COSC 072 Homework 1

COSC 072: Computer Science II

Homework 1
Spring 2009

Due: Fri, Jan 23 @ 5 PM
2 points

This homework is to get you familiar with how you'll be submitting projects this semester. You are to

Get the code from class (avgnums) running on your chosen development platform. Your submission must include a working Makefile.
Submit the project from seva using the submit command (Plan A).
Submit the project from seva as a uuencoded e-mail (Plan B).

Get the avgnums program running on your chosen development platform. At the top of the file main.cc (or the file containing the main function), place the following header comment, with the appropriate substitutions:

//
// COSC 072 Homework 1
// Name: <your name>
// ID: <GoCard ID>
// E-mail: <e-mail address>
// Instructor: Maloof
// TA: <TA's name>
//
// In accordance with the class policies and Georgetown's Honor Code,
// I certify that, with the exceptions of the class resources and those
// items noted below, I have neither given nor received any assistance
// on this project.
//

Although you may use any C++ compiler to develop your program, it must run on seva, under Unix, and must compile using GNU g++. You must also provide a working UNIX Makefile for your project.

If you haven't already, set up your shell account. I use the T-C shell (tcsh), so that's what I'll assume. If you want to use bash, then you're on your own.

To check if you are using tcsh, type at the seva prompt:

seva% echo $SHELL

If you see "/bin/tcsh", then you're using tcsh. Otherwise, you can change your shell to tcsh by typing

seva% chsh -s /bin/tcsh

Unix should tell you that it changed your shell.

To configure your shell, from your top-level directory, copy the following file from my account:

seva% cp ~maloofm/mm.cshrc ./.cshrc

Then, to apply the settings in the file, type

seva% source .cshrc

From now on, the settings in this file will be applied whenever you log in.

You'll be using the submit program to submit your assignments. To get the submit program, on seva, type

seva% cp ~maloofm/cosc072/submit.jar ./

Copies of the submit program from previous semesters will not work, so get a fresh copy.

If you haven't already, place all of your code in a subdirectory named hw1. To create this subdirectory, type

seva% mkdir hw1

Ideally, you'll create this directory before starting your project, if you are developing on seva. If you are not developing on seva, use secure ftp to transfer your files from your computer into this directory.

To descend into the directory, type

seva% cd hw1

All of the files for your project should be in this directory. The submit program should be in the parent directory above this directory:

seva% ls ..
hw1/ submit.jar

If you need to include a message to your TA or me about your submission, then place the message in a file named README. Place the README file in the project's directory.

Before submitting, to reduce the size of the zip file, type 'make clean'.

To move from the hw1 directory to the parent directory, type

seva% cd ..

At this point, you should be above the hw1 directory:

seva% ls
hw1/ submit.jar

(Additional useful Unix commands)

When you're ready to submit, change the name of the directory to your netid. For example, if your netid is maloofm, then rename the directory hw1 by typing

seva% mv hw1 maloofm

Create a zip file of the directory and its contents by typing

seva% zip -r hw1.zip maloofm/*

This command creates a zip file named hw1.zip by recursively (-r) copying all of the files (*) from the directory maloofm/.

To submit the zip file type

seva% java -jar submit.jar -a hw1 -f hw1.zip

hw1 is the name of the assignment (-a) and hw1.zip is the file (-f) to be submitted for that assignment.

If the program submits the file successfully, you will receive a receipt by e-mail at the address <netid>@georgetown.edu.

Submit your project only once.

Once you've submitted your project, it is important to keep an electronic copy on a university machine (e.g., seva) that preserves the modification date and time. If we lose your project or the submission system breaks, then we will need to look at the modification date and time of your project to ensure that you submitted it before it was due.

You can also change the directory's name back to the original name. For example,

seva% mv maloofm hw1

Note that changing the name of the directory does not change the dates of the files in the directory. You can also remove the zip file from your directory:

seva% rm hw1.zip

The TA who will be grading your projects this semester is listed on the main page. You must submit your project before 5 PM on the due date.

Plan B

Submit is pretty reliable, but it is software. If you're running submit correctly and you see an error message labeled as SEVERE, then it's time to execute Plan B by using mail to submit your project.

To accomplish this, assuming the file you want to submit hw1.zip, type at the seva prompt

seva% uuencode hw1.zip hw1.zip | mail cosc072@cush.georgetown.edu

Briefly, uuencode encodes the binary file hw1.zip as an ASCII file that can be transmitted as mail. This form of the uuencode command pipes the ASCII-encoded file through standard input and into (|) the mail command.

When we receive your mail, we will save it to a file and use uudecode to translate the ASCII-encoded file back to the original binary file. Virtually all mail clients automatically encode binary files in this way.