605.201.84 - Introduction to Programming Using Java

Computer Science
Fall 2024

Description

This course enables students without a background in software development to become proficient programmers who are prepared for a follow-on course in data structures. The Java language will be used to introduce foundations of structured, procedural, and object-oriented programming. Topics include input/output, data types, operators, program control flow structures, arrays, strings, and methods. Students will also be introduced to classes, objects, inheritance, polymorphism, encapsulation, abstraction, exception handling, processing streams and files, collections, wrappers, and generics, and graphical user interfaces. Students will complete several programming assignments and projects to develop their problem-solving skills and to gain experience in detecting and correcting software errors. Prerequisite(s): One year of college mathematics. Course Note(s): Not for graduate credit. A programming methodology course is needed for admission to the Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Data Science, or Information Systems Engineering program. Students who lack this prerequisite can fulfill admission requirements by completing this course with a grade of B– or better.

Instructor

Profile photo of Doug Ferguson.

Doug Ferguson

dfergus1@jh.edu

Course Structure

The course materials are divided into modules which can be accessed by clicking Modules on the menu. A module will have several sections including the overview, content, readings, discussions, and assignments. You are encouraged to preview all sections of the module before starting. Most modules run for a period of seven (7) days, exceptions are noted in the Course Outline. You should regularly check the Calendar and Announcements for assignment due dates.

Course Topics

Introduction
Variables, Operators, and Primitives
Control Structures
Methods
Arrays and Strings
Concepts
Inheritance
Interfaces
Exceptions
Streams
Collections
Generics
GUIs
Lambdas

Course Goals

To become proficient in fundamental object oriented software development techniques with a focus on the Java programming language.

Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)

Textbooks

Java: The Complete Reference, Twelfth, Eleventh or Tenth Edition ISBN-10: 1260463419.

Other Materials & Online Resources

Usage of an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) such as Visual Studio Code,  Netbeans, Eclipse, or IntelliJ is highly recommended.

Required Software

OpenJDK JDK 22.0.2 General-Availability Release

This page provides production-ready open-source builds of the Java Development Kit, version 22, an implementation of the Java SE 22 Platform under the GNU General Public License, version 2, with the Classpath Exception.

Commercial builds of JDK 22.0.2 from Oracle, under a non-open-source license, can be found here.
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Java in Visual Studio Code

Student Coursework Requirements

It is expected that each module will take approximately 7–12 hours per week to complete. Here is an approximate breakdown: reading the assigned sections of the texts (approximately 3–4 hours per week) as well as some outside reading, listening to the audio annotated slide presentations (approximately 2–3 hours per week), and developing projects (approximately 2–5 hours per week).

This course will consist of the following basic student requirements:

Preparation and Participation

Discussions

You are responsible for carefully reading all assigned material and being prepared for discussion. The majority of readings are from the course text. Additional reading may be assigned to supplement text readings.

Post your initial response to the discussion questions by the evening of day 3 for that module week. Posting a response to the discussion question is part one of your grade for module discussions (i.e., Timeliness).

Part two of your grade for module discussion is your interaction (i.e., responding to classmate postings with thoughtful responses) with other classmates (i.e., Critical Thinking). Just posting your response to a discussion question is not sufficient; we want you to interact with your classmates. Be detailed in your postings and in your responses to your classmates' postings. Feel free to agree or disagree with your classmates. Please ensure that your postings are civil and constructive.

I will monitor module discussions and will respond to some of the discussions as discussions are posted. In some instances, I will summarize the overall discussions and post the summary for the module.

Evaluation of preparation and participation is based on contribution to discussions.

 

Quizzes

Each module of the course content may have a quiz encompassing items in the module. The student is expected to complete these each week during the week of the associated module to gauge their mastery of the material and identify areas needing additional study and review. Quizzes can be taken as many times as desired and the grade is the average of all Quiz attempts.

Course Projects

Each course project is evaluated by the following grading elements:

Design-Either a written, or graphical depiction of the design or combination of written + graphical depiction.  This does not need to be from a tool.  A hand drawn design may be all that is needed to convey your design, but generally ones from tools appear better.

Implementation-Your source code for implementation of the project

If you want the grader to know why a submission is late or want to understand any other part of the submission, put a "Notes to the Grader" section at the beginning of your submission. For example, if the instructor grants you a week extension you need to state that in the Notes to the Grader section at the beginning of your submission so the grader does not deduct late points.

This class uses a Google Group to assist collaboration.  At the beginning of the semester, all student's JHU emails are added to the Google Group which allows students to send an email to the group which is sent to all other students including myself and graders.  Likewise, when a reply is sent to the Google Group, it is sent to all others in the group working as a distribution list.  The Google Group also has a website which maintains all past messages.  In order to be able to navigate to the website, you must be logged into a Google account and your Google gmail or some other email linked to gmail must be added to the Google Group.  If you would also like to have that functionality, please send me at DFergus1@jh.edu your gmail address or gmail linked address and let me know if you would like your gmail address to be added to the Google Group or replace your JHU email address in the Google Group.

Students are encouraged to collaborate and help each other with the projects.  Early in the semester a spreadsheet will be shared containing each student's name, email, and zip code to help students determine who they might collaborate with, if they choose to do so.  As such, students can team with one other student where there is only one submission for the team to Canvas where the front page CLEARLY indicates the names of all students in the group.  The one submission will be graded using the Assignment Rubric and all students in the group will receive the same grade for that project submission.   

Sharing-It is extremely beneficial for learning for students to share with each other their work on projects.  Each project's artifacts are shared between students in the respective Discussion Board for Project Sharing.  This course uses Canvas discussions to facilitate sharing where each module has a "Project Sharing" discussion for students to share their work with other students and collaborate with each other.  As a student, you decide what to share or not share with other students in your Project Sharing discussion post for each module.  It is easiest to just post the pdf you submitted to Canvas for grading, or you could submit anything else like a short video, but you do need to post something to get credit for sharing.  You need to share no earlier than one week after the due date and within a month after the due date.  As projects are graded before they are shared, credit is initially giving for sharing. After a month and definitely by the end of the semester, the credit for Sharing for students who do not share any material will be revised.  Please help each other!  For many students the material is totally new and the first time you learn new concepts is difficult so please help each other!

Using work from other places-It facilitates learning to garner information from other sources to accomplish you own work. We are now at a point of time where you can get examples of work from the net, other students, AI like ChatGPT, and a myriad of other places all of which help you not only learn in this class but be more productive in your jobs.  JH just asks that you cite what you use from other sources and where you got it from. Never take any credit for work you did not do yourself.  Al Gore did not invent the internet.  As long as you give credit for where you get material, you can use any material you find anywhere to help you with your projects 

Grading Policy

Evaluation and Grading

Final grades will be determined by the percentage of total points earned divided by the total possible points in Canvas.

Late submissions will be reduced by 10% for each week late with max of 30%(no exceptions without prior coordination with the instructors).

There is no weighting of grades.

EP uses a +/- grading system (see “Grading System”, Graduate Programs catalog, p. 10).

Score RangeLetter Grade
100-98= A+
97-94= A
93-90= A−
89-87= B+
86-83= B
82-80= B−
79-77= C+
76-73= C
72-70= C−
69-67= D+
66-63= D
<63= F

Course Evaluation

You are responsible for carefully reading all assigned material and being prepared for discussion. The majority of readings are from the course text. Additional reading may be assigned to supplement text readings.

Post your initial response to the discussion questions by the evening of day 3 for that module week. Posting a response to the discussion question is part one of your grade for module discussions (i.e., Timeliness).

Part two of your grade for module discussion is your interaction (i.e., responding to classmate postings with thoughtful responses) with at least two classmates (i.e., Critical Thinking). Just posting your response to a discussion question is not sufficient; we want you to interact with your classmates. Be detailed in your postings and in your responses to your classmates' postings. Feel free to agree or disagree with your classmates. Please ensure that your postings are civil and constructive.

I will monitor module discussions and will respond to some of the discussions as discussions are posted. In some instances, I/we will summarize the overall discussions and post the summary for the module.

Evaluation of preparation and participation is based on contribution to discussions.

Preparation and participation is graded with the following Discussion Rubric:

Levels of Achievement
Criteria
0
1
2
3
4
Relevance/Understanding
0 Points
Postings contribute no new ideas, have minimal depth & detail. Rehashes or summarizes others. Unclear if student grasps topic. Mostly agrees or asks questions.
1 Points
Contributes few new ideas. Postings contain some rehashing or summary of other postings. Seems to grasp discussion topic at least superficially.
2 Points
Posts offer some depth and insight, and some new ideas. Shows an understanding of the discussion topic.
3 Points
Posts are consistently in- depth and detailed, with new, insightful ideas clearly connected to the topic. Demonstrates a command of the discussion topic.
0 Points
N/A
Cross-Section of Posting
0 Points
Posts only to one other thread, but does not start own thread.
1 Points
Posts only to own thread.
2 Points
Posts to at least one thread other than own. Starts own thread.
3 Points
Posts to at least two threads other than own. Starts own thread.
0 Points
N/A
Timeliness
0 Points
Only makes one post for the discussion, or makes 2 posts and at least one is late.
1 Points
Only makes two posts to the discussion, or makes 3 posts and at least one is late.
2 Points
Does three posts for the discussion, or makes 4 posts and at least one is late.
3 Points
Does at least four posts for the discussion, in a timely fashion.
4 Points
Posts early (at least two posts beat deadline) and often (more than 4 posts) going above and beyond. Contributes through out discussion.

 
Assignments and Projects

Assignments and Projects are evaluated by the following grading Rubric:


10% (max 30%) is deducted when late and per week late.

Quizzes

Quizzes on modules may include material from the current as well as prior modules, have a one hour limit, allow up to three attempts, are scored as the average of all attempts, and must be submitted by the 11:30pm on the 7th day of the module which is a Sunday.

Submission

Submit per the “Assignment and Project Submission” document.

Design

Either a written, or graphical depiction of the design or combination of written + graphical depiction.  This does not need to be from a tool.  A hand drawn design may be all that is needed to convey your design, but generally ones from tools appear better.

Implementation

Your source code for implementation of the project.

Correctness

Output from Execution demonstrating meeting requirements.

During the Open Office, you can present your submitted projects with other students and any time during any module if any student asks for help, it is strongly appreciated when other students step in and help them get their projects working.


Academic Misconduct
You are encouraged to share as well as use material from other sources, but still must meet the Academic Misconduct policy.  Any and all material that you derive your work from must be cited.  Any obvious use of material copied from other sources and not cited will be handled per the JH EP policies.  For example, if you use ChatGPT to help determine code for an assignment you MUST clearly specify which portions of code and where you got the code from.



Course Policies



Academic Policies

Deadlines for Adding, Dropping and Withdrawing from Courses

Students may add a course up to one week after the start of the term for that particular course. Students may drop courses according to the drop deadlines outlined in the EP academic calendar (https://ep.jhu.edu/student-services/academic-calendar/). Between the 6th week of the class and prior to the final withdrawal deadline, a student may withdraw from a course with a W on their academic record. A record of the course will remain on the academic record with a W appearing in the grade column to indicate that the student registered and withdrew from the course.

Academic Misconduct Policy

All students are required to read, know, and comply with the Johns Hopkins University Krieger School of Arts and Sciences (KSAS) / Whiting School of Engineering (WSE) Procedures for Handling Allegations of Misconduct by Full-Time and Part-Time Graduate Students.

This policy prohibits academic misconduct, including but not limited to the following: cheating or facilitating cheating; plagiarism; reuse of assignments; unauthorized collaboration; alteration of graded assignments; and unfair competition. Course materials (old assignments, texts, or examinations, etc.) should not be shared unless authorized by the course instructor. Any questions related to this policy should be directed to EP’s academic integrity officer at ep-academic-integrity@jhu.edu.

Students with Disabilities - Accommodations and Accessibility

Johns Hopkins University values diversity and inclusion. We are committed to providing welcoming, equitable, and accessible educational experiences for all students. Students with disabilities (including those with psychological conditions, medical conditions and temporary disabilities) can request accommodations for this course by providing an Accommodation Letter issued by Student Disability Services (SDS). Please request accommodations for this course as early as possible to provide time for effective communication and arrangements.

For further information or to start the process of requesting accommodations, please contact Student Disability Services at Engineering for Professionals, ep-disability-svcs@jhu.edu.

Student Conduct Code

The fundamental purpose of the JHU regulation of student conduct is to promote and to protect the health, safety, welfare, property, and rights of all members of the University community as well as to promote the orderly operation of the University and to safeguard its property and facilities. As members of the University community, students accept certain responsibilities which support the educational mission and create an environment in which all students are afforded the same opportunity to succeed academically. 

For a full description of the code please visit the following website: https://studentaffairs.jhu.edu/policies-guidelines/student-code/

Classroom Climate

JHU is committed to creating a classroom environment that values the diversity of experiences and perspectives that all students bring. Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. Fostering an inclusive climate is important. Research and experience show that students who interact with peers who are different from themselves learn new things and experience tangible educational outcomes. At no time in this learning process should someone be singled out or treated unequally on the basis of any seen or unseen part of their identity. 
 
If you have concerns in this course about harassment, discrimination, or any unequal treatment, or if you seek accommodations or resources, please reach out to the course instructor directly. Reporting will never impact your course grade. You may also share concerns with your program chair, the Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, or the Office of Institutional Equity. In handling reports, people will protect your privacy as much as possible, but faculty and staff are required to officially report information for some cases (e.g. sexual harassment).

Course Auditing

When a student enrolls in an EP course with “audit” status, the student must reach an understanding with the instructor as to what is required to earn the “audit.” If the student does not meet those expectations, the instructor must notify the EP Registration Team [EP-Registration@exchange.johnshopkins.edu] in order for the student to be retroactively dropped or withdrawn from the course (depending on when the "audit" was requested and in accordance with EP registration deadlines). All lecture content will remain accessible to auditing students, but access to all other course material is left to the discretion of the instructor.