Syllabus

Course Information

Class Meets: Monday and Wednesday 4:45pm to 6:25pm

Class Location: LS 307

Web Page: http://cs682.cs.usfca.edu/

Mailing List: Communication will happen via our Slack team. Join here with your usfca address: https://cs682.slack.com/signup Announcements (for example, assignment deadline changed) will be posted here and you are responsible for checking it regularly.

Instructor Information

Instructor: Sami Rollins

Office: HR 544

Email: srollins@cs.usfca.edu

Office Hours: Monday 11am-noon, Tuesday 2-3pm, Thursday 10:30-11:30am, and by appointment.

Pre-requisites

Experience with object-oriented programming in Java.

Learning Outcomes

    • Understand the complexities and challenges of building distributed systems
    • Be able to quickly learn and apply new technologies
    • Practice implementing distributed systems

Recommended Texts

George Coulouris, Jean Dollimore and Tim Kindberg, Distributed Systems Concepts and Design Fifth Edition, Addison Wesley/Pearson Education, 2011.

Grading Information

Grades will be based on exams (2), labs (2-4), projects (3), and class participation and paper reviews. Grades will be distributed as follows:

Exam 1: 15% Exam 2: 20%

Labs: 10%

Projects: 45%

Participation and Paper Reviews: 10%

Note: I reserve the right to change the distribution and add assignments as necessary.

Final grades will be assigned as follows:

You will have two exams. You are responsible for being present on the day of the exam. Make-up exams will only be given in the event of an emergency verified by the dean's office.

You will have 2 to 4 labs. Labs may be submitted up to 24 hours late for a maximum of 50% credit.

You will have 3 projects. In most cases, the projects will build on your other projects. A demonstration will be required for most projects. A project may only be submitted late in the case of an emergency verified by the dean's office.

Academic Honesty

Students are required to follow the University's Honor Code: "As a Jesuit institution committed to cura personalis- the care and education of the whole person- USF has an obligation to embody and foster the values of honesty and integrity. USF upholds the standards of honesty and integrity from all members of the academic community. All students are expected to know and adhere to the University’s Honor Code. You can find the full text of the code online at www.usfca.edu/fogcutter."

This includes but is not limited to the following:

ALL assignments are to be completed individually unless specified, in writing, on the assignment. Academic dishonesty will NOT be tolerated. This is your warning! Students are encouraged to meet with me if they have questions regarding assignments or this policy. Students caught cheating will face severe penalty.

Students may:

    • receive help from the professor and the TA.
    • discuss the requirements of the assignments, the meaning of programs, or high-level algorithms with other students or outside sources. If you have any doubt with respect to what is acceptable to discuss, speak with the professor first.

Students may NOT:

    • look at another student's code.
    • look at another student's solutions to homework problems.
    • receive unapproved help from an outside source including a tutor or a family member.
    • submit code which has, in whole or in part, been copied from any other source (including another student, a web page, or another text).
    • submit solutions to problems which have, in whole or in part, been copied from any other source (including another student, a web page, or another text).

Requirements

    • Any help from a source other than the professor, the lab assistant, or a TA must acknowledged. Example sources that must be cited are a parent, a family friend, and an outside tutor.
    • If you wish to get a tutor in the course, speak with the professor.
    • Any code submitted by a student must be completely original. No portion of a student's code may be copied from any other source (including, but not limited to, another student, a web page, or another text).

Penalties

    • Students caught violating the academic honesty policy will face severe penalty. A first offense will result in a 0 on an assignment and a report to the Dean's office.

Students with Disabilities

If you are a student with a disability or disabling condition, or if you think you may have a disability, please contact USF Student Disability Services (SDS) at (415) 422-2613 within the first week of class, or immediately upon onset of disability, to speak with a disability specialist. If you are determined eligible for reasonable accommodations, please provide me with your SDS Verified Individualized Services and Accommodations (VISA) form, and we will discus your needs for this course. For more information, please visit: http://www.usfca.edu/sds or call (415) 422-2613.