Course Location

Sloan 233 TTh 13:25-14:40

Course Web Pages

Information you need to successfully complete the course will be posted on the course web pages from time to time. This syllabus, a calendar of lectures and assignments, assignments themselves, lecture notes, handouts, etc. will all be found on the web pages: http://www.eecs.wsu.edu/~hauser/cs580.

Teacher Contact Info

Prof. Carl Hauser
Office: EME 53
Phone number: 5-6470
E-mail: hauser@eecs.wsu.edu
Office Hours: TTh 15:00-16:30

TA Contact Info

Aaron Crandall
Office:
Phone number:
E-mail:

Course Description

This course introduces models, mechanisms, and techniques of concurrent programming. The course emphasizes concurrent conceptualizations of programming problems, especially in interactions with real-world phenomena, hopefully leading to correct, clear solutions. The techniques of concurrent programming are also very applicable in parallel programming but the emphasis there is on discovering and exploiting concurrency in order to achieve performance. Parallel programming, per se, is not a principal topic of this class (take CptS 550).

Course Objectives

This course will help students to achieve the following objectives.

• Know when concurrent programming techniques are appropriate to use
• Know how to create correct programs using several different concurrent programming mechanisms in different programming languages
• Know how to use concurrent programming paradigms or patterns
• Grad students: be familiar with important historical literature and current research in concurrent programming

Major topics

• Declarative concurrency
• Message passing concurrency
• Shared state concurrency
• Concurrency mechanisms and patterns in Java
• Concurrency mechanisms and patterns in Erlang (tentative)
• Concurrency semantics

Text

The text book for the course is Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming by Peter Van Roy and Seif Haridi, MIT Press, 2004, ISBN 0-262-22069-5.

Additional Reading

Additional readings will be assigned from time to time, especially later in the course.

Course Prerequisites

CptS 355 and CptS 360 or equivalent.

Course Requirements

Attendance is expected at all lectures. Lecture notes will be posted on-line but reading the notes is not an adequate substitute for attendance and reading the book. You are also expected to participate in class discussions. This aids learning and provides valuable feedback on the lecture. I reserve the right to lower the grade of any student who is markedly deficient in attendance and/or participation.

Homework, Assignments, and Tests

There will be one mid-term exams and one final exam. Homework assignments are intended to help you prepare for the exams: they will be graded as minus, check, or plus indicating inadequate effort, adequate effort but some understanding is missing, or mastery. There will be four projects. All programminng assignments can be done with the computers in the instructional lab in Sloan 353, or alternatively, can be done at home. Turn-in will be via file upload and for some projects will involve an interview with the TA. The following allocation of grade percentages is tentative, and may change during the semester.

• Exams (2): 43% (18, 25)
• Projects (4): 13% each
• Homework and class participation: 5%

Graduate students will have additional exam questions and additional writing/programming assignments related to the projects.

Undergraduate students are reminded that a grade of C or better is required in this class in order for it to be counted in a computer science degree program. To achieve a grade of C or better in the course, you must separately achieve a grade of C or better on the exams and C or better on the programming projects.

Graduate students are reminded that a grade of B or better is required in this class in order for it to be counted in a graduate program of study.

Cheating Policy

Exams, homework, and programming projects are subject to the EECS academic honor code. DO NOT CHEAT IN ANY WAY: DO YOUR OWN WORK! Doing your own work means that you may NOT work together with another student on any assignment. It means you do not turn in a solution you found on the web.

I do not know why this is such a difficult concept for students, but every semester I hear sob stories from students claiming that they didn't understand the policy. I don't want to hear them and you don't want to suffer the consequences. SO DON'T DO IT! If you are stuck on a problem I suggest discussing it with me or with the TA. You don't have to wait for office hours: I read e-mail all day, every day, so ASK!

Side effects of cheating can be severe, ranging from a failing grade on the assignment involved to a failing grade in the class to expulsion from the university.

Re-grading Policy

All homework and projects will be marked as soon as possible after the due date and returned during lecture. Additionally, some grades will be sent via e-mail. If you discover that a mistake was made in grading the work may be submitted for re-grading no later than one week after the assignment is returned. This is the only window of opportunity for re-grading. In order to request re-grading, write or type a detailed explanation of the reasons for the re-grading. Submit the explanation along with what was originally turned in to the teaching assistant or professor. Do not orally ask either the professor or TA to re-grade any piece work.

Students with Disabilities

I am committed to providing assistance to help you be successful in this course. Reasonable accommodations are available for students with a documented disability. Please visit the Disability Resource Center (DRC) during the first two weeks of every semester to seek information or to qualify for accommodations. All accommodations MUST be approved through the DRC (Admin Annex Bldg, Rooms 205). Call 509 335 3417 to make an appointment with a disability counselor.

Stress management

Students sometimes encounter stress and anxiety issues associated with homework, tests, or life situations that can be an obstacle to success in their courses. WSU Counseling Services (335-4511) offers information including a test anxiety workshop conducted several times each semester. Visit http://www.counsel.wsu.edu/default.asp?PageID=1171 for more information.

Other Policies and Expectations

• I expect you to demonstrate critical thinking across the spectrum of course work.
• I expect you to engage in active learning: speak up when you don't understand, question assumptions, relate course material to your experience outside class, seek out additional experience and reading related to the class.
• I expect you to promptly review feedback you receive from me, the TA, or other students; to actively clarify the feedback if the material is still unclear; and to incorporate the feedback in your future work.
• I expect you to spend adequate time on the course. Adequate time includes getting enough rest so that time you spend on course tasks is well-spent time. Adequate time includes proofreading and reviewing your assignments before you hand them in.
• I expect you to have high expectations of yourself: set goals for yourself and try to do your very best. Consciously think about the balance between what you do to earn a grade and what you do to learn. (If I'm doing something that puts these in opposition to each other please let me know.)

Advice

• Don't wait until the last minute to do homework or projects. The lab gets busy, computers break down, people get sick. These are not sufficient excuses for an extension.
• Save early; save often!
• Come see me or the TA if you are confused. Don't wait for office hours -- send a question by e-mail.
• Come see me and the TA anyway. We'd like to know more about you.
• If you have trouble with spelling and grammar, get and use a word processor that has spelling and grammar flagging.