CS 105: Computer Systems

Lectures take place on Mondays and Wednesdays 2:45-4pm in Edmunds 101. See the schedule for details.

There are two lab sections: Section 1 will meet on Wednesdays 7-8:15pm in Edmunds 229. Section 2 will meet on Thursdays 9:35-10:50am in Edmunds 105.

You must attend the lab section you are enrolled in. If you want to switch lab sections, you may submit a PERM request.

There will be ten weekly assignments in CS 105. These assignments are supposed to be fun and challenging, and they should help you learn the material covered in this course. Assignments will generally be released on Wednesdays and will be due the following Tuesday at 11:59pm PT. See the assignment page for details. The assignments are done in a pair programming paradigm. Adequate performance on all the assignments is required to get a passing grade in the course.

Assignments will be started in the laboratory sessions and will be completed with a partner. It is your responsibility to complete the assignments and turn them in on time. You get ten late days that may be used at your discretion to submit assignments after the deadline with no penalty. Both you and your partner must spend a late day available to use one. Further extensions after you have exhausted all your late days will be granted only in exceptional circumstances.

All laboratory exercises will be done—and graded—on itbdcv-lnx04p.campus.pomona.edu, a machine configured for this class. Everyone registered should have an account when classes begin. This machine is remotely accessible when connected to Pomona campus wifi (or ethernet) or when connected to the Pomona VPN. We will try to make assignments compatible with other machines, but you might encounter some problems if you are unable to connect. If this becomes a problem for you let us know.

Finishing all the assignments successfully is required to pass the class. After that, grades are computed on a point basis, as follows:

Assignments: 45%
Check-ins: 50%
Participation: 5%

In general, collaboration is encouraged in this course. This means that you may discuss approaches to solving problems with anyone in this class, including students, faculty, and TAs. As specified in the department policy, you may help, or receive help, in using systems and tools, in debugging code, and in working with high-level design issues. You may use the internet to look up error codes or other issues you encounter while debugging, but searching for solutions online, seeing help from people not in the class, or using ChatGPT to generate solutions is forbidden. The actual solutions to the laboratory exercises and the code you submit must be your own and your partner’s. Except for material from the textbook or lecture, you may not copy, retype, view, or share a copy of any file. If you have any questions about what is appropriate or inappropriate collaboration, please speak with the instructor. When in doubt, credit your sources.

Course materials provided to you, including graded papers and exam summaries, are for your use in the course. You are encouraged to use them to the fullest extent, but you are not to publish them or distribute them to other people or organizations.

I am committed to ensuring that everyone can successfully master the material in this course. If you have a disability (for example, mental health, learning, chronic health, physical, neurological, etc.) and expect barriers related to this course, it is important to request accommodations and establish a plan. I am happy to help you work through the process, and I encourage you to contact the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC) as soon as possible. I also encourage you to reach out to the SDRC if you are at all interested in having a conversation. (Upwards of 20% of students have reported a disability.) If you have extended time or other exam-related accomodations, you should plan to take the course check-ins at the SDRC. In such cases, I will try to be available to answer any questions via slack; I encourage you to confirm my availability in advance.