DCS 801 Syllabus Fall 2000

Professor Joseph Bergin

berginf@pace.edu
http://csis.pace.edu/~bergin

Office: 1716 One Pace Plaza, NYC
(212) 346-1499
Do not leave voice mail messages at this number.
Send email instead. It will be promptly answered.

Office hours. On the Internet anytime.

DCS 801 Software Development

This course covers the development of modern software focusing on object-oriented methods. It is closely tied to DCS 821 which focuses more on the system in which the software fits and its relationship to the client. This course is concerned with the creation of high quality software and its maintenance. The course is project based and much of the student work will be the development of a software system in this course and in 821. The project will be undertaken in small teams that will coordinate with each other. Students will also lead weekly discussions on various topics related to software development. There will be no lectures, as such, and students are expected to undertake a program of study under the guidance of the professor.

There will be a midterm exam consisting of a Java program to be written.

Each week one student will lead the discussion and will pose initial questions for discussion. Two other students will summarize the week's discussion and publish their summary on the web. All students will be expected to participate in this discussion, which will be carried out over the web using a chat room and bulletin board.

Grading

Course grade will be based on a total of 1000 points which constitutes perfect performance. Two activities are mandatory: participation in the project and taking the Java midterm. The others are chosen by the student and the numbe of points earned (up to some maximum) is negotiated.

Project: The completeness and quality of the project and its documentation: 600 points

Midterm Exam on programming in Java: 100 points.

Student Selected Activities: 300 or more points. There will be a number of activities that you can do for varying numbers of points. Your total here may be more than 300 points to make up for deficiences elsewhere. These will involve reading, writing, and publishing the results on the web.

Course Web Site

http://async.csis.pace.edu/courses/DCS801

You need a username and password to access this site. Additional information, including a bibliography and outline of the project and initial discussion schedule can be found there.

Discussion Areas:

The principal discussion areas for this course are:

Object Orientation and Object Think
Patterns (Design patterns and orgizational patterns primarily)
Extreme Programming
Java
Ethics and the Consequences of the Craft

Keeping On Track

The reading schedule for the couse and the number of activities will create a fairly heavy load. You will need to do some things to keep on track and to keep from getting overloaded and bogged down. Some of these are:

Study Groups
You will be a member of a project group. This group can also serve as a study group. The group can share out the readings so that one person is primarily responsible for each reading and summarizes it for the other members. The others then need only to skim the reading and will depend on the summary. You can also draw on the specific talents of the other course members whether in your group or not.
Ask for Help
After spending some time on a task but before you get frustrated with the results, ask (course list server) for clarification, help, and direction. The faculty and staff are ready to help you with both the details of managing the technology and the content of the course. However, no one knows you are in difficulty uless you let us know.
Carry Something to Read
Whereever you are, it is helpful if you have some required reading with you so that you can make use of the five or ten minutes of dead time that frequently occur during a day. Carry a notebook in which you can make notes of the important things that you learn. An electronic notebook is best as you can have a permanent record of what you learn and can easily share it with others. Otherwise, periodically type in your notes.

Last Updated: August 12, 2000