CSCI399 Assessment

For 2008, there will be five assignments totalling 50% and an examination for 50%. These are individual assignments; collaborative work will be penalized.

Assignments

The assignments cover:

  1. Assignment 1: Apache and Web basics.
    This assignment aims firstly to introduce you to the basics of web construction (HTML, client side Javascript), web programing with CGI (using C/C++!), and server adminstration.
    Currently due April 4th.
  2. Assignment 2This assignment aims to introduce you to the Perl language and some of its applications. Aspects of Perl that are covered include regular expressions, interface to the OS, the DBI database module, and CGI programming.
    Currently due April 18th.

  3. Assignment 3 This assignment aims to introduce you to PHP and to "state maintenance" in web applications. You will learn basic PHP scripting, interaction with databases, and the use of session maintenance functions.
    Currently due May 2nd
  4. Assignment 4This assignment aims to give you basic skills in the deployment of a Java "web application" in an application server.
    Currently due May 16th.

  5. Assignment 5This assignment aims to illustrate more sophisticated Java solutions with servlets and JSP technology for creation of web pages. It will also introduce the use of the new "Java Persistence Architecture".
    Currently due May 30th.

Exercises

Exercises will be provided. You should complete these exercises in the laboratory before starting the corresponding assignment. These exercises cover things like setting up connections to databases, and creating a personal domain for the application server assignments (A4 and A5).

  1. Exercise 1 - setting up your public_html environment for assignment 1 (also for A2 and A3.
  2. Exercise 2 Perl and CGI
  3. Exercise 3 PHP
  4. Exercise 4 Netbeans usage
  5. Exercise 5 JPA example, also JSP

Assignment reports

The assignments typically require you to write several small programs. You are assessed on reports that contain listings of your code together with your own commentary on your code and various supplementary data. These reports should be prepared using a word processor and coverted to PDF format before submission.

The "Resources" for CSCI399 include a driver that can be installed on a Windows machine enabling "printing" to PDF files.

Markers will receive these PDF files to mark. They generate report files that contain your final mark and the reasons that lead the marker to award that mark. The marker should also provide their Unix login id. These report files get mailed back to you once all markers have completed marking an assignment (the mail will appear to come from the lecturer, but is in fact generated by an automatic script). You should contact your marker via email if you have cause to dispute the final mark; the marker will send me an updated mark if appropriate.

Submission via turnin

The CSCI399 subject uses an electronic submission system called turnin. The commands to submit an assignment are included with each assignment description. Typically the command will be something like:


turnin -c csci399 -a 2 A2.pdf

The -c csci399 part identifies the subject. The -a 2 part identifies the assignment. The file name must match that specified in the assignment and defined in the script that controls the turnin program.

The turnin program is not chatty. You won't receive any emails congratulating you on your successful submission of an assignment. There is simply a terse acknowledgement when the turnin command runs. (The turnout command can be used to check that your files are safely recorded.)

The turnin program uses a disk that is only accessible by the banshee computer. This means that you must be logged in on the main CS undergraduate machine banshee. Workstations, such as the Linux PCs in the laboratories, are independent machines - they are not banshee-terminals. If you are using a workstation, you must use secure shell (ssh) to login to banshee before you use turnin. (If you use turnin on a machine other than banshee you will get a somewhat confusing error message about turnin not knowing about the course for which you are submitting an assignment.)

Late submission is possible with a mark penalty. You do not have to make application to submit late, you just use the late submission facility. Late submission is open for 72 hours. Assignments cannot be submitted once late submission time is over.

If you have reasons for a late submission (health problems etc) you should report these via the SOLS system. Late penalties will then not apply. You cannot extend a submission past the late submission time.

A late submission for assignment 2 would take the form:


turnin -c csci399 -a 2late A2.pdf

Marks on SMP

The marks for assignments should appear on SMP. (You should also see your mark when you get the marker report mailed back to you.) Check that the data in SMP are correct - these are the data that will be used to calculate your final grade. (Last year 4 people were very disappointed not to get HDs for the subject. It turned out that each had an assignment whose mark wasn't in SMP. It is worth checking!)

Examination

Old examination papers are not provided. Hints are not given as to the content of this year's exam.

Examinations are not a good mechanism for evaluating your abilities in a subject like this with a strong practical emphasis. You can never write real code under examination conditions. Your experience with the different technologies is so slight that you cannot write learned essays critiquing their varying strengths and weaknesses. Consequently, the examination is a fairly low key affair with just a series of short answer questons.

There are questions on: