ESC 101: Fundamentals of Computing
Semester 1, July-December, 2003

COURSE ORGANIZATION


Course Administration

Instructors

Dr. Anil Seth (Instructor In-Charge)
Room No: 204 HRKD Building

Tutors
Mr. Vibhu Sharma
Mr. V. Shreeniwas
Mr. Venkatesh Babu
Mr. Ranjith Vasireddy
Dr. Deepak Gupta
Dr. S. Biswas
Dr. R. K. Ghosh
Dr. P. Gupta

Course TA:
Mr.Gaurav Sisodia
Mr.Gnanavardhan R H
Mr. G Rajesh

For all ESc101 related problems contact your Tutor / TA
For all problems related to the machines in the CC Lab, contact Aftab Alam or Brajesh Pande


Text
We will not follow any one book very closely. In particular, example programs used in the lectures may not be from any of the books. However, Java related material can be found in these books. (For the first month, I recommend reading part one of Schildt's book).
  1. "The Complete Reference 5th Edition", by H. Schildt (TMH)
  2. "Thinking in JAVA 3rd Edition", by Bruce Eckel (Prentice Hall)
  3. "Computing Concepts with Java 2: Essentials", by Cay Horstmann (Wiley, Rs. 400).

Students are strongly encouraged to obtain a copy. Several copies are available in the library reserve, but we will strongly encourage availability of the book with you personally, so that you can study it while actually typing the programs in the lab. Additional books and resources, including some online books, are linked to the course web page : http://www.iitk.ac.in/esc101/


Course Objective:
Unlike most other courses, this is NOT a lecture and exam-oriented course. This is a practical course, where you will be required to demonstrate actual acquisition of a skill, by writing programs on computers during the lab. The lectures will cover the very fundamental material, but THERE WILL BE MUCH THAT YOU CAN ONLY LEARN BY DOING IT YOURSELF.


Computer Facilities:
You are expected to use the computers provided in the new Esc101 lab located on the upper story of the Computing Center. During lab hours these will be reserved for your use. During other hours, you will have to share it with other CC users.


Labs:

The lab hours are the secondary venue for you to complete your lab assignments. Primarily, you will have to do these on your own, by coming to the lab at other hours, preferably before you come to the lab. The main function of the labs is so that you can obtain some help while programming the exercises. Help may be obtained during the lab itself from one of the TA's or tutors. A lot of learning also takes place through interaction among your peers, or others in the hostels. Attendance, from 2 PM to 5 PM on each lab day, is mandatory. Each lab assignment will need to be demonstrated at the end of the lab day itself, or at most at the very start of the next lab day. After that you will not be able to show the labs. The labs are crucial to your learning and your performance in the lab exams.


Course Timing:

    Lecture Timings: Mon, Tue, Thu 1000-1100 - Lecture Hall L-1
    Tutorials:
      Venue: Tutorial Complex, Sections A1 to A8: Rooms TB101 to 108.
      Time: Every Wednesday 1000-1100
    Labs:
      Venue: Computer Center - First Floor labs
      Time: Mon: B6,B7; Tue: B4,B3; Wed: B2,B1; Thu: B8,B5

Holidays:
As far as possible, all labs will have a makeup date. Usually this wil be on the Saturday either before or after the holiday, to be mutually decided between the students and their tutors.