CS-A1113 - Basics in Programming Y1, Lecture, 14.9.2021-9.12.2021

Topic outline

• Exercises
  The course exercises can be found at the end of each module with the materials here on A+. There are nine modules and exercise rounds with weekly deadlines. Deadlines are on Thursdays at 11:00. 

  Note that A+ uses an automated grading system. It expects your programs' outputs to exactly match the example executions given in the exercise descriptions (as well as other test cases). In order to avoid typos or differences in phrasing, it is recommended that you copy the printed statements from the example executions and paste them into your code. At times, your code will also be manually reviewed at a later date. The score given by the automated grading is therefore preliminary and may be deducted if the submitted code is written poorly or if it does not solve the problem in the way outlined in the Exercise description.

  For each programming exercise, you will have 10 submission attempts. This means that, before submitting your code to A+, you should always run it locally to see that it matches the example executions given at the bottom of the Exercise description. The submission with the highest score will be your final score for that Exercise. Under some circumstances, such as if the automatic grader crashes or causes other issues, the course staff can grant additional submission attempts.

  A+ also utilises an automated similarity analysis tool, which will compare your code to other students' submissions. Cases of suspected plagiarism are taken very seriously and will be handled in accordance with the Aalto University Code of Academic Integrity. While giving other students helpful hints and guidance is encouraged, directly working together on the same code (or copying another student's code) is never acceptable. For further information, see Group work and plagiarism. 

  A note for experienced Python users: the A+ system does not support most modules from the Python Standard Library or any external libraries, so do not use these in your exercise submissions.  
  

  If you need help with the exercises, please attend one of our thrice-weekly Exercise Sessions or ask the question on our Slack workspace. 

  Exercise rounds and scoring

  The course exercises are divided into rounds. Each round has its own deadline. There are nine (9) rounds in total, of which the first eight (8) are mandatory. This means that you must get at least the minimum amount of points determined for each round to get a passing Exercise grade (see ways to make up for lost points below in the part Substitute exercises). In addition, you have to answer a mandatory feedback form for the round. If you get the minimum amount of points from each round (and have answered to the mandatory questions), you get the grade 1 from the course Exercises. You can get a better grade by collecting more points from the Exercises.

  The exercise rounds are:
  

  	Opens (10:00)	Closes (11:00)	Percentage score required to pass	Minimum score required to pass
  Round 1: Python basics	13.09.2021	23.09.2021	70 %	360
  Round 2: Control structures	13.09.2021	30.09.2021	50 %	295
  Round 3: Control structures II	16.09.2021	07.10.2021	50 %	325
  Round 4: Functions	16.09.2021	14.10.2021	50 %	360
  Round 5: Lists, strings and dictionaries	23.09.2021	21.10.2021	50 %	335
  Round 6: More on lists, strings and dictionaries	30.09.2021	04.11.2021	56 %	400
  Round 7: Exceptions and file handling	07.10.2021	11.11.2021	56 %	370
  Round 8: File handling II	14.10.2021	18.11.2021	56 %	385
  Round 9: Classes and objects	28.10.2021	02.12.2021	59 %	600
  Substitutive exercises	18.11.2021	16.12.2021	n/a	n/a

  Round 9: Classes and objects

  While rounds 1 – 8 are mandatory, the final round of exercises, Round 9, is not required to pass the course. Note that, if you choose to skip Round 9 (or if you do not get a passing grade in it), the highest possible grade you can get for the Exercises (as a whole) is 2. If you want to reach a grade higher than 2, you will also need to pass Round 9. (The minimum points in total are not enough for the grade 3 but, the grade 3 or more cannot be achieved without the minimum points from round 9.)

  Substitutive exercises

  If, for a given round of exercises, you receive a total score below the accepted minimum, you can complete a substitutive exercise to make up for that round. You can substitute up to three of the mandatory rounds and the object-oriented round. The course has four substitutive exercises, which will open on A+ in November 2021. One substitutive exercise has to be done for each round that needs to be substituted. In order to substitute the round, you must achieve the minimum score for the respective substitutive exercise. The substitutive exercise only replaces the round up to its minimum points, which means that you cannot receive high marks for the round that you are substituting.

  VIDEO: How to troubleshoot in programming

    

    
  

  VIDEO: If - elif - else explained

   

    

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    Questions about previous knowledge and background Questionnaire

    Student must submit this questionnaire to complete it

    The sole purpose of this questionnaire is to get a better understanding of our audience. We would like to better understand who our students are and what is their background knowledge. It is anonymous and we will not use this questionnaire for anything else than to adapt this course to you.

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    Mid-course questionnaire

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    The sole purpose of this questionnaire is to get a better idea about how you feel about this course and the lectures. We would like to better understand what you like about this course and what you would want us to improve.

    This questionnaire is mandatory and anonymous. We will not use the results of this questionnaire for anything else other than to adapt the course to the students' needs.