Guidelines for CmpE360 Homeworks

 

• CmpE 360 is ‘not’ a programming course. The report for homeworks is more important than the code.
• In your reports you should clearly explain your reasoning, give and plot the results, and comment on them.
• Make sure your results make sense. If you are fitting a polynomial to some data, the end product should reasonably be a polynomial. If you implement an algorithm to overcome the precision deficiency for addition, your results should be better then those of standard addition. Completely wrong answers against basic intuition and common sense are likely to get zero points.
• Three pages of a clearly written report are much more worth than ten pages of uncommented code, and they are usually sufficient for weekly assignments.
• Never submit just your source, with or without the executable file. You should always submit a report. The source code alone is again likely to get zero points.
• ‘Never’ ignore the secondary questions in the homeworks. You will be expected to answer them fully. So, if you see something like ‘what are the conditions for this to work’ in the homework specification, don’t ignore it. That’s the easiest way to show that you understood the question.
• The Matlab code for most of the assignments will not take more than a half page. So make sure that you learn Matlab very fast. If you think that the overhead of learning Matlab is greater than doing everything in C++, you are utterly wrong.
• Read and think about the homeworks as soon as they are assigned. When you think there is something unclear about a question, don’t hesitate to ask the TA about it. You may use the CmpE360 e-mail list for this purpose (make sure that you register to the list). If there is no time left to do that, clearly state your assumption and then answer the question. Don’t just submit ‘I didn’t know that…’ and expect to receive any points.
• The format of your report is important. Never again submit what you have just written in the class, on a paper torn from someone’s notebook, what you see on some other’s report. Don’t ever submit handwritten code, or handwritten search results from the internet. Anything you submit in handwriting will be considered a copy from some other’s work and will be examined accordingly. These assignments are not to be done in two minutes just before the lecture.
• Finally, and most importantly, don’t forget that CmpE360 questions are usually tricky and/or complicated. Think about the question first. Why is it asked? The solution may be more complicated or much simpler than you think. Think about the question. Then think about your answer.