1 Style Guides

As explained in the course "Policies", all code/documentation/reports written for CS345 must conform to the course style guides.

In addition, avoid the use of the space character in file and directory/folder names because the space character is commonly used as a delimiter.

2 Homework Assignment

There are two kinds of homework assignments in this course, "paper-like" assignments and "programming" assignments. Both kinds of assignments may be different from those you have seen in the past, so you may want to read the following:

3 Electronic Submission System (Gradescope)

This course will be using Gradescope for the submission of homework assignments. Help is available on the Department's Wiki.

4 Sharing Code with the Professor

If you only need to share a couple of files, the easiest thing to do is to email them to him as individual attachments.

If there are more than a few files, you can email them to him by attaching a .zip file. However, remember that you must change the suffix to .jmu or it will be stripped-off by the JMU email system. This is best done from a command shell because file explorers have a tendency to hide file extensions.

5 Course WWW Pages

This course has a fairly extensive set of WWW pages associated with it. For help using these pages, you might want to look at:

The code examples used in class are available on the WWW and can be downloaded from the page in which they are used. You can also:

6 Installing the UML Modeling Tool

The required UML Modeling is described on the course "Tools" page. You should install it as follows:

1. If you don't already have one, install a file transfer client (e.g., Filezilla or one of the others listed on the course "Tools" page ).
2. Use the file transfer client (do not use a WWW browser) to login to stu.cs.jmu.edu on port 22 using your JMU eid and password.
3. On stu.cs.jmu.edu, navigate to the directory /cs/shr/visual_paradigm. (How you do this will depend on the file transfer client that you are using).
4. Download the installer for your operating system. (See the course "Tools" page for details.)
5. Run the installer (e.g., by double-clicking on it in a File Explorer/Finder).
6. When asked for it, enter the activation code that is available on Canvas. (See the course "Tools" page for the link.)
7. You will then get an email from VisualParadigm that contains a verification code. Enter that code to confirm you are a student at JMU.

7 Setting-Up the Development Environment

You are responsible for getting and installing some elements of the development environment on your computer(s). At the start of the semester you must install the "base" elements. Note that you must install the versions specified, even if they are not the most recent (so that your development environment is consistent with the one in the labs and of your fellow students).

As the semester progresses, you may also be required to install other elements of the development environment on your computer(s) and create accounts with some on-line services. Details will be provided at the appropriate time.

8 Using the Development Environment

You will be much more productive in this courses if you become familiar with your development tools, operating system, and associated command shell(s). If you need help, you might want to look at the following pages on the Departmental Wiki.

If you need additional help, you might want to consider the following:

9 Required Tools (Not Related to the IDE)

In addition to the development tools, you must use a variety of other tools in this course (see the "Tools" page for download/installation links). If you need help, you might want to look at the following documents that were prepared for this course.

If you need additional help, you might want to consider the following external resources:

10 Course Content

Obviously, a great deal has been written about the topics covered in this class. If you're looking for more information you might want to look at the following:

11 The Oxford English Dictionary

Of course, you need to understand the things you read. The OED is a tremendous resource in this regard. It is available on-line at