide points in person controlling the work that students do during labs, but rather students will have to fill out some lab self-evaluation questionnaire about the lab work.
Filling out these self evaluation questionnaires will provide 1 or 2 points, where 2 points will be provided if the responses to the self evaluation questionnaire are complete.
The self evaluation questionnaire may require that students submit parcial solutions to lab exercises. These partial solutions will be checked but it will not be expected that they are complete.

(3) SUBMISSION OF COMPLETE SOLUTIONS TO SELECTED LAB EXERCISES

Some weeks students will have to submit some complete solution to a lab exercise. In this case it will be possible to submit such complete lab exercise up to about a week after the lab took place (precise deadlines will be indicated).
Some of the submitted solutions to lab exercises may not be marked..However, solutions will be provided regardless of whether they are marked or not. In some cases it will be explicitly indicated that the exercise will be marked, in others it will be decided, in a random manner, after students submitted all the lab exercises, which will be marked. All students get marked the same lab exercise/s (if they submitted it/them).

QUIZZES DURING LAB TIME

We will have one or two quizzes taking place during lab time, including implementation, as announced in class and indicated in the Tests section.
In terms of points, quizzes do not form part of the Labs component of the course but rather of the Quizzes component of the course. The total percentage of all quizzes is 9% of the whole course, as indicated in the Admin → Course evaluation section. .

MORE ABOUT LAB ACTIVITIES AND LABS EXERCISES

Labs will take place once a week. Typically new lab exercises will be provided once a week.
The lab exercises will be identified by the week # when the exercises were posted. Week #1 is considered to be the week that starts on January 2. Since there are no labs during week #1, the first lab exercises posted will be lab week#2.
In general lab exercises are short and involve implementation. Some exercises are explicitly meant as "exploration" (and indicated as such) to guide you to investigate about topics which may or not have been discussed during lectures.
Within one lab week, exercises are presented in increasing complexity, therefore you are very highly recommended to do all the lab exercises, in order, and not to directly skip to the exercises to be submitted..
Most lab exercises are "practice exercises" and do not have to be submitted, but you are expected to work on them during the labs and as homework, and to discuss about them and show them to the teaching staff. Those solutions that are to be submitted should be submitted by the announced deadline.
It is likely that you will work on lab exercises during labs and also outside the lab time.
It is highly encouraged that you work on practice exercises, this is a proven way to better learn. Additionally, quizzes and exams questions may be based on lab exercises.
Keep all your lab work on the H: drive in CSIL and save frequently, otherwise you will lose your work . Also, you should save your files in the H: directory (and not the desktop) so that you can access your files remotely, and also to avoid some problems when running JCreator.
During the first part of the course (before the reading break) there will be lab exercises to work on, for practice and/or due for submission about a week after they are posted. Brief assignments will also be provided, due a couple days or up to about a week after they are posted.
After the reading break, lab exercises will continue to be provided mostly as practice, and also medium size assignments and the project will be provided. Medium size assignments will be given more than a week to work on, as it will be announced. The project will include some intermediate submission and as a whole it will be given approximately 3 to 4 weeks to work on, as it will be announced.
Keep in mind the academic honesty policies .

SOFTWARE TO BE USED

We will mainly be developing Java programs through the IDE (Integrated development environment) JCreator. You may use other IDE's if you prefer so. This software is installed in the CSIL labs machines. Check section software for instructions about installing software in your own machine.
We will also be using the system CodeWrite and the system MyProgrammingLab as environments to write and test Java code. Exercises in these systems may be indicated as practice or for submission, as it will be announced.
Check the Course description → Software section.

WEEKLY LAB EXERCISES DESCRIPTIONS

The weekly lab exercises will be posted as the course progresses in the Notes & exercises →Weekly Lab Exercises section.

Your questions and answers about Labs? See the Q&A Labs section.