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• Will there be a question asking us to write Java code in the exam?

  No. However, you will be expected to understand it, and may be required to write pseudo-code.

• Where is the online submission option on the website?

  Online submision is through ITEE's submission system.

• Will solutions be up on the website after tutorials?

  Yes.

• Can I swap tutes?

  Yes, if there is free space in the tutorial you wish to attend, and the tutor of that tutorial agrees.

Java

• Where can I find out more about Java?

  Java.sun.com is great place for (maybe too much) information about Java.
  I would suggest reading through the Java tutorials [sun.com].

  Also, the CSSE2002 Java Documentation web page provides a lot of Java documentation in a well laid out format.

• How much Java programming vs. theory is required?

  Java programming will consist of a significant amount of the assignment assessment.
  There will be no programming in the mid-semester and end-of-semester exams, but you will need to answer questions regarding Java examples.

• Why is the Java Language used for this subject (and others)?

  Java has many benefits that make it suitable as a language for teaching.

  • It is widely used in industry (students should probably learn it)
  • It is a cross-platform programming language with a rich class library
  • The Java Development Kit (JDK) is available for free on many platforms
  • There are very good (and free) Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) available (Eclipse and Netbeans)

  Specifically for teaching algorithms and data structures, Java has:

  • Explicitly defined interfaces for defining ADTs.
  • Strong typing
  • Very good testing tools (JUnit)

• Where can I download Eclipse/the Java Development Kit from?

  See the Eclipse and Java web page.

Content

• What are the benefits of each of the number formats - hex, oct, binary.

  Socially we are conditioned to use the base 10 number system decimal. However due to the binary nature of computer systems, information stored in computers is more easily manipulated when presented in a number system with a base that is a power of 2 ie. 8 octal (oct), or 16 hexidecimal (hex).

  Oct numbers are often used to represent values of 3 bits eg. unix permssion flags.

  Hex number are often used to represent values of 4 bits.

• How important is the knowledge of logarithms with regard to this course?

  Quite important. Many algorithms have a logarithmic running time.
  This applies to both tree structures as well as search algorithms such as binary search.

• Please explain the factory pattern

  Wikipedia is a good source of information on the abstract factory pattern [wikipedia.org].

• Are we going to have to actually program for the assignment?

  Yes.