This is a Frequently Asked Questions web page for the Northeastern University ccs.courses.com1100 newsgroup. It addresses specific questions frequently asked by students posting to the newsgroup, and some not so frequently asked but of general interest. This site is not intended to replace the course home page, merely supplement it, so please read that site and this list completely before posting to the newsgroup. If you have any questions that aren't addressed here, go ahead and post them. If you have any questions about this site, please contact me.
Q: Who is my grader, and how do I get in contact with them? [top]
A: The number of your grader is indicated by the roman numeral on the front of your first returned homework assignment. The numbers correspond to names as follows:
Their office hours are posted online at: http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/rjw/1100-w03/Labs/officehours.html
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Q: I had heard that How To Design Programs (HtDP) is available online. Is that true? [top]
A: From Prof. Felleisen:
“Yes, the text book is provided in its entirety on the Web.
The on-line version corresponds to the Third Printing of the book.
If you can't afford the $$$'s, and I know what it's like to come
from a poor background, you can read the text on-line. Do READ
the assigned sections, no matter where. -- Matthias, your text book author who got this privilege from his publisher”
Students are encouraged to purchase the book, lest the publisher ask that it be removed from the Web. In addition, physical paper textbooks can be annotated and are generally seen as being easier to read. And when the HtDP website goes down, or you lose your internet connection, you'll be glad you have a printed copy. The website for the book is http://www.htdp.org.
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Q: Help! I need a homework partner. [top]
A: This is a valid use for the newsgroup – post away. However, please try to find one as soon as you begin the course, and minimize switching later on.
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Q: I have a question about problem X.Y.Z. [top]
A: Notes about posting questions:
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Q: What should the front page of my assignments look like? [top]
A: On the Assignments page of the course website, which presumably you are checking frequently if you are doing the homework, there is a list of requirements for your front page. There is also now a standardized format for that cover sheet, an example of which is provided below. In this example, Bart and Milhouse are partners, and have included the last 4 digits of their Social Security numbers after their name. Professor Felleisen is their lecturer. Note that the following should be printed out on its own page, in plain text and a readable font, and placed on the cover stapled with the rest of your homework assignments. Assignments should be printed from directly within DrScheme.
COM1100
Bart Simpson -- 0001 Milhouse Van Houten -- 9998
Assignment 2
Session: Prof. Felleisen
GRADING GROUP: II
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Q: Should I post a test message to make sure that the newsgroup is working? [top]
A: Please post to the newsgroup ccs.test if you’re testing your ability to access the newsgroup. This way test messages don’t get mixed in with actual content.
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Q: I heard about these HtDP+ problems. What are they, and where can I find them? [top]
A: HtDP+ is an extension to HtDP geared towards web development. It includes additional text and problem sets, and is located at http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/matthias/HtDP/Extended/servlets.html.
Specified HtDP+ problems may be substituted for any given problem in a particular assignment set without loss of credit, or submitted in addition to the regular homework problems for extra credit. (The assignments page lists which HtDP+ problems can be substituted for a particular assignment set.) If you substitute certain HtDP+ problems in place of the regular homework problems, you must note this on your cover page.
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Q: I’m trying to use the string-conversion functions string--> number and number--> string, but they don’t appear to be working. [top]
A: This is a typo. The correct function names are string->number and number->string.
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Q: I’m trying to figure out the correct format for data definitions, templates, contracts, etc. [top]
A: There are two formats given for most of these tasks. One of them is presented in lecture, and the other is used in the book. Both will be accepted for full credit. When in doubt, use the format in the book.
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Q: Do you need to repeat templates, contracts, etc. for functions copied from the textbook? [top]
A: Yes. Every function must have its own contract, template, tests, and so forth.
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Q: How can I use something other than PINE for reading this newsgroup/my CCS mail? [top]
A: You can use any mail/news client you like. You just need to create an SSH tunnel on the appropriate port into the CCS network. An in-depth explanation of the process is found on the CCS help web pages: http://www.ccs.neu.edu/howto/howto-sshtunnel.html.
You can also find a reference for using your mail client of choice in conjunction with the CCS network, although a newsgroup reference is not included. However, it uses essentially the same process as SMTP, so one is not really necessary. You need to create two tunnels, one for sending mail via SMTP (IMAP, for reading mail, has its own secure authentication) and another for reading the newsgroup. The SMTP port is 25 and the NNTP (news) port is 119. Create the tunnels and set up your mail client to use localhost as your mail and news server. Note that the News server does not require authentication or log on, so don’t check that option. If it seems like there’s a need for it, I may write out more in-depth instructions in the future.
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Q: My grader took points off for a particular problem, and I don’t know why. [top]
A: You should ask your grader directly. Email them or plan to meet with them during their office hours. See above for more information.
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Q: What kinds of references/notes can I bring to the test? [top]
A: You may bring the following to the test:
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Q: Where can I find the solutions for Exam 1? [top]
A: The solutions for the test are found at http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/matthias/1100-f02/Tmp/Exam1/exam1.html. Each individual problem had its own grader, specified on the above website. Specific questions concerning the way certain problems were graded should be addressed specifically to the grader for that problem.
If you wish to discuss problems concerning your exam:
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Q: How many points are my homework problems worth this week? [top]
A: Below are links to the point values for all homeworks archived thus far:
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Q: What's the difference between a structure definition and a data definition? [top]
A: So saith Prof. Felleisen:[top]
Q: How do I embed <br> or other HTML expressions in HtDP+? [top]
A: It takes a LIST of XML expressions (really X-expressions):
'(p "this is a paragraph" (br) "with a line break" (p "and a nested paragraph"))
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Q: My copy of the book doesn't have an 18.3.2/my book doesn't match the website for this problem. [top]
A: There have been three printings of HtDP: the first, second, and third. All three printings of the book were distributed, and thus different students may have different printings. Problem 18.3.2 has been numbered differently in different printings. Therefore, you may not have an 18.3.2, or the text of 18.3.2 on the website may be the same as a differently-numbered problem in your book.
To make it completely clear, 18.3.2 refers to the problem in the third printing of the book (which is what the online text at htdp.org uses) and the exact text of the problem is as follows:
Exercise 18.3.2. Here is a simple Scheme function:
;; sort : list-of-numbers -> list-of-numbers
(define (sort alon)
(local ((define (sort alon)
(cond
[(empty? alon) empty]
[(cons? alon) (insert (first alon) (sort (rest alon)))]))
(define (insert an alon)
(cond
[(empty? alon) (list an)]
[else
(cond
[(> an (first alon)) (cons an alon)]
[else (cons (first alon) (insert an (rest alon)))])])))
(sort alon)))
Draw a box around the scope of each binding occurrence of sort and alon. Then draw arrows from each occurrence of sort to the matching binding occurrence.
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Q: My book has become unbound and/or has fallen apart. [top]
A: MIT Press is a small publisher, and the books we buy from them sometimes apparently fall apart. I haven't had any trouble with mine, but some people seem to have problems with theirs. If this is the case, and it was clearly the book at fault, bring it back to the bookstore, and they'll probably be able to get you a refund or replacement.
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Q: I've found a typo/have a question/think your website is ugly. How can I contact you? [top]
A: The maintainer of this FAQ is Brian Guthrie, and you can contact me at bguthrie@ccs.neu.edu. If you have any comments, or have an idea for a question that isn't included here, please let me know.
If you have a course-related question that isn't covered here, your best bet is to ask on the newsgroup or in class. If it's posted on the newsgroup, and it appears to be of general interest, I'll include it here, so check back for updates.
This site is maintained separately from Prof. Felleisen's COM1100 course website, so if you have a problem with his site, please take it up with him.
The website is ugly for two reasons. One, because enhancing the aesthetics of this site would take both time and effort, neither of which I am willing to expend purely for the purposes of making it pretty. Two, because I'm bitter than the W3C has decided to deprecate every piece of HTML that I ever knew, and I have thus lost interest for the time being. No XML in sight here, nosirree, nothing but pure, 100% circa-1993 HTML. And don't get me started on style sheets. You kids today with your hula hoops and your rock'n'roll. Back in my day, we didn't need self-defined meta-tags! And we liked it!
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Q: I heard that the COM 1100 newsgroup has an FAQ. Is that true? [top]
A:
;; A-list-of-newsgroup-questions is either: ;; ;; 1. Empty (in which case, you should ask your question) ;; 2. (cons newsgroup-question a-list-of-newsgroup-questions)
Please note the recursive nature of this FAQ.
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