Old announcements

For more recent announcements, see the Announcements section of the home page.

• April 19:
  • Remark requests close at 11:59pm tonight (April 19). Assignment 8 and 9 grades are available on MarkUs now.
• April 18:
  • Remark requests close at 11:59pm tomorrow (April 19), and I've just released grades for Assignments 6 and 10, and Quizzes 10 and 11. Sorry for the short turnaround, but I need to turn in final grades soon. We may be releasing A8 and/or A9 soon, but I likely won't be able to do that with the final.
• April 8:
  • Week 9 quiz grades are released on MarkUs.
• April 7 additional:
  • A few more things are released:
    • Week 7 quiz grades on MarkUs. I left some comments even for submissions that got 1/1, so take a look.
    • Assignment 8 and 9 solutions.
    • Quiz 10 and 11 solutions.
• April 7:
  • Assignment 7 marks are released on MarkUs. See the Assignments page for grading notes. Assignment 6 is still in progress. I am aiming to have Quiz 7 graded tonight.

• April 7 12am:

  If you’re signed up to write the assessment starting on April 7, but did not receive an email from me just now with instructions for accessing it, please let me know.

  I’ll be emailing each group as their start time comes.

  Good luck everyone!

• April 6:

  • Today's office hours are moved to 1pm-2pm. These will be the last scheduled office hours, but you can still email me to make an appointment.
• March 31 additional:
  • The Week 11 quiz is posted. Due this Friday (April 3) at 11:59pm. See Online quiz above. This will be the last quiz.
• March 31:
  • All students must fill this out by Thursday April 2: please fill out the "quiz" I just added to Quercus named "Take-home assessment date". To fill it in, go to Quercus, navigate to CSC240, go to the "Quizzes" section, and answer the "Take-home assessment date" quiz. (It's not really a quiz, but I do need your answers.)
• March 30:
  • Some students have notified me that the MAT247 take-home is April 8-9. I'm looking into allowing MAT247 students to write the CSC240 take-home at a later date. You should hear more from me tomorrow or Wednesday.
  • Assignment 10 (the last assignment) is now due Monday April 13. However, I encourage you to give it a try before the final assissment. I've postponed the due date so that you don't end up trying to finish it in the middle of the take-home assessment. (Assignment 9 is still due April 1.)
  • There will be no more lecture videos (so, just one for this week). Instead:
    • See this week's tutorial problems, which cover some material from this week and last, on the more page.
    • See Online lectures (Week 12 part 2) for some reading to replace this week's Part 2 video.
  • The last quiz will be posted Wednesday and due Friday via MarkUs. It will be a 10-15 minute quiz, but I'm giving you until Friday to give you more flexibility.
• March 29 again:
  • The first lecture video for the final week is posted.
• March 29:
  • A note on using the number of iterations in a loop invariant
• March 27:
  • Update to Assignment 9: I crossed out part of question (a). Download the assignment again to see the change.
• March 25:
  • The third video (out of three) for this week is posted.
• March 24 third announcement:
  • There's a new quiz! Due this Friday (March 27) at 11:59pm. See Online quizzes above.
• March 24 additional:
  • Assignment 5 grades are released on MarkUs. See grading notes on the Assignments page.
• March 24:
  • Tutorial problems for this week are posted in the Tutorials section of the More page.
  • Kayman and Stephanie will be happy to go over the tutorial problems in their office hours this week today (Tuesday) and Wednesday.
• March 23 additional:
  • I've posted a second lecture video for this week. I decided to break it into smaller pieces, so I may post a third video this week.
  • Once again, there are online exercises. Head over to the Online lectures page for videos and exercises.
• March 23:
  • I need your approval for the new marking scheme. Please go to Quercus, navigate to CSC240, and find the poll I just added in the "Quizzes" section. (Even though it's called a "quiz", it's actually a vote. That's how Quercus works. No, you won't be graded on it.) If more than half of you vote for the changes, I will implement them. See here for the reasons behind this.
• March 22 additional announcement:
  • Our third textbook, "An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata", is not yet available online to students, even though I said it would be available when we get to formal languages. Sorry, I put in my request a bit too late, and we're still waiting for copyright approval from the publisher. It should eventually appear on Quercus in the "Library Course Reserves" section of the course page. In the meantime, the Course notes for CSC B36/236/240 have good material on formal languages, so you can use that text.
• March 22:
  • I've posted the next lecture video. This time there are online exercises too.
• March 20 second announcement:
  • Problems corresponding to this week's second lecture video are now posted in the Tutorials section of the More page. Sorry for posting them so late in the week! Solutions are also posted, but please attempt the problems before looking.
• March 20
  • Assignment 10 is posted, due April 8. I'm posting it early to give you more flexibility in choosing when to complete it. If you won't be able to submit it by April 8, please email me.
• March 19
  • Assignment 9 is posted. The due date is postponed by one week to April 1 (one week after the new due date for Assignment 8)
  • Solutions to part 1 of this week's practice problems are also posted. (Part 2 problems still not posted, sorry.)
• March 18:
  • Proposed changes to comensate for a lack of final exam: please see the announcement on the new Changes page.
• March 17 additional:
  • The second of two lecture videos for this week is now available on the Online lectures page.
• March 17:
  • Deadline for Assignment 8 (and quiz) extended: see post.
• March 16 additional:
  • I've posted practice problems corresponding to the material in the first lecture video in the Tutorials section of the More page. Per the previous announcement, instead of tutorials this week, Stephanie will be holding virtual office hours. If you have a chance, try out the practice problems before attending.
• March 16:
  • Update on tutorials and quizzes:
    • I plan to have online quizzes. I am still figuring out how they will happen. I will give you some flexibility about the timing; you do not need to be available exactly during scheduled the tutorial period.
    • I will post practice problems. Hopefully by this evening, but could be as late as Wednesday. They'll go in the Tutorials section of the More page.
    • For this week at least, Stephanie will hold virtual office hours during the tutorial period, 11am-12pm Wednesday.
  • Update on office hours:
  • See the office hours section on this page for the current schedule.
• March 15:
  • I've posted the first of two videos to replace tomorrow's lecture to the Online lectures page. The second isn't ready yet.
  • I'll hold virtual office hours using Quercus. Find CSC240 at Quercus and choose "Bb Collaborate". The first virtual office hours will be tomorrow (Monday) 11am-1pm, i.e. during our scheduled lecture period.
  • I realize I'm not leaving much time between publishing the (first half of the) lecture video and office hours. I'll look into holding more virtual office hours later in the week, likely after I've published the second video.
• March 13:
  • We will not meet in-person for any more lectures or tutorials this semester. No decision has been reached yet on the final exam. I'm still figuring things out, but this post has some information about my plan for Monday.
• March 12:
  • I have re-graded some answers to Question 1 for Assignment 3 because the assignment was not very specific about what "basic arithmetic facts" are. (My intention was that you could only use the "basic arithmetic facts" justification on lines of the proof that did not involve any quantifers, and that you would need to use other inference rules to handle the quantifiers. However, I did not say that explicitly, which is why some marks are now increased.)
• March 11 additonal announcement:
  • If you decide to miss a tutorial quiz because you’re feeling unwell, please just send me an email. I will continue posting lecture and tutorial notes to this website. See my post to the forum.
• March 11:
  • Assignment 8 is posted.
  • Also posted: assignment 6 solutions, as well as the week 7 and 9 (this week) quizzes.
• March 9 extra extra announcement:
  • I have posted this week's regular tutorial problems (slightly) ahead of time in the "Tutorials" section of the More page. If you have time, go ahead take a look, but it's also fine to just wait until tutorial too. (These won't necessarily be covered in the Fun tutorial. Solutions will be posted after tutorial.)
• March 9 extra announcement:
  • I made a minor correction to Assignment 7 part (a). If you didn't notice anything wrong with part (a), then you can probably ignore this. See the Assignments page, or the updated a7.pdf for details.
• March 9:
  • Hint for A7: A hint was added at the end of part (b) of Assignment 7. Download the pdf again to see it.
  • The Last day to drop this course from your academic record and GPA is Sunday March 15.
  • The tutorial schedule is back to normal this week.
    • If you decide to miss the tutorial (and quiz) because you're feeling unwell, send me an email. No need for a doctor's note.
• March 6:
  • Quiz 6 is graded and released on MarkUs. Even if you got 1/1, please take a look. I left comments on many (most?) submissions. (Sorry for the delay.)
• (March 5 quick update: added grading notes for midterm question 3.)
• March 5:
  • Midterm marks are released on MarkUs.
    • Notes about how we graded some of the questions are on the Midterm section of the More page.
    • We wrote the comments on the midterm paper before scanning. The scans are black-and-white, so unfortunately the red and blue ink we used won't stand out. It should be clear in most cases which writing is yours and which is ours, but if you really can't tell, send me an email, and I can take a colour photo of the original page.
  • Some grades for the prenex normal form question on Assignment 2 were recently adjusted: we accidentally took off some marks for solutions that were correct but happened to put the quantifiers in a different order from the official solution. Order of quantifiers matters matters often but not always.
• March 3:
  • The midterm and solutions are posted to the More page.
  • Tomorrow (March 4) is a lecture, not a tutorial. Go to the lecture room (MS 2172). There will not be a quiz.
• February 28:
  • Assignment 4 marks are released on MarkUs. The Assignments page lists a couple of common mistakes on Question 2.
• February 27:
  • Assignment 3 and week 5 quiz marks are released on MarkUs. Sorry for the delay.
  • See the Assignments page for notes on how Assignment 3 was graded.
  • Assignment 4 and the week 6 quiz shouldn't be too much longer.
• February 24:
  • The midterm is next week!
  • We have two rooms: MS 2172 and MS 2173.
    • If the last digit of your student number is 0, 1 or 2, go to MS 2173.
    • Otherwise, go to MS 2172 (the lecture room).
    • You are allowed one 8 1/2" by 11" single-sided aid sheet. (The other side must be blank).
  • There are only two tutorial sections this week.
    • If the second-last digit of your student number is even, go to BA 1240.
    • If the second-last digit of your student number is odd, go to GB 304. (Don't go to MS 2172.)
    • It will be a review session to prepare for the midterm.
    • The slides are already posted under the From tutorial section of the More page.
  • There are now two midterms listed under Sample problems on the More page.
  • Wednesday March 4 will be a lecture instead of a tutorial. (Go to the lecture room, 2172.)
• February 13:
  • There will be no office hours during reading week, but you can still make an appointment.
  • Problems from this week's tutorial are posted on the more page.
• February 12:
  • Assignment 6 is posted. It's due two days after the midterm, so budget your time carefully.
• February 10:
  • Some questions about Assignment 5 have been answered on the discussion forum.
  • Assignment 2 marks are now available on MarkUs. Sorry for the delay.
• February 6:
  • Notes for the Week 5 lecture and tutorial are posted on the More page. Thanks to Jason Liu for moving some of the tutorial notes to LaTeX.
• February 4:
  • Assignment 5 and the solutions to Assignment 3 are now available on the assignments page.
• February 3:
  • Assignment 2 grades will likely be released within the next two days. (Sorry, in lecture I said today.)
  • Re-mark requests are enabled in MarkUs for Quiz 3. (If I forget to enable re-mark requests for something, please send me an email or post on the forum.)
• Also January 31: I posted a small hint for Assignment 4 Question 2 on the Assignments page.
• January 31: I've posted some new resources to the website:
  • On the More page, you'll find:
    • My rough notes for the lecture I gave on Monday (in addition to the slides I wrote on during class).
    • Last year's problem session slides, which include some problems we didn't get to this year.
    • Last year's sample midterm.
    • This week's updates: Quiz 4 and solutions, and the induction problem from this week's regular tutorial.
  • On the Further reading page, you'll find:
    • A link to online lectures from another school, recommended by one of our TAs if you're looking for a slow and thorough introduction to proofs.
    • A document about proving the complete induction axiom using simple induction, which was discussed in this week's tutorial.
    • In case you missed it, there's also "An alternative to a proof presented in Week 4", showing another way to write an induction proof that starts at n=3 instead of n=0.
  • Also, Quiz 3 is graded and available on MarkUs. I left comments on most of the quizzes, whether I marked them correct or not, so take a look.
• January 29 update: if you have questions about how your Assignment 1 Question 1 submission was graded, feel free to ask via a re-mark request. See details in the Assignment 1 section.
• January 29:
  • I've posted notes on how Assignment 1 was graded. If you're thinking of submitting a re-mark request, please read them first.
• January 27 (including items not announced in lecture: see the first three bullets):
  • The deadline to drop down to CSC165 or CSC236 is Friday January 31.
    • If you're considering it, contact your registrar soon to make an appointment, since the deadline is soon!
    • I'll be holding office hours 2-3pm on Thursday for questions about this, but you should also feel free to email me to make an appointment, or to come to other office hours instead.
  • Extra material to supplement today's lecture: see "An alternative to a proof presented in Week 4" (posted to the Further reading page).
  • I have additional office hours this week on Tuesday and Thursday. See the office hours section. I'm working on setting up regular TA office hours.
    • As an alternative to office hours, don't forget that the CS Help Centre is open every weekday.
  • Assignment 1 marks are released. You can see them on MarkUs. I'll enable re-mark requests through MarkUs tomorrow or Wednesday.
  • The midterm may be moved by one week to March 2 instead of February 24, due to room scheduling issues. Sorry for the uncertainty I'll keep you updated.
  • For the midterm, you are allowed one 8 1/2" by 11" single-sided aid sheet (the other side must be blank).
• January 24:
  • I'll be holding extra office hours on Tuesday January 28 from 11am-1pm, in BA2283 (the usual office hours room). Stay tuned for possibly more office hours, and also keep in mind that you can email me to make an appointment, or go to the CS Help Centre.
• January 21 update:
  • The previous announcement also applies to students who enrolled on January 17.
• January 21:
  • Only for students who enrolled after on or after January 17: your deadline for Assignment 2 is extended to 11:59pm on Monday, January 27. There might be special submission instructions; check the website after January 23. For everyone else, it's still due on Wednesday January 22 (tomorrow).
• January 16:
  • Tomorrow's extra tutorial is tentatively scheduled for 12-1pm in UC 161. We're just waiting for confirmation on the room booking; check back here before going. Update: this is now confirmed.
• January 15:
  • Quiz 1 is graded. Check MarkUs for your grade and possible comments. Solutions are posted on the More page.
  • There was a mix-up about one of our tutorials today. Here's the email I sent to the class:

You're receiving this email because you're enrolled in CSC240.

Summary:

* This week's quiz won't be counted in anyone's CSC240 grade.

* If you successfully attended a tutorial today, you can skip the rest
of this email.

* I'm working on scheduling an optional replacement tutorial on
Friday. Check the Announcements section of the website tomorrow
afternoon.

Due to a scheduling mix-up, today's tutorial in BA 1240 never
happened. I'm sorry to everyone who showed up and waited.

I am working on scheduling an optional make-up tutorial. I don't have
a room or time confirmed, so please check the Announcements section of
the website tomorrow afternoon for details.

I'm aiming for 12-1pm this Friday (January 17), or possibly 11am-12pm
or 10-11am. I know that the time probably won't work for everyone, and
it is short notice. If you aren't able to attend, the tutorial slides
are posted at https://www.cs.toronto.edu/~jcook/csc240/w2020/more/ ,
and feel free to come to my office hours or make an appointment.

• January 14: Assignment 2 is posted, due January 22 at 11:59pm.
• January 13:
  • There are now three tutorial sections. See Lecture and tutorial rooms section below to see where you should go.
  • The website now has a Topics page, with some optional reading.
• January 10: some important notes about Assignment 1:
  • If you are not enrolled today (January 10), e.g. because you are on the waitlist, I won't count your grade for Assignment 1. I'll replace it with an average of other grades. However, I still recommend trying it, and you're welcome to ask me for feedback after I've posted the solutions.
  • I've gotten a few questions about syntax allowed in your answer for question 2. Some notes:
    • "..." isn't on the list of allowed syntax. For example, you can't write \(\forall x_1 \in D.\forall x_2 \in D.\cdots\forall x_n \in D.\)
    • \(P(s)\) isn't on the list of allowed syntax, so you can't use P inside your definition for P. In other words, you can't define it recursively.
    • A clarification on "You may define and use any new predicates if the domain of every variable of your predicates is \(\mathbb{N}\)" --- inside the definition of these new predicates, you don't need to follow the syntax rules. You can write the definition in English if you like. The only rule is that the domain of every variable in these predicates must be \(\mathbb{N}\).
• Even more from January 7:
  • I've posted a practice non-assignment in the Assignments section.
  • I will run LaTeX office hours on Friday, 12:30-2:30pm in BA2283. (Update: this is now confirmed.) Try out the practice assignment first and take a look at the LaTeX resources on the More page. You can also come to these office hours with non-LaTeX questions, but I'll give priority to LaTeX.
  • MarkUs is up and running; submit assignments here. The link can also be found in the Assignments section. If you are not officially enrolled (e.g. on the waitlist), you will not have an account. However, note that if you enrol in the course after an assignment is due, you don't need to submit that assignment.
• More January 7:
  • The tutorial rooms are now posted on this page. The regular tutorial will be in MS 2172 (the same as the lecture room). The fun tutorial will be in GB 304.
• January 7:
  • Assignment 1 is posted in the Assignments section. Stay tuned for a practice assignment to help you with LaTeX, but for now, please take a look and start to work on your solutions.
• January 6:
  • There will be tutorial on Wednesday this week. Check the website later to see which room to go to.
  • Please watch the videos for online lectures 2, 3 and 4 before our next class (January 13).
  • Check the website tomorrow for the first assignment, and a practice assignment to make sure you can access the homework, use LaTeX, and use MarkUs.
    • Assignment 1 will be due on Wednesday, January 15.
  • I posted annotated slides from today's class in the "More" section.