See catalog for syllabus. We will cover Chapters 1-11 of the textbook.
Course Staff and Office Hours:
Policies: Do NOT post, email or upload class material. This includes copies of lectures, homeworks, solutions, handouts, and code provided by us.
Late homeworks: If you are sick, going to a conference, or have some other valid emergency, then please let the instructor know as soon as possible for late homework submission. Otherwise, up to 24 hours late HW will cost you 20% of the maximum homework score, after that, up to 48 hours late HW will cost you 40% of the maximum homework score, and more than 48 hours late HW will earn you no points. Late HW must be submitted in person to one of the TAs or to Michelle Osborne at the front desk on second floor of Siebel Center.
Collaboration: You should collaborate on homeworks. That's a good way to learn. But you must write up the solutions on your own and write your own code.
subversion (svn): We will use a class subversion (svn) repository for all handouts, including homeworks, and if we require you to submit code. This handout should help you get started with using svn. The course repository URL is https://subversion.ews.illinois.edu/svn/fa11-cs450. You can also click the URL and you will be taken to a password protected website where you can browse the repository even without doing an svn checkout.
Newsgroup: Announcements will be made in class and on the CS newsgroup class.fa11.cs450 (follow first link for instructions to configure a newsreader or web access and second to go directly to the class newsgroup in your browser). The newsgroup can also be used by students for asking questions and discussions. But giving away the solution (including posting code snippets) on the newsgroup will be considered cheating. At some point we might shift to another, wiki style question-answer forum if a better one becomes available.
Homeworks: Homeworks will be given every 2 weeks on Wednesdays, starting from August 24. They will be posted on the subversion repository. There will be about 7 homeworks. Homeworks are due by 5:00 PM of the due day, in the homework boxes in basement of Siebel Center. Some homeworks will be mathematical, and some will involve Python programming. You may submit handwritten solutions. You must submit hardcopy printout of all code and graphs.
Quiz and Exams: There will be an in-class quiz, on the Wednesdays when no homework is due (so every other Wednesday starting August 31). The quiz may have some multiple-choice questions and will be during the LAST 10-15 minutes of class. No makeups will be given for quizzes. The Final Exam will be a three hour exam on Friday, December 9 from 8 AM to 11 AM. The final exam is in Room 1310 of DCL. See this link for details on building locations.
Software: The official language of the course is Python. All our solutions for programming problems will be in Python. You are welcome to use either Python or MATLAB for your work. Instructor will give an introduction to Python in class. If you use MATLAB, there will be no official support from class staff for help with debugging or system issues. For Python needed software has been installed on all EWS (Engineering Workstation) labs. You may also install on your personal machine. Details in class.
Grading: Homeworks 45% ; Quizzes 10% (best 5 out of about 7); Midterm Exam 15%; Final Exam 30%.
Textbook: Scientific Computing : An Introductory Survey, Second Edition, by Michael T. Heath. Slides by the author summarizing the book content can be found online.