CSC 148H: INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE

Old Announcements -- Week 13

Friday 6 December: Assignment 3a

I expect that assignment 3a will be marked by the middle of next week. You will receive email with your mark, and it will also be posted on my corkboard. When the marks are ready, I will announce it here.

Good luck with your exams, and have a great holiday!

---

Wednesday 4 December: The final, and end of term stuff

Information about end of term administrative details and the final exam is now available.

---

Wednesday 4 December: Assignment 3 -- copying pointer vs copying contents

Question: what's the difference between these two statements?

     1. var newSet := otherSet -> Subset (Globals.TrueFunction)
     2. var newSet := otherSet 

Answer: These are two very different things. (2) just copies a pointer, so that newSet and otherSet become aliases for each other. Thus, if you change newSet, you also change otherSet (and vice versa). This is not what we want. (1) creates a whole new Set object, and copies appropriate info into it. Thus, if you change newSet, it has no effect on otherSet (or vice versa). This is what we want.

---

Monday 2 December: Asignment 3 -- what are you allowed to change?

Some students have asked for clarification about what code you must use, and what code you are allowed to change.

• For part 1's Set class:
  You must use the signature we provided for the Set class, and you must not alter the subprograms that we provided. There are three exceptions: (1) You may correct errors in our code that were announced on the course Web site. (2) We provided some subprograms that are temporary additions to the class, just for the purpose of testing. You may use these or not, as you see fit. You may also modify them. (3) You may make temporary modifications to the signature (either the ones we suggested, or modifications of your own design) in order to facilitate testing. Remember that you are also required to create and hand in a "pristine" version of your Set class that does not have these temporary changes, and thus works perfectly with the simulation program.
• For part 1's driver program:
  You do not have to use our driver at all. If you do use it, you may change it in any way you like. (And you'll need to, because it is far from adequate for testing Set.)
• For part 2:
  This part does not involve writing code.
• For part 3:
  We do not intend that you will change any of the existing classes. If you wish to, you must get Diane's permission.
• For part 4:
  You may make any changes to our code that you feel are appropriate for fixing the bug. Part of the marks will be for coming up with a simple fix that uses good style.