CS 4, Summer 2006
See their individual pages for their contact information and office hours.
You can email the course staff at cs4@cs.dartmouth.edu.
Sudikoff 003 (in the basement) has a number of Macintosh computers that are available for your use. During the scheduled hours, these computers are reserved for CS 4 students. You may use the lab at other times as long as it is not reserved for other uses, although during unscheduled hours, you might have to share the lab with students from other courses, and course staff will not be available. To get your ID card enabled for access to this lab (and to Sudikoff after-hours), see Kelly Clark in 101 Sudikoff on a weekday between 8:30am-12:00pm or 1:00-3:30pm.
003 Rockefeller
Required:
G. Michael Schneider & Judith L. Gersting,
An Invitation to Computer Science, 4th Edition.
Recommended:
Danny Goodman & Michael Morrison,
JavaScript Bible, 5th Edition.
Both of these texts are available at Wheelock Books. If you are purchasing online or from a friend please be careful to get the correct edition. In particular, note that the edition of the Schneider & Gersting book is newer than that used in the winter term.
A great deal of information about HTML and JavaScript is also available electronically. I will post links that I have found useful; please pass along others that you like.
This course provides an overview of some of the most interesting topics in computing and computer science, from how the World-Wide Web works all the way down to how a computer processes individual ones and zeros. We will study computing topics through the lens of HTML and JavaScript, two of the more important technologies behind the World-Wide Web. You will learn how to make web pages that present information, and how to write scripts that interact with the users of your pages. We will also cover current topics in computing, such as computer animation, robotics, and bioinformatics.
Note: CS 4 is not a "computer literacy" course. We will not learn how to use general application software such as word processors, spreadsheets, or e-mail programs; our intent is to give you a clear survey of computer science, plus some practical experience in applying the concepts you've learned.
The grade will be based on the following components:
- Homeworks (30% total).
Homework assignments are due at the start of class on the due date. Late homeworks will not be accepted for credit. - Midterm exam and final exam (35% each).
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
--Thomas Watson, IBM chairman, 1943
"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons."
--Popular Mechanics, 1949
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."
--Ken Olson, DEC chairman, 1977