4892 Assignment Policy

There will be regular assignments, which will be posted on the web page at least a week before they are due. Unless otherwise indicated, assignments are due at 0900 (9 am) on the due date. Late assignments will not be accepted without prior arrangment or documented justification.

Assignments are to be submitted electronically using the "Web Submit" program. For multi-part assignments, please make sure to submit the parts correctly -- the testing will be done using other programs, which won't understand if the parts are not labelled correctly (Web Submit labels the parts as you submit them). Every program file must contain an initial comment block, including the following information:

• the course name and number,
• assignment number,
• assignment due date,
• your name,
• your student number,
• your user/e-mail name,
• a brief description of what the program does,
• any other information that you feel is pertinent.

The behaviour of your submitted assignment will be checked by an automated testing program that will not be made available to you. You are responsible for testing your own program to ensure that it works correctly.

Well written C++ code usually should compile and work the same regardless of the compiler used. However, many compilers differ slightly for various reasons and I cannot make the testing program accommodate all variations, so, in the case of a disagreement, the Cygwin GNU C++ compilers available in EN-3000 and EN-3065 (also can be downloaded and is available on CD) will be the final arbitrators . You should always compile and test your program in this environment.

Group work

An essential component of learning to program is writing and debugging your own code, so sharing of assignments or working in groups is not permitted. If we detect any instances of copying, they will be treated as plagiarism and dealt with under the university regulations on academic dishonesty. Note that allowing someone else to copy your assignment is treated the same as copying an assignment from someone else. Normally, in the first instance, this will result in a grade of 0 for the assignment.

That said, discussing problems with your friends and classmates can significantly enhance your learning experience, and so it is strongly encouraged.

Grading

Correctness (5 marks).

Your program will be tested using a standard set of test cases. You will not be given the test cases in advance, so it is your responsibility to ensure that your program works correctly in all cases. Since some incorrect programs will run correctly some of the time, the TAs will also be reading your code to see that is correct, and may alter the 'correctness' component of the mark accordingly.

Style (5 marks).

The teaching assistants will evaluate your code for style. While there are no absolutes in style, Programming With Style by Dr. T. Norvell is an excellent guide (and I'll ask the TAs to use it). Some of the points the TAs will be looking for are:

1. Mnemonic variable and function names.
2. Appropriate, meaningful and balanced comments.
3. Consistent and appropriate code layout (indentation etc.).
4. Clean, simple structure.

Last modified: Wed 2002.05.01 at 16:24 NDT by Dennis Peters