Senior Seminar

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Homework 13 - Final Paper, Due Wednesday, April 30 - Read the following article: How To Be A Programmer. Reflect on what the author has said and write a 2-3 page paper reacting to some of his comments. You may be critical or complimentary, but you must use express your ideas clearly, use complete sentences and good grammar, and spell words correctly. If you include information from other sources, be sure to give proper credit.

Homework 12 - Security, Due Monday, Apr 21 - Read a couple of articles about Phil Zimmermans's Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) product and write about a one page statement disagreeing or agreeing with the availability of this technology. Include a list of the references you used to support your views. Here is a place to begin your exploration; PGP Mini FAQ.

Homework 11 - Copyrights, Due Wednesday, Apr 9 - Summarize and comment on the case of Dmitry Sklyarov. Be sure to follow some of the links at this site. In addition, read this summary of the DMCA and make comments. You night enjoy this page as well. Submit your one-page summary by Wednesday's class time. Email or paper submissions are acceptable.

Homework 10 - Free Speech and Content Controls, Due Wednesday, Apr 2 - Visit the author's tools for learning for chapter 3, pick one area from the list, read at least 2 of the linked resources, then write a 1 page opinion paper on some aspect of what you have read. The report should summarize the issue as well as present your opinion. Give reasons to support your views. Be prepared to share in class. The report is to be turned in on or before Wednesday's class.

Homework 9 - Un-Breaking Software, Due Monday, Mar 10 - Work in groups of size 1 through 5 to repair the FileReader program (see HW 8). This will include writing a report and presenting your work. One report / one presentation per group. Please email me the list of group members and the group name (make up an interesting name) a.s.a.p. 

You must identify the shortcomings of the original program, firm up the specifications, make improviemnts to the code, and submit the revised program to testing. Your report must include details of these activities. Please report group members who fail to contribute to the process. 

Homework 8 - Breaking Software, Due Monday, Mar 3 - Download the C++ program named FileReader. 

The executable is found in the Release subfolder. Perform a series of attacks on the program and write a paper chronicling your findings. Organize the paper according to attack methods found in the text. Report on what you tried, why you tried it, how you carried it out, and the results. Try out the Canned Heat software included in the text to expand your testing capabilities. Feel free to examine the source code and explain how that helped you focus your attacks. Be sure to test the program outside of the Visual Studio design environment. Include recommendation as to how the code should be modified to address some of the faults that you discover. Classify these fixes as easy to complex.

Homework 7 - Group Presentations begin Monday, Feb 24 - Each group presents one of the attack methods for breaking software. Check group assignments here

Homework Assignment 6 - Due Wednesday, February 12 - Submit your responses to the following via email.

• Read the summaries (Initial Pairs Exercise, Pairs Revisited) of the pair-programming exercises. In light of the comments, critique the overall exercise: tell what was good and bad, and offer suggestions for improvement.
• Read the section on Pair Programming (p 100-102). Write about 200 words comparing your pair-programming experiences to the comments in this section of the text. 
• Read chapter 22. Pick two of the roles" one that would best suit your personality, and one that would be the worst fit. Write about 100 words for each explaining why you made those choices. 

Read the preface and Part I (through p 16), and Appendix C of the "How to Break Software" text.

Wednesday February 5 - No formal class meeting this date - you should meet as pairs in labs or alternate locations to complete Homework Assignment 5 - Pair Programming Refactoring Practice - Due Monday, Feb 10

Also due Monday, Feb 10 - Homework 4 - Refactoring Grid Game

Finish reading the XP text

Wednesday January 29 - No formal class meeting this date - you should meet as pairs in labs or alternate locations to complete Homework Assignment 3 - Pair Programming Practice - Due Monday, Feb 3 

Homework Assignment 2 - Due in class

Results from the Planning Game - A Better Mousetrap

Some beginning notes from Kent Beck's text

Homework Assignment 1 - Due Wednesday, January 29 - Turn in 'typed' answers to the following:

1. What is the 'Agile Manefesto'?
2. How are eXtreme Programming and the Manifesto related?
3. Read Some Thoughtful Reactions to XP and write about 200 words of your own thoughtful reactions. You may also want to explore the writings at the Software Reality Site.
4. Read The Cathedral and the Bazaar. Write about 200 words explaining connections (or non-connections) to eXtreme Programming.

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