Computer Science for the Sciences
Welcome to the course web site for the Winter 2012 offering of CSC120H, Computer Science for the Sciences.
Course description
An introduction to computer science for students in other sciences, with an emphasis on gaining practical skills. Introduction to programming; web programming; database design; software tools; examples and exercises taken from the sciences. At the end of this course you will be able to develop computer tools for scientific applications, such as the structuring and analysis of experimental data. Practical (P) sections consist of supervised work in the computer laboratory. No programming experience is necessary.
The course is delivered through two lecture hours a week and labs. The labs are two hours long and take place every other week.
Instructor's contact information
| Instructor | Office | Office Hours | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Clarke | clarke@cs.utoronto.ca | Bahen 4258 | Monday 5-6 |
If the office hours are difficult for you to attend, please send email to request alternative arrangements.
Course information sheet
Here is the course information sheet.
You need to know …
These items will also appear in the course bulletin board.
- The Thursday lab has been moved to Bahen 3195. This room is right beside the original room, BA 3185.
-
To make life a little easier if you added the course
after the first week of classes,
the first item in the grading scheme has been changed.
It was: Best 10 of 11 CodeLab exercises: 5%
It is now: Best 9 of 11 CodeLab exercises: 5%
That is, the total weight of the exercises hasn't changed, and the number of exercises hasn't changed, but you only need to complete 9 of them, instead of 10.
This is the only accommodation for missing a CodeLab exercise because of enrolling after the course had started. There is no change to the posted course information sheet, because it is an official document that was handed out and submitted to the Department of Computer Science during the first week of classes.
Doing your work
You will submit your assignments and do most or all of their preparation using the Computing Disciplines Facility (CDF), which provides computing support for Computer Science courses. Your labs will also take place at CDF.
Here is a list of CDF's labs (with the closed lab rooms listed in bold): BA2200, BA2210, BA2220, BA2240, BA3175, BA3185, BA3195, and BA3200, the "Great Hall". There is also a lab in the Gerstein Science Information Centre (at the Sigmund Samuel Library, 7 Kings College Circle) in room 236 at the north end of the second floor. To unlock a lab door, swipe your T-Card through the card reader installed outside the door. (You can also use your T-Card to get into the Bahen Centre building itself.)
Assignment submission
All assignments are to be handed in electronically. Here are the instructions on how to submit electronically.
Help Centre
The Department of Computer Science has a Help Centre with TAs who are able to help you with this courses (as with many others). It's open Monday to Thursday from 4-6pm and is located in BA2270. The web site is http://web.cs.toronto.edu/program/ugrad/ug_helpcentre.htm.
Discussion Board
You can use the course discussion board for questions about assignments, tests, labs, etc. (It's not appropriate for questions about your personal situation, which should go by email to the instructor.) The web site is https://csc.cdf.toronto.edu/bb/YaBB.pl.