CSCI 421 - Web Application Development
CSCI 421- Spring 2024 - Thomas Rogers
Lectures and other instructions Mondays and Wednesdays, 6:00 pm to 7:50 pm

Expectations - Yours and Mine:
Becoming a good computer scientist takes practice. I expect you to attend class regularly. Written class notes copied from a classmate will not capture the process of developing the problem solutions as you will experience in class. Missing lab periods can significantly lower your ability to complete the assignments. You will waste much time outside class if you skip the lectures.

The textbooks are required. The text may describe concepts differently and to a further extent than will be covered in class. The textbook may use different examples that will help you learn.

Given that this is a 400-level course, you should expect it to take a considerable amount of effort. Read the text, do the warm-up exercises, and participate in class. Don't fall behind on the programming assignments. This is a cumulative course in a technical subject that has its own vocabulary. Pay attention, think, schedule enough time, and get help early.

Submitting and Grading Assignments:
Other than the handwritten part of the tests, you will turn in all labs and assignments using online tools that may vary from one lab and/or assignment to the other. I will be relying on the email system and logs from repository tools like GitHub for determining when you have submitted your labs and assignments.

Getting Help:
If you have a question, don't wait to get help. Ask questions in class. This is a cumulative subject, and it doesn't get easier.

Read the textbooks. But read it not as a novel or something to be memorized. The author is providing motivation for the concepts and giving alternative examples.

Ideally, you will ask me questions during our in-person learning time. You may also ask questions via email and we can set-up virtual office hours by appointment if needed, or attend office hours immediately after lectures and labs.

I am accessible through email. I check my mail several times a day. If you have a question about your program, submit the source code as if you were turning it in, and send me email asking your question and letting me know you submitted the program. I usually answer within a few hours, but you may call me if you need a more immediate answer.

If a question or answer pertains to many people, I will send a general answer to the entire class by email. Those messages will remain accessible through the course web page.

The course web page at http://cs.millersville.edu/~trogers/csci421/ has information about the course. It includes links to the program examples developed in class, instructor's notes from lectures and other class related materials.

You should be checking your university email account on a regular basis.