Spring 2001: CS333 - Problem Solving and Object Oriented Programming in
C++
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1 Technical Requirements - Hardware
Because this course is hosted on the internet, you will need to make sure that you have
access to the appropriate computing equipment and software to participate in the course activities.
Hardware requirements are pretty straightforward.
Required
Almost any Pentium-class Windows 95, 98, or NT/2000 machine should do. Equivalently powered
Unix or Macintosh machines are also acceptable, though these may introduce other limitations regarding software (below).
Whatever the machine, a good Internet connection is essential. You should be able to
connect to your Internet Service Provider (ISP) at 28,800k or better. Perhaps more importantly, your ISP must be able to actually feed you information
at that rate during the time periods when you will be logged in.
It's not unheard of for people to invest in very fast modems only to find that their net
access stays the same - because their ISP was too overloaded to
serve up the information as fast as their modem could accept it. Unfortunately, this is
not an easy thing for individuals to determine (and few ISP's will have the candor to admit when they have too many customers for their own good).
Optional:
Sound Card/Speaker microphone ( recommended for netmeeting unless you have a separate
telephone)
2 Technical Requirements - Software
Software requirements are more specific:
Required:
Web browser: Acceptable are Internet Explorer 4.0 or better, and Netscape
Navigator 4.05 or better.
Note that both of these are available for free downloading on Windows (and
Macintosh)
platforms. Netscape is available for free on Unix
platforms. At the risk of starting a religious war, I will recommend that, all else being
equal, you go for Internet Explorer, because this also gives you easy access to NetMeeting, described below.
Java: A Java engine is included in your web browser.
You may need to activate it from your browser's "settings" or
"preferences" area. Occasionally, an otherwise correctly installed browser will
not be able to run Java programs (applets). Also you will need to activate "cookies"
e-mail: Any MIME-compliant e-mail program should do.
telnet, ftp: Any program should do. Basic programs are available as part of the standard Windows environment
Optional:
Microsoft Netmeeting: This program, available for free from Microsoft, allows students to
participate in internet conferences via audio and/or
video or typed "chat", and sharing a common whiteboard for freehand drawing and
even sharing views or control of most Windows-based tools. Students can use Netmeeting to meet with the instructor during "office hours".
If you plan on using Netmeeting, you will almost certainly want to make sure you have a microphone on your system. A digital video camera would also be nice,
but is certainly not required (and might overtax your internet connection).
C++ compiler: This gets tricky. C++ is a language that has
recently undergone changes. An international standard for the language has been adopted
only recently Not all compilers have been upgraded to this new standard. Consequently, code accepted by one C++ compiler may fail to compile in another.
The "official" compiler for this course is the Free Software Foundation's g++
(also known as gcc or GNU CC), version egcs-1.1.2 or higher.1 This is the compiler that the instructor and/or grader will use in evaluating and grading
projects. If you have access to other compilers, you may use them, but you are responsible for making sure that their projects can be compiled by the
instructor and/or the course's grader using the official compiler.
You may want to develop your programs on the most convenient compiler and then port it
over to the official environment. Please don't underestimate the amount of time that may be involved in coping with subtle differences
among compilers. See description of available web development environments here.
NOTE: the third edition of the text book includes a student version of the
Microsoft Visual C++ compiler. This compiler is a semi-officially supported
compiler (the instructor uses Visual C++ but NOT the student version)
The g++ compiler can be downloaded for free from a variety sources. In particular, Windows
95/98/NT/2k users should look here and may want to consult my notes on its installation and use.