• Office hours:

  For the instructor and teaching assistants, office hours are given above. These are ``walk-in" office hours, requiring no prior appointment. These hours are subject to change during the semester. We will update this web page when changes have to be made.

  If you cannot attend scheduled office hours, do not let this keep you from seeking help by connecting with course staff. Mail a member of the course staff to make an appointment outside the regular ``walk-in" office hours--in person of via email.

• Offline questions (questions not asked during class nor during office hours):
  • D2L Discussion Questions:
    Offline questions should primarily be posed via the D2L forum interface. If there is not an existing thread, then create one in which the quick statement of your question is the subject. Either the instructor or one of the TA's will respond to your question in a timely manner. Examples of non-informative subject lines are "473: help on homework 5", "473: a question". Examples of informative subject lines are "473: hw 5, question 1 on unsolvability", "473: help understanding reduction". A good subject line helps us in getting back to you in a timely manner. Questions posted on the forum also have the benefit that all the students in the class can read the answer. As such, it is recommended that students keep apprised of the D2L forum postings, especially responses from the instructor or TA to a specific question. Often another student may post a response to a question that may adequately answer a question before either the instructor or TA has an opportunity to respond.

  • Emailed Questions:
    If you have a grade-specific question or other personal question that is not appropriate to post on the D2L forums, then questions can be emailed. However, before emailing a question, please consider whether it possible to either post a question on the D2L forum or ask the question in person if an immediate answer is not required. Emailed questions always include an informative subject line. The subject line must begin with CSC 473 Fall 2011: and indicate the nature of the question.

    Your message should include a minimum of relevant information, yet describe the matter at issue. Use complete sentences and write as clear a message as possible. Remove all irrelevant information before sending. It is usually not necessary to include all prior mail correspondence with your mail. Include only what is relevant from earlier exchanges.

• Required: Michael Sipser, Introduction to the Theory of Computation, 2nd Edition
  PWS Publishing, Boston, MA, 2006. ISBN 978-0-534-95097-3
  
  • Prices at UofA Bookstores and its affiliated site uofabookstores.com/amazon range from $133.25 (used) - $177.50 (new)
  • Prices at amazon.com range as follows
    • Used $34.99 - $144.16
  • Be sure to get the Second Edition (2006)
  • See list of Errata for the 2nd Edition on the web. Get these errata and mark corrections in your text.
• Recommended:
  • Susan H. Rodger and Thomas W. Finley, JFlap: An Interactive Formal Languages and Automata Package, Jones & Bartlett, Sudbury, MA, 2006. ISBN 978-0-7637-3834-1
    • Prices at UofA Bookstores range from $48.75 (used) - $65.00 (new)
    • Prices at Amazon.com range from $17.40 (used) - $65.95 (new)
  • Peter Linz, An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata, Fifth Edition, Jones & Bartlett, Sudbury, MA, 2011. ISBN-13: 9781449615529
    • Prices at Amazon.com range from $126.51 (used) - $163.95 (new)

weight	item	comment
20%	Quizzes (12-15 short answer pop quizzes)	Each quiz has up to 10 points awarded. Quizzes spanning two classes are worth 20 points total. Missed quizzes count for 0 points, but the lowest two quiz grades (20 points total) will be dropped.
20%	Homework (6 problem sets)	No late or make up homework accepted, but the lowest homework grade will be dropped.
40%	Midterms I and II	Each exam equally weighted, so each exam worth up to 20% of final grade. No make up exam allowed. A passing grade will not be awarded if more than one exam is missed.
20%	Final Comprehensive Exam	Will also replace the lowest of either the total quiz grade, total homework grade, or the lowest of either exam grade if the grade being replaced is lower than the grade on the final exam .

Each graded item, such as a quiz, a homework or an exam, is awarded raw score that is then normalized (and possibly curved) to the following scale where 87.5 -- 100 is an A, 75 -- 87.5 is a B, 62.5 -- 75 is a C, 50 -- 62.5 is a D, and less than 50 is an F. Both the raw and normalized scores appear on the each graded item. For each graded item, only the normalized score is recorded. The final cumulative course grade is computed as a weighted average of these normalized scores, using the weights described above. At the end of the course, the resulting weighted average is converted to a final letter grade using this "traditional" scale. Decisions on whether borderline scores (such as 74) will be recorded as the next highest letter grade will be made using (a) whether the student elects to take the final examination (and how well the student performs) and (b) evidence of accomplishment in the subject that is cumulative over the term.

Without exception no make-up exam, homework, or quizzes will be given.

Homework is due--in paper form--at the start time of class on the due date. Late homework is not accepted.

If quiz, homework, or exam grade seems incorrect, unfair or inconsistent, you may appeal for a re-grade. Prepare a brief memo that explains which problems are of concern to you, and why you think they should be reviewed. Submit your memo, and the original quiz, homework, or exam and its grading sheet (if present) to the course TA or instructor during office hours, or during an appointment, and explain (and defend) your re-grading request. To obtain such a grade review, contact a member of the course staff for an appointment within 48 hours after the graded item was returned to you. After this 48 hour window, the grade will stand as originally awarded.

If you do not obtain satisfaction on a grading appeal from your instructor, you have a right to appeal a grade to the Department Head, and thence to the Dean. For the procedure to be followed, see the University's website at Grade Appeal.

All other academic policies of the University are adhered to in this course. A comprehensive list may be found by selecting ``Academic Policies" in the University of Arizona General Catalog 2011-12.

It is assumed that: you have the prerequisites for this course, and their prerequisites, etc., recursively.

The content of this syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.

Beyond these allowances for group colloboration, students are expected to respect academic integrity and not to consult or borrow solutions from any other student than who they state on their quiz or homework. Many quizzes and all exams are always done individually. Students found to be in voliation of these policies will be warned and possibly displined given the extent of the violation. Regardless, the student or students involved will be reported to the university as part of its policy governed in the University's Code of Academic Integrity, which applies to all those in this course.

Morevoer, plagiarism is the incorporation of someone else's words or ideas without proper attribution, whether taken from another student, an author, the instructor's published solutions or the Internet. Plagiarism constitutes theft of intellectual property, and those who engage in it will receive the failing grade of ``E''. It is a violation of the University Code to use another person's solutions as your own, whether those solutions are taken from a student in this course, taken from solutions obtained from an earlier offering of this course, taken from the files of a student who took this course earlier, or taken from the Internet.

The Department of Computer Science Course Policy on Collaboration is found at http://www.cs.arizona.edu/policies/collaboration.html This Policy applies to the present course; please read it so that no future confusion arises.

A video entitled ``Academic Integrity Podcast" is available for viewing on the Dean of Students web page http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu.

Computer accounts for C SC Department machines are available to any course registrant, either in-person or on-line. The account can be used on any machine in the Department's open labs, or through the Internet via ssh or other virtual terminal connection (e.g., PuTTY, iTerm). An account on the Department machines will be generated automatically upon your registration for the course (allow 48 hours for initialization). Read about account services at http://www.cs.arizona.edu/computing/services. You can find out more information about your account at http://faq.cs.arizona.edu/idx.php/0/269/article/What-should-I-know-about-my-account-.html.

Login Name and Password:

Your C SC login name (userid, username) will match your current UA NetId. This NetID is the name of your UA email account, as in Your_NetID@email.arizona.edu. This login name is used for remote ssh access to lectura.cs.arizona.edu, and for login to lab workstations in Gould-Simpson 228 or 930.

Your initial password for C SC Department machines will be sent to your email.arizona.edu address at the beginning of the semester. For this reason, you must have an active email.arizona.edu account in order to receive a C SC account. Obtain a University NetID and email account at http://uits.arizona.edu/services/3_easy_steps

When you log in to lectura.cs.arizona.edu for the first time you will be forced to change your initial password to a more secure password. See Rules for Acceptable Passwords for information on choosing strong passwords.

Access to Gould Simpson and Labs:

On the first day of classes all students who have registered for C SC classes, whether in-person or on-line, will be able to use their CatCards for access to the Gould-Simpson Building, and to the C SC computer labs in Gould-Simpson Rooms 228 and 930. Access will continue around the clock until the end of the semester.

Computer Science ID (CSID):

You will need to know your Computer Science ID (CSID), which is different from your Student ID (SID). To find your CSID at any time, go to www.cs.arizona.edu/computing/services/csid.html. Enter your 9-digit Student ID (SID) without any hyphens, and push the submit button. Record your CSID for future reference. Grades will be posted using your CSID.

For any account problems, send email to lab@cs.arizona.edu.

Rules for submitted work:

Start each solution on a new page, repeat the problem statement, and number each page. Each page should list the name of the student and the possibly one or two other students with which they are working. Write on one side of the paper only. Write concise and clear solutions, since failure to communicate clearly will cost points whether or not the conclusion is correct. Remember that this is a Writing Emphasis Course, and work will be graded in part on the quality of your writing and ability to communicate. The grade will not depend only upon technical content.

All homework solutions are due at the beginning of the class lecture on the due date.

All good writing is based upon revision. It is essential to revise your work before submission, and to consider whether your argument will be understandable to the reader. For example, it is never a waste of effort to explain the strategy you intend to use in a proof or construction, before beginning to present the work in technical detail. Think of the reader. Explain as if teaching a colleague in your class. Revise. Revise again.

In particular, a quiz may be given at the beginning of class that a particular reading assignment is due.

• Each of the three midterm exams will be handed out at beginning of the hour on the designated exam day. They will be collected at the end of the hour or class period. Late arrivals will not be granted extra time.
• The final exam will be handed out at the designated time on the day designated in the Course Schedule above, and collected at the end of the designated time period. Late arrivals will not be granted extra time.

Information about forthcoming examinations (e.g., topics, example questions, rules for taking the exam) will appear here prior to the examination event.