CS 341
Automata Theory
Elaine Rich
Fall 2014
Classes:
|
|
Unique |
Time |
Room |
Final Exam Time |
Final Exam Location |
|
|
53040 |
T,TH 9:30
– 11:00 |
GDC 1.304 |
Wed, Dec. 10,
9:00 - noon |
WAG 101 |
Textbook:
I have written
a text book for this class. It is: Automata, Computability and Complexity:
Theory and Applications, Prentice-Hall, 2008. It should be available at the Coop or
online from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
One option is to purchase the electronic version of the book. But you’ll notice (below) that all
the exams in this class are open book.
Obviously computers aren’t allowed during the exam. So, if you decide to buy the ebook, make sure that you have a way to borrow a hardcopy
for the three exams.
There is a website that goes
along with the book. It is organized
into pages that correspond to the chapters of the book. On those pages, you will find links to many other useful sites.
If you would like another book
as a supplementary text, I recommend Introduction to the Theory of
Computation, Michael Sipser. Brooks/Cole, 1996.
Staff
|
|
|
|
Office
|
Office
Hours |
|
|
Elaine
Rich |
GDC
5.810 |
T,
W 11:00 - noon |
|
|
|
Sultan
Kulakhmetov |
GDC
basement |
TH
1:30 – 3:30 |
|
|
|
Maggie
Miller |
GDC
basement |
TH
11:00 – 1:00 |
Prerequisites
To do well in
this class, you need to know some logic and have some experience proving things. You need some background in the design
and analysis of algorithms, including simple ones involving graphs. And you need at least a couple of
semesters of programming experience.
Regular
Monday study sessions
On
MONDAY evenings, there will be somewhat organized study sessions. We’ll start in about the third
week of the semester. They’ll
be from 6:00 to 8:00 in GDC 6.302, except that on Monday, Sept. 29, we will
meet in GDC 2.502.
These sessions will be run by students
who have taken CS 341 in the past and actually liked it. If you're having any
difficulty at all working on the problems on your own, make sure to come to
these sessions. Also, you can come to find a guaranteed study group.
Grading
I think we all wish that we
could have courses without grades. You hate worrying about grades. I hate
having to assign grades. But grades are essential to insuring that your degree
has the value it deserves. So we have to have a grading system and that system
has to have three essential properties:
For this class, I will assign
grades using the following formula:
If you believe that we have
made a mistake in grading any of your work, you have a week from the time it
was returned to submit to us a written description of the problem. After that
week, no grading issues will be revisited.
Exams
There will be
two midterm exams and a final. All exams are open book, meaning you may bring
the textbook (or one other book) to the exam. But you may not bring other
things (e.g., homework answers, old exams). Obviously computers aren’t allowed
during the exam. So,
if you decide to buy the ebook, make sure that you
have a way to borrow a hardcopy for the three exams.
The two midterm exams will be
given on TUESDAY EVENINGS. Students
with a conflict at this time should inform the instructor at least two weeks
before the exam. Arrangements for a makeup the following Wednesday morning will
be made. The exam schedule is as follows:
|
|
Date |
Time |
Room
|
|
Midterm
1 |
Tuesday, Oct.
7 |
7:00 - 9:00
pm |
GEA 105 |
|
Midterm 2 |
Tuesday, Nov.
4 |
7:00 - 9:00
pm |
GEA
105 |
|
Final |
Wednesday,
Dec. 10
|
9:00 –
noon |
|
Homeworks
The only way to learn the
material in this class is to practice. It's like learning to play the piano.
You can't learn much just by watching someone else. You actually have to do it
yourself. You should plan to spend at least five hours every week working
problems.
Most
weeks there will be a homework assignment that you will be asked to turn
in. The homework assignments will
be posted on Piazza. Homeworks are due in class on the date specified. Homework answers will be posted on
Piazza. Homeworks
will not be accepted once the answers have been published. If
you cannot make it to class, you may submit your homework early, either at an
earlier class or to me in my office.
Electronic submissions are a problem for several reasons. Therefore we have established the
following policy for them: Everyone gets one free electronic submission. We will only accept additional
electronic submissions in cases of emergency. Note that out of town job interviews and
things of that sort are not emergencies.
In those cases, plan ahead.
Most (probably all) of the
homework assignments will contain some problems marked with an asterisk. Those problems are optional. They won’t be graded. We provide them so that you can get
additional practice. Solutions to
them will be included with the other homework solutions.
See the class
policy on academic integrity for the rules on working with other people on
homework assignments. The rules described there will be strictly enforced. If
you copy answers from anyone (and this includes copying my answers as handed
out in previous semesters), you will fail the class.
Class Attendance and Quizzes
Most of the material that will
be covered in class is in the book. However, we will use the class time to
clarify issues and to work additional problems. It is important that you come.
To encourage class attendance,
there will be take-home quizzes handed out during class. There will be about 10
of them during the semester. To get a copy of the quiz, you must be in class.
None will be handed out later, nor will they be available on the web. You may
not make copies of the quiz; only originals will be accepted. Quizzes must be
handed in at the class following the one at which they were handed out. Each
student must hand in his or her own quiz. No make ups will be allowed. We will
drop one quiz score so you can miss one without any penalty.
Piazza
Piazza
is a free online gathering place where students can ask, answer, and explore
24/7. Read more at www.piazza.com. We will use Piazza for important
class announcements. In addition,
you can use it to post questions and get answers both from other students and
from the instructors. Once
registration has settled down, we will enroll everyone in the class Piazza
forum.
Canvas
We
will use Canvas to record grades.
You can access it at http://canvas.utexas.edu/.
Students with Disabilities
Any student with a documented
disability (physical or cognitive) who requires academic accommodations should
contact the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for
Students with Disabilities at 471-6259 (voice) or 471-4641 (TTY for users who
are deaf or hard of hearing) or http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/
as soon as possible to request an official letter outlining authorized
accommodations.
Academic Integrity and the
UT Student Honor Code
UT’s Student Honor Code
states: "As a student of The
University of Texas at Austin, I shall abide by the core values of the
University and uphold academic integrity." You can watch an excellent video about
the honor code here.
You should read carefully the class policy on academic integrity. Cheating of any
form will not be tolerated and will result in a failing grade in the class.
Religious Holidays
By UT Austin
policy, you must notify me of your pending absence at least fourteen days prior
to the date of observance of a religious holy day. If you must miss a class, an
examination, or an assignment in order to observe a religious holy day, you
will be given an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable
time after the absence.
Additional Class Policies
You should read CS Department Code of
Conduct. The policies described there will be followed in this class.