A mark update (including practicals and tutorials 1 through 3) has been posted in the "Marks" folder, below. There will be another large mark update shortly, as we are still working through a few outstanding queries.
All queries related to the marks published on this list should be directed to Mr Moses Dlamini (mdlamini@cs.up.ac.za). Please provide a clear description of the query, so that we can help you quickly.
The official errata for "Foundations of Computer Science" (which are also available for free download from the textbook's website) have been re-posted in the "Errata" folder, below. Additional errata will be added in a separate document shortly.
Please note that all important errata were mentioned in classes. Additional notes and errata will not necessarily be published on course websites. It is ultimately the responsibility of students to take any additional notes on things mentioned in class.
Some queries regarding VirtualBox have reached me. Notes on using VirtualBox and installing Linux were provided in the COS132 course, not COS151. However, the relevant notes have been re-published below, in the "Linux" folder. These notes contain links to downloadable VMs that are available on the Computer Science Department's FTP site.
For future reference, please direct queries to the lecturer(s) involved in presenting the course that your query relates to. Lecturers are not involved with (and often do not even have access to) the documents published in courses that they are not presenting.
For those who wish to work through additional examples, the textbook has many exercises available at the end of each chapter. Selected exercise questions have published solutions. While these solutions are available for free download on the textbook's website (http://cws.cengage.co.uk/forouzan/), I have also posted the relevant ones to this course's scope in the "Solutions to Selected Textbook Exercises" folder, below.
As has been announced in class on several occasions, solutions to the practicals and tutorials are not published. This is based on observations that some students memorise these examples, and reproduce them in tests and examinations. However, as has been mentioned previously in announcements and in the study guide, all students are very welcome to discuss their tutorial and practical answers with one of the course tutors, or one of the lecturers. If you wish to meet with one of the lecturers, either speak to us after a class, or email us for an answer to a quick question or to make an appointment.
Please note that we will be following the schedule in the course study guide, and that there will therefore be no tutorial or practical this week. The ninth tutorial and practical will run next week.
Note that you are allowed to use a calculator during the semester test. However, it must be a non-programmable calculator (scientific calculators are fine). Also note that, for calculation questions, marks are allocated for the steps that you follow, not the final answer. Therefore, you will not receive any marks if you simply write down a final answer.
Last year's second semester test has been posted in the "Past Papers" folder, below. Please note that the scope of this test was wider than for this year's test, so only focus on the chapters we are testing (see the previous announcement on the test's scope for details).
Please note that the semester test 2 venue allocations have been published in the "Test Venues" folder, below. Please check this list well before the time of the test, and ensure that you go to the correct venue. If you come to the incorrect venue, you will not be allowed to write.
Kindly note that the combined tutorial and practical 9's final submission date is on the 20th Monday, May 2013 NOT the 24th May 2013 as previously stated. This has already been updated on the revised PDF on the CS COS 151 website. Kindly accept our apologies for the inconvenience caused in the process.
Scope for Semester Test 2
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 3 May 2013, 15:51
Semester Test 2 will cover chapters 2 to 5 (including the whole of chapter 5, which will be completed in the first lecture next week) of the "Foundations of Computer Science" textbook.
Note that you should pay special attention to showing all your workings when performing the numeric and binary conversions and operations discussed in these chapters. If you do not, you will not receive any marks for your answers.
Tutorial 8
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 2 May 2013, 22:53
Please note that tutorial 8 will require you to reference chapter 6 of the "Foundations of Computer Science" textbook. We will not be covering this chapter in class, and the tutorial will therefore provide an overview of the chapter. Please bring a copy of the textbook to the tutorial class.
Notes on Arithmetic Operations
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 29 Apr 2013, 14:49
I have uploaded a description of the procedure to follow when performing arithmetic operations on sign-and-magnitude and floating point numbers, and some examples from the textbook that have been expanded with more detail (see the "Notes" folder, below). These slides lay out the procedure more clearly, and correct some of the errors and contradictions in the textbook. If you are having trouble with the related questions, please refer to these notes.
A Note on Assignment Submission
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 29 Apr 2013, 14:46
Note that, if you have already submitted, you are allowed to submit an updated version of your tutorial or practical. Please make sure that you retrieve the old version at the reception desk, so that there are not multiple copies of your work in the stack. Ask the person at the reception desk if you are not sure.
Extension for Tutorial and Practical 7
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 29 Apr 2013, 10:19
Please note that, due to several issues, the submission deadlines for both practical and tutorial 7 has been extended until this Friday (3 May 2013) at 12:00.
Both should be submitted at the reception desk of the computer science department (NOT the assignment drop box at the entrance of the department). Separate papers MUST be stapled together.
Undergraduate Mailing List
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 23 Apr 2013, 17:55 (last modified on 23 Apr 2013, 17:55)
An mailing list has been created to which undergraduate students can subscribe. We will use this list to communicate with all of our undergraduate students. Students can join this list via https://mail.cs.up.ac.za/mailman/listinfo/undergraduates
Semester Test 1 Results
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 22 Apr 2013, 15:00
The marks for semester test 1 have been published in the "Marks" folder, below. The scripts are ready to be picked up from the reception desk. Please bring your student card along when you ask for your script. You may not pick up a friend's script for them.
If you have any queries related to the test, follow these steps:
1.) Write your query or queries on the cover page of the test, in pencil. Be as clear as possible (e.g. indicate which question a totalling error occurred on, or specify which question hasn't been marked), but keep all queries short and to the point.
2.) Indicate any applicable question or questions in the answer book with a star.
3.) Drop your paper at the reception desk of the Computer Science Department, and instruct the receptionist to drop the paper in my (Mr van Heerden's) postbox.
4.) Send me an email to me (at wvheerden@cs.up.ac.za) indicating that you have dropped off a script for me to look at. I will correspond with you via email, regarding the matter.
If you fail to follow any of these steps, it is possible that your query may not be accepted.
Practical 6 is Ready
Posted By : Mr Moses Dlamini on 18 Apr 2013, 12:04
Kindly note the practical six is now ready on the COS 151 website.
Practical 5 Ready
Posted By : Mr Moses Dlamini on 11 Apr 2013, 06:54
Kindly note that practical 5 has already been posted on the COS 151 website. This is aimed at giving you a head start because this practical is a bit long. You can start working on it as soon as you possibly can and will upload it at the labs on Friday 12, April 2013. Good luck.
Scope for Semester Test 1
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 27 Mar 2013, 16:12
Semester test 1 will cover all the work in chapters 1 to 6 of "A beginner’s Guide to Programming Logic and Design: Introductory", as well as the first chapter of "Foundations of Computer Science". The latter was covered in class at the same time as chapter 1 of the "Programming Logic and Design" book.
Additional Copies of "Foundations of Computer Science"
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 13 Mar 2013, 18:16
I've been informed that additional copies of "Foundations of Computer Science" (the textbook for the second part of this course) have just arrived at Bookmark on campus.
Complaints Regarding Practicals or Tutorials
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 13 Mar 2013, 15:18
If there are any complaints related to tutorials or practicals, please direct them to one of the lecturers of the course. This relates to any issues, including (but not limited to) tutors not being present in their sessions, a lack of help being provided, or infrastructural issues (e.g. computers not working, or login problems).
However, please note that we are rather limited in terms of the number of tutors that are available to help during the practical sessions. If you are experiencing problems related to the number of tutors in your practical session, however, please talk to us, and we'll see what we can arrange.
Tutorial Attendance
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 13 Mar 2013, 15:12
It has come to our attention that tutorial class attendance has been quite poor. There has therefore been an instruction from the head of department that we should include an attendance component to the tutorial marks. This will only be introduced from the next tutorial class (Friday 12 April, after the recess). You will have to sign an attendance register during the course of the class, so make sure that you don't leave the class without having signed.
Tutorial 1
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 12 Mar 2013, 14:17
Marked tutorial 1 worksheets can now be picked up at the reception desk of the Computer Science Department. Please keep the marked worksheet safe, in case there is a mark-related dispute at a later stage.
Any mark-related queries should be directed to one of the lecturers after class.
Tutorial 2
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 4 Mar 2013, 10:21
The worksheet for tutorial 2 has been posted in the "Tutorials" folder, below.
Backing Up Your Work
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 25 Feb 2013, 12:48
Please make very sure that all your practical work is backed up. This is to ensure that you have an archive of the work, should there be a dispute over mark allocations. Note that in such a case, the date- and timestamps of the files will be checked.
Therefore, please do not assume that the work in your home folder is safe. We have had incidents of data loss in the past. Always save your work to a USB stick, back it up to a cloud storage service (like Dropbox), or email backups to yourself.
Failure to back up your files will not be accepted as an excuse for late submission.
Overflow Lab
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 25 Feb 2013, 12:44
We additionally have the Grey Lab booked during our practical session. This lab will be used as an overflow lab, should the Red Lab become too full, or other technical problems arise. Should there be a large number of students who need to migrate to the Grey Lab, a tutor or TA will assist you.
If you are struggling to find a working computer in the Red Lab, you are always free to move to the Grey lab temporarily. However, please ensure that a tutor or TA marks your work before you leave the lab. If there are only tutors and TAs in the Red Lab, you will have to go there to have your work marked.
Tutorial Worksheet
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 25 Feb 2013, 11:56
The tutorial worksheet has been uploaded to the "Tutorials" folder, below.
Due to the delay in uploading the worksheet, and a number of students who have not attended the first tutorial session, the submission deadline has been extended until today at 15:30.
Future tutorial deadlines will not be extended.
Class Representatives
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 21 Feb 2013, 13:59
The class representatives for both the English and Afrikaans lecture groups have been selected. Their names are available on the right of this page.
If you wish to raise an issue related to the course, and you don't want to speak to a lecturer directly, you are free to speak to one of the representatives, who will contact us on your behalf. You are, of course, always welcome to speak to one of us directly.
Semester Test Details
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 13 Feb 2013, 13:47
We have confirmed the details of both semester tests for this course. They will take place as follows:
Semester Test 1
Date: 5 April
Time: 17:30-19:30
Venue: Thuto 3-1
Semester Test 2
Date: 9 May
Time: 17:30-19:30
Venue: IT 4-1 and IT 4-5 (students will be allocated to one of these closer to the test date)
Practical and Tutorial Class This Week
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 12 Feb 2013, 13:54
Please note that, as indicated in the schedule published in the course study guide, no practical or tutorial is scheduled until next week. There will therefore be no practical sessions or tutorial classes this coming Friday.
Practical Bookings
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 11 Feb 2013, 12:46
Please note that practical bookings will be open from tomorrow at 12:00. Instructions on how to book a slot are available in the welcoming slides (available under the "Study Guide" folder, below).
Linux User Names and Passwords
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 11 Feb 2013, 12:44
It has been confirmed that Linux user names and passwords are available. Please come to the reception desk of the Computer Science Department, and show proof of registration (e.g. your student card). You will then be issued with your login details. Please note that your user name will start with the letter "u", followed by your student number.
Course study guide and welcoming slides
Posted By : Mr Will van Heerden on 11 Feb 2013, 11:15
The course study guide and welcoming lecture slides has been posted in the "Study Guide" folder, below.
Please note that "A beginner's Guide to Programming Logic and Design" is the "Introductory" text, not the "Comprehensive" one. The "Comprehensive" edition cover was accidentally included on the slides for today's lecture.
The "Comprehensive" text covers all the material for this course, but it is more expensive, and won't be in the book shops.
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