bootstrapping fall2026

+# fall2026/c4eng

+

+# ENGR1050 C for Engineers

+

+## Syllabus / Course Homepage

+

+| Instructor: | Matthew Haas (haas@corning-cc.edu) |

+| Office: | `CHM123` |

+| Office Hours: | `T 10:30a-11:35a`, `W 02:00p-02:55p`, `R 10:30a-01:30p` |

+| Class Meeting: | CHM123 TR 08:30a-10:20a |

+| Class DESIG: | `c4eng` |

+| Class Chat: | `#c4eng` on discord |

+| Public Directory: | `/var/public/fall2026/C4ENG` |

+| CRN: | `14505`, `14506` |

+| '`W`' Drop Date: | November 1, 2026 |

+| ----------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |

+| DISCORD invite: | [https://discord.gg/8eu3nKjUXX](https://discord.gg/8eu3nKjUXX) |

+| Projects page: | [https://lab46.g7n.org/haas/fall2026/c4eng/projects.md](https://lab46.g7n.org/haas/fall2026/c4eng/projects.md) |

+| CCC Syllabus Statements: | [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wAr6S3_1K26iuoQhuIxD-SkpxC8XAPclkDLzBE6maCk/](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wAr6S3_1K26iuoQhuIxD-SkpxC8XAPclkDLzBE6maCk/) |

+

+## Table of Contents

+

+ * [Course Description](#course-description)

+ * [Course Objectives](#course-objectives)

+ * [Assumptions](#assumptions)

+ * [Course Materials](#course-materials)

+ * [Technology Policy](#technology-policy)

+ * [AI use policy](#ai-use-policy)

+ * [Grading Policy](#grading-policy)

+ * [Letter Grades](#letter-grades)

+ * [Course Notes](#course-notes)

+ * [Projects](#projects)

+ * [Participation](#participation)

+ * [EoCE](#eoce)

+ * [Submission Guidelines](#submission-guidelines)

+ * [Digital is best](#digital-is-best)

+ * [Identification](#identification)

+ * [Paraphrasing](#paraphrasing)

+ * [Organization](#organization)

+ * [Timeliness](#timeliness)

+ * [Errors](#errors)

+ * [Backups](#backups)

+ * [Common Sense](#common-sense)

+ * [Late Policy](#late-policy)

+ * [Attendance](#attendance)

+ * [Behaviour](#behaviour)

+ * [Collaboration](#collaboration)

+ * [Pet Peeves](#pet-peeves)

+ * [Rules for Success](#rules-for-success)

+ * [Documentation](#documentation)

+ * [Topics](#topics)

+ * [Student Understanding and Agreement of Syllabus Terms](#student-understanding-and-agreement-of-syllabus-terms)

+

+## Course Description

+

+An introduction to C programming and debugging procedures. The

+programming assignments will incorporate input/output techniques,

+iteration, decision making, arrays and sub programs. Engineering

+applications will be emphasized.

+

+(3 cr. hrs.) (Fall). Prerequisite: MATH 1412 or higher.

+Lecture/laboratory.

+

+## Course Objectives

+Upon successful, knowledgeable completion of this course, students will be able to:

+

+ * Write programs that read numbers and text, process the input and display results sequentially

+ * Write decision-making structures

+ * Write iterative structures

+ * Program using functions

+ * Use Arrays

+

+## Assumptions

+

+There are many great opportunities for realization and insight ahead, but

+there are also many obstacles standing in the way of you staying on a

+path of success. I find that uncommunicated assumptions can play a role

+in hampering progress, so please ensure you are suitably read up and

+aware of my assumptions coming into the course, along with my assumptions

+of your assumptions, playing the role of a studious student seeking

+enlightenment.

+

+Let's also make sure we are on the same playing field by establishing

+some definitions:

+

+**student**: A student is primarily a person enrolled in a school

+or other educational institution and who is under learning with

+goals of acquiring knowledge, developing professions and facilitating

+employment in a particular field. In the broader sense, **a student

+is anyone who applies themselves to the intensive intellectual

+engagement with some matter necessary to master it** as part of

+some practical affair in which such mastery is basic or decisive.

+(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student)

+

+While a decent definition, I would argue that it falls short by not also

+indicating certain things that should be stated, so herein are some

+further assumptions:

+

+A student, entering into the educational environment of a particular

+class or degree of study (especially at the undergraduate level where we

+reside), **DOES NOT** need to have any prior experience with the subject

+matter. That is: if you are taking a course on introductory programming

+in a certain language, the student is not expected to know how to program

+in that specific language (and depending on prerequisites to the course,

+may not even need to know anything about programming at the introductory

+level).

+

+To learn something means you don't know it. Not knowing something,

+there's a state of not understanding, and not being aware of what a

+particular thing or concept is. A student taking a class to learn

+something necessarily needs to be in active pursuit of gaining an

+understanding, but is not expecting to come in knowing anything. Learning

+is often a mistake-ridden process of bumping around in progressively less

+conceptually dark spaces as patterns are sussed out and intuitive

+connections are established. We learn best from our mistakes, so a

+student that does not make mistakes, or that avoids opportunities to make

+mistakes, isn't being a good student.

+

+Learning is build upon an ever-growing foundation (your life experience

+and knowledge, some derivation of society's and civilization's collective

+body of experience and knowledge), and to be eligible to take a college

+class, yes, SOME prerequisite knowledge is assumed, namely:

+

+ * you are functionally literate in English

+ * you know how to and can/will read (input/consume)

+ * you know how to and can/will write (output/create/produce)

+ * you know how to and can/will do math/computations

+ * you know how to and can/will think

+ * you know how to and can/will ask questions

+

+A student's (or learner's) absolute BEST tool is the question,

+specifically the regular asking of them. You **NEED** to be regularly

+engaging yourself and the class with questions, and responses to

+questions. No two people perceive something the same exact way.

+One explanation is not ideal for every individual. If an available

+explanation falls short with respect to being clarifying or promoting

+understanding, you should ask a question. If an available explanation is

+clarifying, but then upon further thought creates confusion or makes you

+wonder about other, potentially related things: YOU SHOULD ALSO ASK a

+question.

+

+The benefit of authentic education is that it transitions one from a

+state of predominantly not knowing what they don't know, to a state where

+while they may know that they know more than they did before, also then

+cultivates an important perception of then KNOWING that they don't know

+even more things.

+

+Education isn't about certainty or comfort in attaining a set of facts

+and calling it quits: It is about coming to terms with the endless

+uncertainty of possible things that can be pursued or known. We can never

+know everything, but we CAN know that we can never know everything. We

+instead strive for a functioning subset where we learn enough to give us

+a foundation in the present, and consistently keep learning (although

+hopefully less so exclusively in a classroom as time goes by, but

+instead by the individual having gained enough experience to become a

+self-learner) to keep up with the demands of tomorrow.

+

+So, as a student learner embarking upon and taking this class, know that

+I don't assume you know anything about the course you are taking, and

+that you will be reading and thinking and doing and computing and asking

+questions regularly so that by the conclusion of the course, you will

+have some greater idea of the nature of what was encountered in the

+class.

+

+If you don't want to ask questions, for whatever reason, nor want to

+bother with expanding your horizons, in learning new and different

+concepts and ways of doing things (ie you want to remain small and

+stagnant), then I would urge you to reconsider taking this course: it is

+NOT a daycare to keep your mind and hands pacified. It is an educational

+environment where you will be tasked to grow and improve.

+

+## Course Materials

+

+ * Raspberry Pi kit with accessories

+ * FREENOVE Ultimate Starter Kit (electronic components)

+

+## Technology Policy

+

+The baseline qualifications for taking this course include you having a proficiency:

+

+ * to type on a full-size computer keyboard (104-key or equivalent)

+ * with basic computing concepts (files, storage, units of information)

+ * to read instructions and available technical data in relevant theatres and domains

+

+... and an ability:

+

+ * to readily ask questions

+ * to take notes and later retrieve useful information from them

+ * to recall important concepts and experiences

+ * to work on class-related content outside of class

+

+... and a willingness:

+

+ * to attempt solving new and unfamiliar problems

+ * to encounter new and unfamiliar concepts

+ * to indulge in new and unfamiliar activities

+ * to learn in new and unfamiliar ways

+ * to work on class-related content outside of class

+

+## AI use policy

+

+With the advent of commercially-viable and desktop-usable AI products

+(AI/AGI/chatGPT/LLMs/etc.), heretofore all regarded as "AI", questions of

+ethics and allowability of such tools in the learning process have become

+a rather hot topic. For the purposes of my classes:

+

+AI use is **not** recommended; you would be better off at this stage not

+even touching it.

+

+AI is a powerful tool for productivity, yet when used prior to

+solid understanding of the concepts and information being transacted,

+ultimately suffer and stagnate.

+

+You should aim to understand and know how to do things yourself, by

+hand/manually. This allows you to better vet AI output, not to mention

+better leverage various automation technologies.

+

+During this learning process, do as much of the task as you can by hand

+or mentally: this is how you gain understanding and comprehension. This

+allows you to better vet AI output.

+

+If you insist on using AI, you hereby acknowledge you assume

+responsibility for its inherent perils and hazards it can cause you and

+your progress/success in this class:

+

+ * accept that you are putting yourself at risk of deeply sabotaging your learning journey, subjecting yourself to stagnant thought and limited perspectives, as you insulate yourself from the rigors of doing the actual work

+

+ * accept that you will have to live with the awareness that the instructor and other suitably aware individuals in the course may lose some faith in your humanity

+

+ * accept that, if you pass off AI-generated work as your own, and your work is questioned, **if you are unable to competently demonstrate your understanding, you risk losing any and all credit for that deliverable**

+

+ * YOU are the student, YOU are the one here to do the work and learn.

+

+AI prose is increasingly sophisticated and convincing. Yet there is a

+difference between verbosity and competence. Learning to differentiate

+between them is a valuable life skill, and an important ability to have

+when dealing with AI output.

+

+## Grading Policy

+

+The grading policy is broken down into 4 areas, totalling 104 points

+(which will account for 100% of the grade):

+

+ * Notes/Journal/Writing (13pts)

+ * Projects (52pts)

+ * Participation (13pts)

+ * EoCE (26pts).

+

+Each area, as well as the overall grade, will be evaluated based on a sum

+of accumulated points on each projects out of a sum of total points on

+each project (as opposed to a sum of averages on each project). This

+totaling tends to favor those who consistently do work throughout the

+semester, and I want to reward that.

+

+In addition, for each third to quarter of the class (at instructor's

+discretion), there will be a possibility of a **knowledge assessment**,

+the results of which will serve as a credit multiplier to any points

+accrued (ranging from 0.00-1.00). That means: if you skip or bomb the

+knowledge assessment, all your accrued points for that segment of the

+course are multiplied by 0.00, and that is the resultant credit that is

+factored into your grade.

+

+While the term 'percent' may be used, it is more appropriate to consider

+it a 'percent-oh-four', as the word 'percent' refers to PER each CENT

+(100). We are dealing not with 100s, but 104s.

+

+Also: with the possible exception of the project component, any

+accumulated point excesses will be capped at the allocation per that

+grading unit.

+

+### Letter Grades

+

+Letter grades are pegged to the following numeric values:

+

+ * **A** (98.00+)

+ * **A-** (92.00-97.99)

+ * **B+** (86.00-91.99)

+ * **B** (80.00-85.99)

+ * **B-** (74.00-79.99)

+ * **C+** (68.00-73.99)

+ * **C** (62.00-67.99)

+ * **D** (56.00-61.99)

+ * **F** ( 0.00-55.99)

+

+Any calculated values in excess of two decimal places that may impact the

+result is at the sole evaluatory discretion of the instructor (for

+example, getting a 92.997; if you've been a pleasant, decent human being,

+I may do you a favor. Just sayin'). Application of any 'rounding' or

+other result processing is also at the sole discretion of the instructor.

+

+Bonus points, if given/available, are applied to a particular grade

+component (for example, a project bonus point will only pad the projects

+component of the grade), and then only up to a maximum of that grade

+component's total value (ie, one cannot use bonus points to exceed the 13

+possible overall points on the journal, or participation, for example).

+

+In addition, some further constraints pertaining to bonus point

+eligibility:

+

+Bonus projects that are due the same week as a for-credit project will

+only be considered if the for-credit project was actually turned in.

+

+Bonus projects that are due the same week as a for-credit project will

+only be considered if the for-credit project had a final evaluated result

+of greater than or equal to 52%.

+

+Bonus points from early submission of a for-credit project will only be

+applied if the for-credit project had a final evaluated result of greater

+than or equal to 52%.

+

+**NOTE**: bonus projects or other extra credit items are **not** eligible

+for early submission bonuses.

+

+### Course Notes

+

+Accomplishing the assigned tasks represents only part of the educational

+experience. A vital part of learning involve understanding and thinking.

+Writing is perhaps the best tool we have of capturing thought.

+

+In each course, as appropriate, there will be an on-going, weekly

+class-collaborative documentation, in the form of coursenotes or some

+related endeavour where the aim will be to assemble a coherent,

+informative document providing insight what went on in class / improved

+presentation of some class resource.

+

+While collaborative in nature, each individual will be evaluated based on

+number of commits and quantity of content contributed. While class or

+resource topics may vary from week to week, look to contribute at least

+256 words of informative, relevant content for consideration of full

+credit in this category.

+

+### Projects

+

+Projects constitute the portion of your grade involving activities you

+perform in the name of experiencing and demonstrating knowledge in this

+class- the means by which I will be assessing your understanding of the

+material through directed explorations of various topics. Such projects

+may be comprehensive to one another.

+

+In some cases, depending on the situations involved, a project may be

+conducive for group-based collaboration. This is not the default case,

+but is specified on a case-by-case basis. In such scenarios, all involved

+group members should be identified prior to starting on the project.

+Additionally, ALL group members in a collaborative situation must perform

+fairly equivalent work output into the completion of the project.

+Deficient members may experience reduced success.

+

+In accordance with the late policy, projects past their deadline will see

+a late penalty of 33% levied per day. This is to mitigate procrastination

+and encourage better time management, and also to ensure progress

+continues- once we hit the third day, a past due project is no longer

+worth any credit, so it behooves everyone to stay on top of assigned work

+and to complete it by its respective deadline. To clarify, if a project

+is due by the end of Wednesday, it would be 33% late Thursday (1 day

+late), 66% late Friday (2 days late), 100% late once it becomes Saturday

+(3+ days late).

+

+### Participation

+

+Maintaining an ever present effort in your journey with respect to being

+present for class gatherings and making such effort known is an important

+aspect to academic interactions.

+

+For class (no matter the setting), you are to show your effort through

+demonstrating regular interactive activity on lab46 and related class

+resources (discord, repository). Emphasis will be on communications

+taking place with the entire class (the class discord chat).

+

+Participating in class interactions is of significant importance.

+Participation is like the "I care" component of your grade. If you care

+enough to learn and help enhance the experience, you will have no trouble

+here. If you are disruptive or are not putting forth effort, however,

+then it will be duly reflected.

+

+Weekly participation may link directly to overall credit received on

+weekly projects! Do not be silent and in the shadows- ask questions and

+be interactive with the class!

+

+Each week, you have the ability to earn participation credit by

+performing various activities (for some amount of points per week, likely

+reflective of week and progression of semester). The particular **wcp#**

+projects will detail the specific attributes and points available (and

+needed) for a particular week.

+

+I would encourage you to vary your participation activities from week to

+week, especially as no one single activity will eventually be enough to

+cover the entirety of your weekly participation requirements.

+

+If you anticipate missing a class, please notify me in advance. While you

+may still lose applicable participation credit, the advance notice will

+be taken into positive consideration.

+

+### EoCE

+

+As the semester starts wrapping up, the End of Course Experience (EoCE)

+will be released.

+

+Intended as a sort of comprehensive project(s), its aim is to evaluate

+your knowledge gained from the class this semester. Unlike other classes

+which have a "Final Exam", the EoCE is meant to be an EXPERIENCE, and as

+such celebrated across the land. If you're new to my classes, you'll see

+those with prior experience jump for joy at the thought of an EoCE (the

+twitching / convulsing is merely ecstatic joy that is difficult for the

+corporeal body to manifest).

+

+## Submission Guidelines

+

+The following are some guidelines to keep in mind when preparing your

+work for submission. Not all may always be applicable, to each class, or

+even each submission.

+

+### Digital is best

+

+Technology is a wonderful thing. It facilitates many of the tasks we'd

+otherwise have to do manually by hand.

+

+The intent here is to make things easy on both you and me.

+

+So use the technology, and don't just it for the sake of using it-- use

+it to make the task at hand easier (ie use the technology available and

+sanctioned for the course).

+

+With that said, some additional aspects to keep in mind:

+

+ * e-mails were designed to be plain text; don't make them into web pages

+ * e-mails should always have an informative subject line

+ * if you've got non-text files to include in an e-mail, just attach them

+ * you've got many attachments? archive/compress them, attach the archive

+ * plain ASCII text (UTF-8) is preferable over any enriched text format

+

+If appropriate, I also will accept submissions via singing telegram,

+airplane banner, crop circles, creative dance, three part rock aria, etc.

+so long that I get to witness such creativity, and receive something

+which lets me look back on it later (photos, video, transcription on

+paper, etc.). Chances are such unique submissions will gain you favorable

+considerations.

+

+### Identification

+

+Where applicable, be sure to include the following information on any

+submission:

+

+ * Name,

+ * Course and Section,

+ * Due Date,

+ * Assignment # and description,

+ * Short abstract describing the purpose of your program / assignment.

+

+Presentation of this information in a clear and organized fashion will

+make your assignment all the easier to read. You may come up with your

+own format for the display of this information.

+

+Any e-mail submissions should have an appropriate subject line. Please

+use subjects on all e-mails. This is also very important.

+

+Leaving off the subject line is like sending a letter without putting a

+stamp on it-- it causes someone extra work. And that someone would be me.

+So don't do it. Please please please use informative subject lines!

+

+### Paraphrasing

+

+For any provided questions, keywords, etc.: identify each question or

+selection you are answering by listing or paraphrasing the original

+question.

+

+Do not just give me an answer.

+

+This is important. I mean it. You don't know how frustrating it is to get

+an assignment that just has the answers on it. It takes so much longer to

+evaluate.

+

+I reserve the right to deduct points if you don't do this.

+

+### Organization

+

+Keep your programs and assignments organized and easy to read.

+

+Use a uniform writing style. Messy or unorganized submissions will have

+points deducted. Think to yourself: does it look good? Would **you** want

+to read this? Take pride in your work.

+

+These assignments are not just for me to read and grade- you may wish to

+incorporate them into a portfolio for use in the future. Making an

+investment now could pay off later!

+

+### Timeliness

+

+Turn in submissions on time.

+

+Late submissions will be subject to an appropriate penalty. Circumstances

+vary, see the Late Policy for details.

+

+In many cases, where possible, I do accept resubmissions.

+

+### Errors

+

+If you encounter an error while performing some task (and the directions

+do not indicate you should be receiving an error), chances are you made a

+typo. Consult the class chat, ask someone, or contact me.

+

+**NOTE**: Submissions containing answers based on user error will be

+considered incorrect.

+

+### Backups

+

+Be sure to keep a backup copy of all assignments submitted in the event

+something is lost in transmission.

+

+**It is your responsibility to be able to send another copy of your

+submission should the original be lost.**

+

+### Common Sense

+

+Use your own judgment. The world today is increasingly filled with rules

+and policies dictating what you can and cannot do. I am not about to

+go and list all the specifics and restrictions regarding assignment

+submission.

+

+You are here to learn and to grow, and I want to allow you a certain

+amount of flexibility in that process. Spending all your time formatting

+an assignment to my specifications isn't my idea of learning. Incorporate

+these guidelines into your general style, if you miss the mark I'll let

+you know. But focus more on learning and understanding than worrying

+about dotting every 'i' or crossing every 't'. There's enough of that

+elsewhere in the world.

+

+## Late Policy

+

+Sometimes, even though we try our hardest to get everything in on time,

+the spurious Murphy's Law will make an appearance. Your dog ate your

+network cable, a burst of cosmic rays damaged your RAM precisely where

+your work was located... the list goes on.

+

+If something is not submitted by its respective due date (or, heaven

+forbid, the late window), and no advance attempt has been made to

+communicate with me, the assignment will be invalidated of any value.

+

+Bottom line.. if something is going to be late: let me know. It happens,

+just don't make a habit of it. Communication is key.

+

+Unless otherwise specified, past due assignments will lose 33% credit per

+day, rendering them worthless credit-wise after 3 days.

+

+Please do remember most projects are released **at least** one week in

+advance. If you wait until the finals days before the deadline, and

+struggle due to lack of time, that isn't grounds for reconsideration of

+any deadlines or late penalties. Take the whole time, work away slowly at

+it over time, and that will likely lead to far fewer deadline rushes.

+

+### Attendance

+

+Attendance plays an important part in one's educational journey each

+semester. Missing class deprives you of essential knowledge and hinders

+understanding towards your eventual mastering of a topic.

+

+Because we are all here to learn (and if learning isn't a priority, I

+highly suggest you think about making it such), and believe it or not-

+learning isn't just about one person, but the entire group. So it is

+important to be present in order to positively contribute to the learning

+experience.

+

+I also reserve the right to report absent, or highly tardy students in

+the course. In some cases, that could result in being dropped from the

+course. On the same token, I reserve the right NOT to report or do

+anything to such students. Sometimes failure can be the best teacher.

+

+### Behaviour

+

+Should your behaviour in the class be notably and consistently unruly,

+off-topic, or alarming, I have the ability to remove you from the class.

+

+I will likely issue a warning or report (although not necessarily to the

+individual- sometimes an administrative reporting is in order to have

+them resolve the issue) indicating a desire to have you cease the

+particular behaviour, but through continued transgressions, may actually

+elevate to forced removal from the class.

+

+The priority is to the well-being of the class community. I cannot have

+individuals derailing that for their own personal gain or purposes.

+

+## Collaboration

+

+Because this course is open resource (ie book, computer, note, etc.) I

+would like it generally to remain **closed person** and **closed

+intelligence** (the thinking done should be your own, not outsourcing it

+to some artificial entity). The reason for this is that the amount of

+resources available to you are vast, and the goal here is to discover and

+learn the material through individual initiative.

+

+It IS possible to help others without giving away answers.

+

+Respond to questions with a question, give pointers to where information

+might be located in legitimate sources, remind them of the usefulness of

+manuals, and the availability of search engines.

+

+Individuals are allowed and expected, to assist others through the class

+chat **WITHOUT GIVING EXPLICIT ANSWERS**, so long as it does not

+interfere with any other existing circumstance. If group work is required

+on anything, that attribute will be specifically stated.

+

+Explicit copying on or of any class work is forbidden. If any evidence or

+suggestion of non-authentic work is discovered (and I can tell you some

+stories) in your particular direction, you risk both my wrath as well as

+the possibility of disciplinary action by the school. Academic dishonesty

+and plagiarism may be prosecuted under the purview as laid out in the

+school's Academic Honesty Policy, as listed under the Code of Student

+Conduct: Academic Honesty section in the CCC Course Catalog.

+

+So just play it safe and make sure your work is your own, and borrowed

+information is appropriately cited or referenced.

+

+## Pet Peeves

+

+Everyone has their buttons that can be pushed the wrong way. Here are a

+few of mine, that I would prefer not encountering:

+

+The eager, often surface-only desire to destroy things (especially with

+no desire to understand the why behind it all).

+

+The notion that 'old', 'unpopular', 'uncomfortable', or 'different',

+especially in terms of technology or experiences, is somehow bad (there

+are plenty of useful things to learn, for the patterns will often

+remanifest in future technologies down the road)

+

+Apologizing: "sorry I had to ask a question", "sorry I misunderstood",

+"sorry I failed to do that action"; I WANT people to ask questions.

+Questions are based on not fully understanding something. And if your

+actions come up short, apologies only serve to highlight the deficiency.

+The best solution: to fix it and not keep repeating the same mistake.

+There may be things worthy of apologizing for. For most incidents of

+apology I encounter related to classes, such is irrelevant. If you feel

+you are in the wrong for asking a question, you're doing this whole

+learning thing wrong.

+

+Overhelping "the weakest link"; a somewhat modern trend, where I see

+woefully unprepared/unready individuals overly assisted through the

+course (where the intent is to save them from failing). This is but a

+short-term perspective, contributing to their long-term failure.

+

+Opting out of things that seem overwhelming, yet somehow expecting things

+will get better as time goes on.

+

+The desire to impress me-- impressing comes by being impressive, not

+selling an act to me (in short, don't try to impress me, just do your

+best work, and have me be impressed by how impressive it naturally is).

+

+Avoiding the developing/strengthening your own memory and recall, and

+relying on others (including the instructor) to be your memory.

+

+The obsession over and recitation of hardware specs-- this has nothing to

+do with computing, yet many mistakenly believe it to be such (a small

+aspect of IT and an occasionally fun hobby? sure.)

+

+The compensation for lack of knowledge by clinging tightly to (perceived)

+known knowledge-- I expect everyone not to know things; knowing we don't

+know enables us to learn.

+

+The avoiding of questions out of fear they may not be worthy of asking--

+how else can I know where you are if you don't ask?

+

+The asking for the answer as if it were a question, to avoid thinking or

+doing the work yourself. Questions are the a result of your thinking, not

+"I don't know, so tell me?", or the worst (literally): "What do I need to

+do in order to get an A/full credit?"

+

+The absolute belief that if I say something then it is the truth (same

+for the inverse, converse, contrapositive, etc.)-- being open-minded and

+questioning is one of the greatest abilities we can have. Society trains

+you to be compliant with external authority at the expense of your own;

+to be educated and intelligent, in part, means you have cultivated your

+own self-authority so you can make your own decisions.

+

+The impression that if something is said frequently or confidently

+enough, then it must be true, and that makes someone an "expert" who

+should be believed, followed, and unquestioned.

+

+The tendency to brute force through something instead of trying to think

+or learn new approaches-- memorizing and regurgitation will often not

+work out in your favour here (or greatly annoy me).

+

+Being tangibly obsessed with knowing your exact grade, while being

+uninformed about the process of calculating it yourself from available

+information.

+

+Complaining upstream about me/my class without actually bringing issues

+to me first to address.

+

+Destroying context in asynchronous communications (ie deleting Discord

+messages after making a post, asking a question, and getting some sort of

+resolution): this makes it entirely unhelpful for others to also benefit,

+and leaves gaping holes in the existing conversation. Please do not

+delete your Discord messages after getting a response.

+

+Using AI, and failing to distinguish between your own skills and

+knowledge, and what AI is able to produce, treating them as one and the

+same. As I've said elsewhere, at this level, you should be avoiding

+flagrant AI use, as it can become a fatal crutch, stagnating your

+abilities.

+

+## Rules for Success

+

+For maximum success in the class, please adhere to the following rules:

+

+ * start on activities early

+ * observe/study, read/intuit, and comprehend the subject matter

+ * play/tinker/experiment with the subject matter (external to projects)

+ * ask well-informed and copious questions

+

+Struggle and problems in the course almost immediately arise when one

+fails to follow one or more of these guidelines.

+

+## Documentation

+

+The following criteria should be kept in mind when contributing content

+to collaborative documentation, the course notes, and any pertinent

+class-related communications:

+

+ * Never use a form of a word in its own definition

+ * Use external hyperlinks only as citations

+ * Content first, then formatting

+ * There is only one empire- ours

+ * Contribute only original content

+ * Paraphrase and cite existing information

+ * Do NOT blatantly copy existing information

+ * A healthy resource is an active resource

+ * Do not focus on just your contributions

+ * Mistakes are opportunities for future contributions

+

+## Topics

+

+The following is a list of the major topics being covered in this course:

+

+ * Standard I/O (STDIO, STDOUT, STDERR)

+ * Header Files (Local and System), C Standard Library (Libc), Libraries

+ * arithmetic (equations, operators)

+ * logic and operators (and, or, not, xor)

+ * Variables (types, ranges, sizes)

+ * Scope (Block, Local, Global, File)

+ * Pointers (address of, assignment, dereferencing)

+ * Type Casting

+ * Selection Structures (if, case/switch)

+ * Repetition/Iteration Structures (for, while, do while)

+ * Arrays (standard notation, pointer arithmetic, single-dimensional, multi-dimensional)

+ * File Access (Read, Write, Append)

+ * Structures (Declaration, Accessing Elements, Pointers to)

+ * typedef, enum, union

+ * Functions, Parameters (Pass by: Value, Address, Reference), Return Types, Recursion, Command-line arguments

+ * Compiler, Preprocessor, Flags, Assembler, Linker, Multi-file programs (how to structure, how to compile)

+

+## Student Understanding and Agreement of Syllabus Terms

+

+By reading through this document, participating in the class chat,

+utilizing class resources, and performing the various class activities

+and projects, you understand and consent:

+

+ * to the rules, policies governing your status as a student at SUNY CCC.

+ * to the structure, policies, and nature of the course as laid out here.

+ * to having an adequate understanding of course prerequisite knowledge.

+ * to maintain a respectful, inquisitive, well-behaved, and learning-oriented focus as you participate and go through the course.

+ * to practice (and further cultivate, as needed) the fundamental aspects of a student taking this course, which includes being able and willing:

+ * to read, comprehend and work with the material and information inherent to the course.

+ * to write and express your thoughts in coherent, descriptive sentences.

+ * willing to analyze, problem solve, debug, troubleshoot, ideate, creatively, and logically/rationally think.

+ * willing to compute and transact in number concepts (literal, symbolic or abstract) and any related units in their various processes.

+ * to, upon facing uncertainty, confusion, or lack of understanding, will ask copious, well-informed, and well-intending questions to clarify your state of understanding.

+ * if cause for issue rises, you will bring it to my attention so that it may be best addressed as locally and pertinently as possible to the course and its educational environment.

+ * participate in the course with a focus on curiosity, discovering, exploring, learning, and understanding.

+ * starting early on deliverables so that ample time is available for discovering, exploring, learning, and asking any questions as needed.

+ * that, as a student, a genuine learning experience necessarily involves some level of unfamiliarity, which may invoke discomfort.

+ * that your learning and the nature of the course is an inherently asynchronous thing. It is your responsibility to manage your time, so that you can have adequate time to ask questions and accomplish your own tasks.

+# fall2026/comporg

+

+# CSCS2650 Computer Organization

+

+## Syllabus / Course Homepage

+

+| Instructor: | Matthew Haas (haas@corning-cc.edu) |

+| Office: | `CHM123` |

+| Office Hours: | `T 10:30a-11:35a`, `W 02:00p-02:55p`, `R 10:30a-01:30p` |

+| Class Meeting: | independent study |

+| Class DESIG: | `comporg` |

+| Class Chat: | `#comporg` on discord |

+| Public Directory: | `/var/public/fall2026/COMPORG` |

+| CRN: | `15559` |

+| '`W`' Drop Date: | November 1, 2026 |

+| ----------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |

+| DISCORD invite: | [https://discord.gg/8eu3nKjUXX](https://discord.gg/8eu3nKjUXX) |

+| Projects page: | [https://lab46.g7n.org/haas/fall2026/comporg/projects.md](https://lab46.g7n.org/haas/fall2026/comporg/projects.md) |

+| CCC Syllabus Statements: | [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wAr6S3_1K26iuoQhuIxD-SkpxC8XAPclkDLzBE6maCk/](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wAr6S3_1K26iuoQhuIxD-SkpxC8XAPclkDLzBE6maCk/) |

+

+## Table of Contents

+

+ * [Course Description](#course-description)

+ * [Course Objectives](#course-objectives)

+ * [Assumptions](#assumptions)

+ * [Course Materials](#course-materials)

+ * [Technology Policy](#technology-policy)

+ * [AI use policy](#ai-use-policy)

+ * [Grading Policy](#grading-policy)

+ * [Letter Grades](#letter-grades)

+ * [Course Notes](#course-notes)

+ * [Projects](#projects)

+ * [Participation](#participation)

+ * [EoCE](#eoce)

+ * [Submission Guidelines](#submission-guidelines)

+ * [Digital is best](#digital-is-best)

+ * [Identification](#identification)

+ * [Paraphrasing](#paraphrasing)

+ * [Organization](#organization)

+ * [Timeliness](#timeliness)

+ * [Errors](#errors)

+ * [Backups](#backups)

+ * [Common Sense](#common-sense)

+ * [Late Policy](#late-policy)

+ * [Attendance](#attendance)

+ * [Behaviour](#behaviour)

+ * [Collaboration](#collaboration)

+ * [Pet Peeves](#pet-peeves)

+ * [Rules for Success](#rules-for-success)

+ * [Documentation](#documentation)

+ * [Topics](#topics)

+ * [Student Understanding and Agreement of Syllabus Terms](#student-understanding-and-agreement-of-syllabus-terms)

+

+## Course Description

+

+Computer architecture and assembly language programming methods.

+Includes addressing, binary and computer arithmetic, boolean logic, bus

+structures, control and data flow, data representation, debugging,

+input/output, instruction cycle, instruction sets, interrupts, linking,

+machine language, memory, processors, registers, storage, subroutines,

+and translation. Connection to compilers and operating systems discussed.

+

+(4 cr. hrs.) (Spring) Prerequisite: CSCS1320, CSCS2420, or instructor

+consent.

+

+## Course Objectives

+Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

+

+ * Analyze the fundamental organization of a computer system, including

+the functional relationships between the CPU, memory hierarchy, and I/O

+subsystems.

+

+ * Evaluate the impact of various number systems and data representations

+on computational precision and hardware efficiency.

+

+ * Translate high-level programming logic into assembly-level

+instructions to demonstrate an understanding of the underlying execution

+model.

+

+ * Implement algorithmic solutions using low-level programming

+techniques, focusing on the effective use of processor registers and

+memory addressing modes.

+

+ * Apply stack and branching logic to develop structured, modular code at

+the machine level.

+

+ * Examine the interface between application software and the operating

+system by executing and managing direct system calls.

+

+ * Deconstruct the role of standard runtime libraries in abstracting

+hardware complexities and facilitating system-level services.

+

+ * Appraise how low-level architectural constraints and instruction set

+design influence the performance and optimization of high-level software.

+

+## Assumptions

+

+There are many great opportunities for realization and insight ahead, but

+there are also many obstacles standing in the way of you staying on a

+path of success. I find that uncommunicated assumptions can play a role

+in hampering progress, so please ensure you are suitably read up and

+aware of my assumptions coming into the course, along with my assumptions

+of your assumptions, playing the role of a studious student seeking

+enlightenment.

+

+Let's also make sure we are on the same playing field by establishing

+some definitions:

+

+**student**: A student is primarily a person enrolled in a school

+or other educational institution and who is under learning with

+goals of acquiring knowledge, developing professions and facilitating

+employment in a particular field. In the broader sense, **a student

+is anyone who applies themselves to the intensive intellectual

+engagement with some matter necessary to master it** as part of

+some practical affair in which such mastery is basic or decisive.

+(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student)

+

+While a decent definition, I would argue that it falls short by not also

+indicating certain things that should be stated, so herein are some

+further assumptions:

+

+A student, entering into the educational environment of a particular

+class or degree of study (especially at the undergraduate level where we

+reside), **DOES NOT** need to have any prior experience with the subject

+matter. That is: if you are taking a course on introductory programming

+in a certain language, the student is not expected to know how to program

+in that specific language (and depending on prerequisites to the course,

+may not even need to know anything about programming at the introductory

+level).

+

+To learn something means you don't know it. Not knowing something,

+there's a state of not understanding, and not being aware of what a

+particular thing or concept is. A student taking a class to learn

+something necessarily needs to be in active pursuit of gaining an

+understanding, but is not expecting to come in knowing anything. Learning

+is often a mistake-ridden process of bumping around in progressively less

+conceptually dark spaces as patterns are sussed out and intuitive

+connections are established. We learn best from our mistakes, so a

+student that does not make mistakes, or that avoids opportunities to make

+mistakes, isn't being a good student.

+

+Learning is build upon an ever-growing foundation (your life experience

+and knowledge, some derivation of society's and civilization's collective

+body of experience and knowledge), and to be eligible to take a college

+class, yes, SOME prerequisite knowledge is assumed, namely:

+

+ * you are functionally literate in English

+ * you know how to and can/will read (input/consume)

+ * you know how to and can/will write (output/create/produce)

+ * you know how to and can/will do math/computations

+ * you know how to and can/will think

+ * you know how to and can/will ask questions

+

+A student's (or learner's) absolute BEST tool is the question,

+specifically the regular asking of them. You **NEED** to be regularly

+engaging yourself and the class with questions, and responses to

+questions. No two people perceive something the same exact way.

+One explanation is not ideal for every individual. If an available

+explanation falls short with respect to being clarifying or promoting

+understanding, you should ask a question. If an available explanation is

+clarifying, but then upon further thought creates confusion or makes you

+wonder about other, potentially related things: YOU SHOULD ALSO ASK a

+question.

+

+The benefit of authentic education is that it transitions one from a

+state of predominantly not knowing what they don't know, to a state where

+while they may know that they know more than they did before, also then

+cultivates an important perception of then KNOWING that they don't know

+even more things.

+

+Education isn't about certainty or comfort in attaining a set of facts

+and calling it quits: It is about coming to terms with the endless

+uncertainty of possible things that can be pursued or known. We can never

+know everything, but we CAN know that we can never know everything. We

+instead strive for a functioning subset where we learn enough to give us

+a foundation in the present, and consistently keep learning (although

+hopefully less so exclusively in a classroom as time goes by, but

+instead by the individual having gained enough experience to become a

+self-learner) to keep up with the demands of tomorrow.

+

+So, as a student learner embarking upon and taking this class, know that

+I don't assume you know anything about the course you are taking, and

+that you will be reading and thinking and doing and computing and asking

+questions regularly so that by the conclusion of the course, you will

+have some greater idea of the nature of what was encountered in the

+class.

+

+If you don't want to ask questions, for whatever reason, nor want to

+bother with expanding your horizons, in learning new and different

+concepts and ways of doing things (ie you want to remain small and

+stagnant), then I would urge you to reconsider taking this course: it is

+NOT a daycare to keep your mind and hands pacified. It is an educational

+environment where you will be tasked to grow and improve.

+

+## Course Materials

+

+ * No materials needed (resources available online)

+

+## Technology Policy

+

+The baseline qualifications for taking this course include you having a

+proficiency:

+

+ * to type on a full-size computer keyboard (104-key or equivalent)

+ * with basic computing concepts (files, storage, units of information)

+ * to read instructions and available technical data in relevant theatres and domains

+

+... and an ability:

+

+ * to readily ask questions

+ * to take notes and later retrieve useful information from them

+ * to recall important concepts and experiences

+ * to work on class-related content outside of class

+

+... and a willingness:

+

+ * to attempt solving new and unfamiliar problems

+ * to encounter new and unfamiliar concepts

+ * to indulge in new and unfamiliar activities

+ * to learn in new and unfamiliar ways

+ * to work on class-related content outside of class

+

+## AI use policy

+

+With the advent of commercially-viable and desktop-usable AI products

+(AI/AGI/chatGPT/LLMs/etc.), heretofore all regarded as "AI", questions of

+ethics and allowability of such tools in the learning process have become

+a rather hot topic. For the purposes of my classes:

+

+AI use is **not** recommended; you would be better off at this stage not

+even touching it.

+

+AI is a powerful tool for productivity, yet when used prior to

+solid understanding of the concepts and information being transacted,

+ultimately suffer and stagnate.

+

+You should aim to understand and know how to do things yourself, by

+hand/manually. This allows you to better vet AI output, not to mention

+better leverage various automation technologies.

+

+During this learning process, do as much of the task as you can by hand

+or mentally: this is how you gain understanding and comprehension. This

+allows you to better vet AI output.

+

+If you insist on using AI, you hereby acknowledge you assume

+responsibility for its inherent perils and hazards it can cause you and

+your progress/success in this class:

+

+ * accept that you are putting yourself at risk of deeply sabotaging your learning journey, subjecting yourself to stagnant thought and limited perspectives, as you insulate yourself from the rigors of doing the actual work

+

+ * accept that you will have to live with the awareness that the instructor and other suitably aware individuals in the course may lose some faith in your humanity

+

+ * accept that, if you pass off AI-generated work as your own, and your work is questioned, **if you are unable to competently demonstrate your understanding, you risk losing any and all credit for that deliverable**

+

+ * YOU are the student, YOU are the one here to do the work and learn.

+

+AI prose is increasingly sophisticated and convincing. Yet there is a

+difference between verbosity and competence. Learning to differentiate

+between them is a valuable life skill, and an important ability to have

+when dealing with AI output.

+

+## Grading Policy

+

+The grading policy is broken down into 4 areas, totalling 104 points

+(which will account for 100% of the grade):

+

+ * Notes/Journal/Writing (13pts)

+ * Projects (52pts)

+ * Participation (13pts)

+ * EoCE (26pts).

+

+Each area, as well as the overall grade, will be evaluated based on a sum

+of accumulated points on each projects out of a sum of total points on

+each project (as opposed to a sum of averages on each project). This

+totaling tends to favor those who consistently do work throughout the

+semester, and I want to reward that.

+

+In addition, for each third to quarter of the class (at instructor's

+discretion), there will be a possibility of a **knowledge assessment**,

+the results of which will serve as a credit multiplier to any points

+accrued (ranging from 0.00-1.00). That means: if you skip or bomb the

+knowledge assessment, all your accrued points for that segment of the

+course are multiplied by 0.00, and that is the resultant credit that is

+factored into your grade.

+

+While the term 'percent' may be used, it is more appropriate to consider

+it a 'percent-oh-four', as the word 'percent' refers to PER each CENT

+(100). We are dealing not with 100s, but 104s.

+

+Also: with the possible exception of the project component, any

+accumulated point excesses will be capped at the allocation per that

+grading unit.

+

+### Letter Grades

+

+Letter grades are pegged to the following numeric values:

+

+ * **A** (98.00+)

+ * **A-** (92.00-97.99)

+ * **B+** (86.00-91.99)

+ * **B** (80.00-85.99)

+ * **B-** (74.00-79.99)

+ * **C+** (68.00-73.99)

+ * **C** (62.00-67.99)

+ * **D** (56.00-61.99)

+ * **F** ( 0.00-55.99)

+

+Any calculated values in excess of two decimal places that may impact the

+result is at the sole evaluatory discretion of the instructor (for

+example, getting a 92.997; if you've been a pleasant, decent human being,

+I may do you a favor. Just sayin'). Application of any 'rounding' or

+other result processing is also at the sole discretion of the instructor.

+

+Bonus points, if given/available, are applied to a particular grade

+component (for example, a project bonus point will only pad the projects

+component of the grade), and then only up to a maximum of that grade

+component's total value (ie, one cannot use bonus points to exceed the 13

+possible overall points on the journal, or participation, for example).

+

+In addition, some further constraints pertaining to bonus point

+eligibility:

+

+Bonus projects that are due the same week as a for-credit project will

+only be considered if the for-credit project was actually turned in.

+

+Bonus projects that are due the same week as a for-credit project will

+only be considered if the for-credit project had a final evaluated result

+of greater than or equal to 52%.

+

+Bonus points from early submission of a for-credit project will only be

+applied if the for-credit project had a final evaluated result of greater

+than or equal to 52%.

+

+**NOTE**: bonus projects or other extra credit items are **not** eligible

+for early submission bonuses.

+

+### Course Notes

+

+Accomplishing the assigned tasks represents only part of the educational

+experience. A vital part of learning involve understanding and thinking.

+Writing is perhaps the best tool we have of capturing thought.

+

+In each course, as appropriate, there will be an on-going, weekly

+class-collaborative documentation, in the form of coursenotes or some

+related endeavour where the aim will be to assemble a coherent,

+informative document providing insight what went on in class / improved

+presentation of some class resource.

+

+While collaborative in nature, each individual will be evaluated based on

+number of commits and quantity of content contributed. While class or

+resource topics may vary from week to week, look to contribute at least

+256 words of informative, relevant content for consideration of full

+credit in this category.

+

+### Projects

+

+Projects constitute the portion of your grade involving activities you

+perform in the name of experiencing and demonstrating knowledge in this

+class- the means by which I will be assessing your understanding of the

+material through directed explorations of various topics. Such projects

+may be comprehensive to one another.

+

+In some cases, depending on the situations involved, a project may be

+conducive for group-based collaboration. This is not the default case,

+but is specified on a case-by-case basis. In such scenarios, all involved

+group members should be identified prior to starting on the project.

+Additionally, ALL group members in a collaborative situation must perform

+fairly equivalent work output into the completion of the project.

+Deficient members may experience reduced success.

+

+In accordance with the late policy, projects past their deadline will see

+a late penalty of 33% levied per day. This is to mitigate procrastination

+and encourage better time management, and also to ensure progress

+continues- once we hit the third day, a past due project is no longer

+worth any credit, so it behooves everyone to stay on top of assigned work

+and to complete it by its respective deadline. To clarify, if a project

+is due by the end of Wednesday, it would be 33% late Thursday (1 day

+late), 66% late Friday (2 days late), 100% late once it becomes Saturday

+(3+ days late).

+

+### Participation

+

+Maintaining an ever present effort in your journey with respect to being

+present for class gatherings and making such effort known is an important

+aspect to academic interactions.

+

+For class (no matter the setting), you are to show your effort through

+demonstrating regular interactive activity on lab46 and related class

+resources (discord, repository). Emphasis will be on communications

+taking place with the entire class (the class discord chat).

+

+Participating in class interactions is of significant importance.

+Participation is like the "I care" component of your grade. If you care

+enough to learn and help enhance the experience, you will have no trouble

+here. If you are disruptive or are not putting forth effort, however,

+then it will be duly reflected.

+

+Weekly participation may link directly to overall credit received on

+weekly projects! Do not be silent and in the shadows- ask questions and

+be interactive with the class!

+

+Each week, you have the ability to earn participation credit by

+performing various activities (for some amount of points per week, likely

+reflective of week and progression of semester). The particular **wcp#**

+projects will detail the specific attributes and points available (and

+needed) for a particular week.

+

+I would encourage you to vary your participation activities from week to

+week, especially as no one single activity will eventually be enough to

+cover the entirety of your weekly participation requirements.

+

+If you anticipate missing a class, please notify me in advance. While you

+may still lose applicable participation credit, the advance notice will

+be taken into positive consideration.

+

+### EoCE

+

+As the semester starts wrapping up, the End of Course Experience (EoCE)

+will be released.

+

+Intended as a sort of comprehensive project(s), its aim is to evaluate

+your knowledge gained from the class this semester. Unlike other classes

+which have a "Final Exam", the EoCE is meant to be an EXPERIENCE, and as

+such celebrated across the land. If you're new to my classes, you'll see

+those with prior experience jump for joy at the thought of an EoCE (the

+twitching / convulsing is merely ecstatic joy that is difficult for the

+corporeal body to manifest).

+

+## Submission Guidelines

+

+The following are some guidelines to keep in mind when preparing your

+work for submission. Not all may always be applicable, to each class, or

+even each submission.

+

+### Digital is best

+

+Technology is a wonderful thing. It facilitates many of the tasks we'd

+otherwise have to do manually by hand.

+

+The intent here is to make things easy on both you and me.

+

+So use the technology, and don't just it for the sake of using it-- use

+it to make the task at hand easier (ie use the technology available and

+sanctioned for the course).

+

+With that said, some additional aspects to keep in mind:

+

+ * e-mails were designed to be plain text; don't make them into web pages

+ * e-mails should always have an informative subject line

+ * if you've got non-text files to include in an e-mail, just attach them

+ * you've got many attachments? archive/compress them, attach the archive

+ * plain ASCII text (UTF-8) is preferable over any enriched text format

+

+If appropriate, I also will accept submissions via singing telegram,

+airplane banner, crop circles, creative dance, three part rock aria, etc.

+so long that I get to witness such creativity, and receive something

+which lets me look back on it later (photos, video, transcription on

+paper, etc.). Chances are such unique submissions will gain you favorable

+considerations.

+

+### Identification

+

+Where applicable, be sure to include the following information on any

+submission:

+

+ * Name,

+ * Course and Section,

+ * Due Date,

+ * Assignment # and description,

+ * Short abstract describing the purpose of your program / assignment.

+

+Presentation of this information in a clear and organized fashion will

+make your assignment all the easier to read. You may come up with your

+own format for the display of this information.

+

+Any e-mail submissions should have an appropriate subject line. Please

+use subjects on all e-mails. This is also very important.

+

+Leaving off the subject line is like sending a letter without putting a

+stamp on it-- it causes someone extra work. And that someone would be me.

+So don't do it. Please please please use informative subject lines!

+

+### Paraphrasing

+

+For any provided questions, keywords, etc.: identify each question or

+selection you are answering by listing or paraphrasing the original

+question.

+

+Do not just give me an answer.

+

+This is important. I mean it. You don't know how frustrating it is to get

+an assignment that just has the answers on it. It takes so much longer to

+evaluate.

+

+I reserve the right to deduct points if you don't do this.

+

+### Organization

+

+Keep your programs and assignments organized and easy to read.

+

+Use a uniform writing style. Messy or unorganized submissions will have

+points deducted. Think to yourself: does it look good? Would **you** want

+to read this? Take pride in your work.

+

+These assignments are not just for me to read and grade- you may wish to

+incorporate them into a portfolio for use in the future. Making an

+investment now could pay off later!

+

+### Timeliness

+

+Turn in submissions on time.

+

+Late submissions will be subject to an appropriate penalty. Circumstances

+vary, see the Late Policy for details.

+

+In many cases, where possible, I do accept resubmissions.

+

+### Errors

+

+If you encounter an error while performing some task (and the directions

+do not indicate you should be receiving an error), chances are you made a

+typo. Consult the class chat, ask someone, or contact me.

+

+**NOTE**: Submissions containing answers based on user error will be

+considered incorrect.

+

+### Backups

+

+Be sure to keep a backup copy of all assignments submitted in the event

+something is lost in transmission.

+

+**It is your responsibility to be able to send another copy of your

+submission should the original be lost.**

+

+### Common Sense

+

+Use your own judgment. The world today is increasingly filled with rules

+and policies dictating what you can and cannot do. I am not about to

+go and list all the specifics and restrictions regarding assignment

+submission.

+

+You are here to learn and to grow, and I want to allow you a certain

+amount of flexibility in that process. Spending all your time formatting

+an assignment to my specifications isn't my idea of learning. Incorporate

+these guidelines into your general style, if you miss the mark I'll let

+you know. But focus more on learning and understanding than worrying

+about dotting every 'i' or crossing every 't'. There's enough of that

+elsewhere in the world.

+

+## Late Policy

+

+Sometimes, even though we try our hardest to get everything in on time,

+the spurious Murphy's Law will make an appearance. Your dog ate your

+network cable, a burst of cosmic rays damaged your RAM precisely where

+your work was located... the list goes on.

+

+If something is not submitted by its respective due date (or, heaven

+forbid, the late window), and no advance attempt has been made to

+communicate with me, the assignment will be invalidated of any value.

+

+Bottom line.. if something is going to be late: let me know. It happens,

+just don't make a habit of it. Communication is key.

+

+Unless otherwise specified, past due assignments will lose 33% credit per

+day, rendering them worthless credit-wise after 3 days.

+

+Please do remember most projects are released **at least** one week in

+advance. If you wait until the finals days before the deadline, and

+struggle due to lack of time, that isn't grounds for reconsideration of

+any deadlines or late penalties. Take the whole time, work away slowly at

+it over time, and that will likely lead to far fewer deadline rushes.

+

+### Attendance

+

+Attendance plays an important part in one's educational journey each

+semester. Missing class deprives you of essential knowledge and hinders

+understanding towards your eventual mastering of a topic.

+

+Because we are all here to learn (and if learning isn't a priority, I

+highly suggest you think about making it such), and believe it or not-

+learning isn't just about one person, but the entire group. So it is

+important to be present in order to positively contribute to the learning

+experience.

+

+I also reserve the right to report absent, or highly tardy students in

+the course. In some cases, that could result in being dropped from the

+course. On the same token, I reserve the right NOT to report or do

+anything to such students. Sometimes failure can be the best teacher.

+

+### Behaviour

+

+Should your behaviour in the class be notably and consistently unruly,

+off-topic, or alarming, I have the ability to remove you from the class.

+

+I will likely issue a warning or report (although not necessarily to the

+individual- sometimes an administrative reporting is in order to have

+them resolve the issue) indicating a desire to have you cease the

+particular behaviour, but through continued transgressions, may actually

+elevate to forced removal from the class.

+

+The priority is to the well-being of the class community. I cannot have

+individuals derailing that for their own personal gain or purposes.

+

+## Collaboration

+

+Because this course is open resource (ie book, computer, note, etc.) I

+would like it generally to remain **closed person** and **closed

+intelligence** (the thinking done should be your own, not outsourcing it

+to some artificial entity). The reason for this is that the amount of

+resources available to you are vast, and the goal here is to discover and

+learn the material through individual initiative.

+

+It IS possible to help others without giving away answers.

+

+Respond to questions with a question, give pointers to where information

+might be located in legitimate sources, remind them of the usefulness of

+manuals, and the availability of search engines.

+

+Individuals are allowed and expected, to assist others through the class

+chat **WITHOUT GIVING EXPLICIT ANSWERS**, so long as it does not

+interfere with any other existing circumstance. If group work is required

+on anything, that attribute will be specifically stated.

+

+Explicit copying on or of any class work is forbidden. If any evidence or

+suggestion of non-authentic work is discovered (and I can tell you some

+stories) in your particular direction, you risk both my wrath as well as

+the possibility of disciplinary action by the school. Academic dishonesty

+and plagiarism may be prosecuted under the purview as laid out in the

+school's Academic Honesty Policy, as listed under the Code of Student

+Conduct: Academic Honesty section in the CCC Course Catalog.

+

+So just play it safe and make sure your work is your own, and borrowed

+information is appropriately cited or referenced.

+

+## Pet Peeves

+

+Everyone has their buttons that can be pushed the wrong way. Here are a

+few of mine, that I would prefer not encountering:

+

+The eager, often surface-only desire to destroy things (especially with

+no desire to understand the why behind it all).

+

+The notion that 'old', 'unpopular', 'uncomfortable', or 'different',

+especially in terms of technology or experiences, is somehow bad (there

+are plenty of useful things to learn, for the patterns will often

+remanifest in future technologies down the road)

+

+Apologizing: "sorry I had to ask a question", "sorry I misunderstood",

+"sorry I failed to do that action"; I WANT people to ask questions.

+Questions are based on not fully understanding something. And if your

+actions come up short, apologies only serve to highlight the deficiency.

+The best solution: to fix it and not keep repeating the same mistake.

+There may be things worthy of apologizing for. For most incidents of

+apology I encounter related to classes, such is irrelevant. If you feel

+you are in the wrong for asking a question, you're doing this whole

+learning thing wrong.

+

+Overhelping "the weakest link"; a somewhat modern trend, where I see

+woefully unprepared/unready individuals overly assisted through the

+course (where the intent is to save them from failing). This is but a

+short-term perspective, contributing to their long-term failure.

+

+Opting out of things that seem overwhelming, yet somehow expecting things

+will get better as time goes on.

+

+The desire to impress me-- impressing comes by being impressive, not

+selling an act to me (in short, don't try to impress me, just do your

+best work, and have me be impressed by how impressive it naturally is).

+

+Avoiding the developing/strengthening your own memory and recall, and

+relying on others (including the instructor) to be your memory.

+

+The obsession over and recitation of hardware specs-- this has nothing to

+do with computing, yet many mistakenly believe it to be such (a small

+aspect of IT and an occasionally fun hobby? sure.)

+

+The compensation for lack of knowledge by clinging tightly to (perceived)

+known knowledge-- I expect everyone not to know things; knowing we don't

+know enables us to learn.

+

+The avoiding of questions out of fear they may not be worthy of asking--

+how else can I know where you are if you don't ask?

+

+The asking for the answer as if it were a question, to avoid thinking or

+doing the work yourself. Questions are the a result of your thinking, not

+"I don't know, so tell me?", or the worst (literally): "What do I need to

+do in order to get an A/full credit?"

+

+The absolute belief that if I say something then it is the truth (same

+for the inverse, converse, contrapositive, etc.)-- being open-minded and

+questioning is one of the greatest abilities we can have. Society trains

+you to be compliant with external authority at the expense of your own;

+to be educated and intelligent, in part, means you have cultivated your

+own self-authority so you can make your own decisions.

+

+The impression that if something is said frequently or confidently

+enough, then it must be true, and that makes someone an "expert" who

+should be believed, followed, and unquestioned.

+

+The tendency to brute force through something instead of trying to think

+or learn new approaches-- memorizing and regurgitation will often not

+work out in your favour here (or greatly annoy me).

+

+Being tangibly obsessed with knowing your exact grade, while being

+uninformed about the process of calculating it yourself from available

+information.

+

+Complaining upstream about me/my class without actually bringing issues

+to me first to address.

+

+Destroying context in asynchronous communications (ie deleting Discord

+messages after making a post, asking a question, and getting some sort of

+resolution): this makes it entirely unhelpful for others to also benefit,

+and leaves gaping holes in the existing conversation. Please do not

+delete your Discord messages after getting a response.

+

+Using AI, and failing to distinguish between your own skills and

+knowledge, and what AI is able to produce, treating them as one and the

+same. As I've said elsewhere, at this level, you should be avoiding

+flagrant AI use, as it can become a fatal crutch, stagnating your

+abilities.

+

+## Rules for Success

+

+For maximum success in the class, please adhere to the following rules:

+

+ * start on activities early

+ * observe/study, read/intuit, and comprehend the subject matter

+ * play/tinker/experiment with the subject matter (external to projects)

+ * ask well-informed and copious questions

+

+Struggle and problems in the course almost immediately arise when one

+fails to follow one or more of these guidelines.

+

+## Documentation

+

+The following criteria should be kept in mind when contributing content

+to collaborative documentation, the course notes, and any pertinent

+class-related communications:

+

+ * Never use a form of a word in its own definition

+ * Use external hyperlinks only as citations

+ * Content first, then formatting

+ * There is only one empire- ours

+ * Contribute only original content

+ * Paraphrase and cite existing information

+ * Do NOT blatantly copy existing information

+ * A healthy resource is an active resource

+ * Do not focus on just your contributions

+ * Mistakes are opportunities for future contributions

+

+## Topics

+

+The following is a list of the major topics being covered in this course:

+

+ * von Neumann vs. Harvard architecture

+ * Fetch-Execute Cycle

+ * Binary and Hexadecimal Number Representation

+ * Processor & Memory Organization

+ * Registers (General Purpose/Integer, Floating Pointer, Accumulator, Data)

+ * Registers (Stack Pointer, Program Counter, Flag/Status)

+ * Registers (Index/Pointer)

+ * Instruction Sets (CISC, RISC)

+ * Boolean Arithmetic Operations (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division)

+ * Logic Operations (AND, OR, XOR)

+ * Negated Logic Operations (NOT, NAND, NOR, XNOR)

+ * Data Instructions (Data Movement, Address Movement, Data Conversion, Bit Manipulation)

+ * Control and Data Flow

+ * Subroutines (Calling, Return Address)

+ * Storage

+ * Machine Word

+ * Stack Operations

+ * Data Representation (Big Endian, Little Endian, Size, Integer, Floating Point, ASCII)

+ * Data Representation (Sign Representation, One's Complement, Two's Complement)

+ * Linking, Object and Machine Code

+ * I/O

+ * Interrupts

+ * Address Bus

+ * Data Bus

+

+## Student Understanding and Agreement of Syllabus Terms

+

+By reading through this document, participating in the class chat,

+utilizing class resources, and performing the various class activities

+and projects, you understand and consent:

+

+ * to the rules, policies governing your status as a student at SUNY CCC.

+ * to the structure, policies, and nature of the course as laid out here.

+ * to having an adequate understanding of course prerequisite knowledge.

+ * to maintain a respectful, inquisitive, well-behaved, and learning-oriented focus as you participate and go through the course.

+ * to practice (and further cultivate, as needed) the fundamental aspects of a student taking this course, which includes being able and willing:

+ * to read, comprehend and work with the material and information inherent to the course.

+ * to write and express your thoughts in coherent, descriptive sentences.

+ * willing to analyze, problem solve, debug, troubleshoot, ideate, creatively, and logically/rationally think.

+ * willing to compute and transact in number concepts (literal, symbolic or abstract) and any related units in their various processes.

+ * to, upon facing uncertainty, confusion, or lack of understanding, will ask copious, well-informed, and well-intending questions to clarify your state of understanding.

+ * if cause for issue rises, you will bring it to my attention so that it may be best addressed as locally and pertinently as possible to the course and its educational environment.

+ * participate in the course with a focus on curiosity, discovering, exploring, learning, and understanding.

+ * starting early on deliverables so that ample time is available for discovering, exploring, learning, and asking any questions as needed.

+ * that, as a student, a genuine learning experience necessarily involves some level of unfamiliarity, which may invoke discomfort.

+ * that your learning and the nature of the course is an inherently asynchronous thing. It is your responsibility to manage your time, so that you can have adequate time to ask questions and accomplish your own tasks.

+# fall2026/cprog

+

+# CSCS1320 C/C++ Programming

+

+## Syllabus / Course Homepage

+

+| Instructor: | Matthew Haas (haas@corning-cc.edu) |

+| Office: | `CHM123` |

+| Office Hours: | `T 10:30a-11:35a`, `W 02:00p-02:55p`, `R 10:30a-01:30p` |

+| Class Meeting: | CHM123 W 03:00p-04:50p |

+| Class DESIG: | `cprog` |

+| Class Chat: | `#cprog` on discord |

+| Public Directory: | `/var/public/fall2026/CPROG` |

+| CRN: | `14639` |

+| '`W`' Drop Date: | November 1, 2026 |

+| ----------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |

+| DISCORD invite: | [https://discord.gg/8eu3nKjUXX](https://discord.gg/8eu3nKjUXX) |

+| Projects page: | [https://lab46.g7n.org/haas/fall2026/cprog/projects.md](https://lab46.g7n.org/haas/fall2026/cprog/projects.md) |

+| CCC Syllabus Statements: | [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wAr6S3_1K26iuoQhuIxD-SkpxC8XAPclkDLzBE6maCk/](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wAr6S3_1K26iuoQhuIxD-SkpxC8XAPclkDLzBE6maCk/) |

+

+## Table of Contents