FAQ

When does it all start?	Lectures (G 107) start on Tuesday, 16 September 2008 @ 6pm. The first lab session will be held on Thursday 18 Sept./Friday, 19 Sept. 2008. The lectures will take place in Shillman 135. Rooms for the lab sessions will be announced.
What is the best preparation for this course? (1)	Read part I of How to Design Programs, write down questions in the margin, and place stickies there. And go get a CCIS account for using the Windows, Mac, and Unix computers in the College. That is distinct from Northeastern University account you get assigned automatically. The following link is helpful with this task: CCIS Systems Welcome
What is the best preparation for this course? (2)	In short: learn to speak about technical issues in front of small and large groups of peers. Here is a slightly longer explanation, including a justification. Design is about thinking. When we think on our own without feedback for a long time, it is easy to make mistakes early, to overlook them for a long time, and to trust in all the decisions we have made from the very beginning. We therefore consider it imperative that you learn to articulate your thoughts about programs, that you are able to explain why you decided to use one strategy and not the other, that you can justify your actions on the spot. Only when people articulate their thoughts and decision making process can others help them recognize and correct mistakes.
What can I read to prepare myself?	The course uses two text books. The first one is How to Design Programs, a book on design in a functional language context. Both text books are (or will be) available at the book store. The HtDP text is also on-line and includes numerous exercises. If you have time, start solving the exercises. The second one is How to Design Classes. It is available at the Northeastern Reproduction as a bound manuscript; you may need to ask for the text for CS U 213.
What can I do to get out of taking this course?	Northeastern has created this course to equip all MS students with at least the minimal program design knowledge that the graduates of our BS program have. Based on experiences with past generations of MS students and based on recent feedback from co-op companies, we expect that this new course is closer to what MS students bring along and that it prepares MS students better for an internship than the old PPL course. Exceptionally experienced students may discuss their personal situation with the instructor after the first lecture.