Fall 2003/Spring 2004: CS333 - Problem Solving and Object Oriented Programming in C++
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Frequently Asked Questions
(see also the teched info page here).

• Is the web site just on on-line textbook?

No, you are expected to read the chosen textbook for the content. Value added to the textbook in terms of experiments, animations, progress reporting, managment of the class, communications with the insturcotr and your classmates for help and advise

• What is the Value added of the web course?

• Sets agenda
• access to examples/experiments with runnable code
• animations of certain concepts
• management

• I already know a programming language but not C++, do I need to cover all the material?

No, you can review the preliminary material and start into the object oriented......

• What about cheating

policy on cheating - reviews of progress

• Do I need to use the web site to pass the course?

• Attendance on the web site is like attendance in a regular class. You are not required to attend but you are expected to perform all the required and graded work.
• The web site, like a class room, is the primary way the instructor and students communicate. Like a traditional classroom, you are responsible for being aware of any announcements made on the web site (changes in due dates, new assignments, clarifications of requirements). Being unaware of information posted on the web site is no excuse for failure to hand in assignments.
• Accept for certain communications and management functions, you are not required to use the material on the web site.
• You could study the text book on your own, do the assignments and take the quizzes and tests.
• Your grade is determined by performance on graded material not on attendance on the web site

• With all this personalized progress reporting, it seems like this course could intrude upon my privacy

Well that is one point of view. However our philosophy is that the personal progress is to help you and to help your instructors to help you. Your grade is determined by scores on the two test and Final exams on the textbook material and on the mid-term and final tests in the UNIX lab, on the programming assignments and course project as stated in the syllabus.
ANSWERS on the learning tasks have NO bearing on your grade.
The number of times you visit the WebSite has NO bearing on your grade.
Any comments, positive or negative, on the WebSite or course in general will have NO bearing on your grade.
If you give up on the Web course and attend the lectures instead, it will have NO bearing on your grade.
Of course, we reserve the right to bug you if you are not making progress. That is our job after all. BUT it will have NO bearing on your grade!!!

• Can I use visual C++ to develop/compile and test my programs?
  
  Yes, there are instructions on using visual C++ 6.0 for a simple experiment given here.
  You can also use Borland (although I am less familiar with it and therefore will be of less help on its use)
  Or GNU C++ on your PCs
  
• I don't get the e-mail in which my assignments are graded. What happens to it?
  
  Grading of assignments is done on the DCS UNIX machines and resutls are sent back to your UNIX e-mail address. If you would rather receive your UNIX e-mails elsewhere. create a ".forward" (notice the initial "dot" character) and put your preferred e-mail address in that file. For instance to receive mail at "cwild47@home.com" create a ".forward" file containing that address.
  
• Isn't there a better "ftp" program than the one that comes with Windows?
  
  You bet. Try this suggestion.
  In the for what it's worth department I had problems using the Windows FTP program uploading my files.  The LeechFTP progam:

   LeechFTP Home Page   (http://stud.fh-heilbronn.de/~jdebis/leechftp/)

  is freeware and provides an excellent FTP capability.  It's GUI driven and keystrokes are left to a minimum since the connect command includes username and pwd.  It's implements the multithreaded model and does file compares after upload/download.  It's sure to make life easier with a internet-based course.

  Paul Novak

• How do I call you toll free during your office hours
  
  You can call me toll free during my office hours at 1-800-968-2638 + 4679

• When I take a self-assessment and press the “show answers” button, I don’t see the answers.

    If you are using Internet Explorer, you may need to change the default cache behavior. (Web browsers store pages you have visited in a cache, so that if you go back to them, the page does not have to be reloaded.) By default, Internet Explorer only checks pages to see if they have changed once per session (i.e., once per browser execution). You need to change this to check every time a page is visited.

  From the Windows control panel (”Settings” on the Start menu), open the ”Internet” tool, and on the ”General” tab look for the ”Temporary Internet files” settings button. Press that button, and select ”every visit to the page”.

• How can I detect the end of file

• How can I get e-mail sent to my preferred e-mail account?

  All grades/comments on assignments are sent to your UNIX mail accounts.
  Since this is not convenient for many of you, you can forward that e-mail to your preferred e-mail account by created a file called ".forward" in your UNIX home directory with your preferred e-mail address.
  Here is one way to create this file (This would send mail normally sent to wild@cs.odu.edu to cwild@notesmail.cs.odu.edu )

  echo cwild@notesmail.cs.odu.edu > .forward

• 
  

Copyright chris wild 1998-2004.
For problems or questions regarding this web contact [cs333@cs.odu.edu].
Last updated: August 24, 2003.