General Information

• Instructor: Ilia Vovsha (iv2121 at columbia dot edu)
  
• Office Hours: Fri 1:00-2:00pm (TA room, Mudd 122A), Mon 3:00-4:00pm (email to notify) (10/21 - 12/9).
  
• Lecture: Monday 4:10-6:00pm (10/21 - 12/2).
  
• Classroom: 224 Pupin Laboratories
  


• TA: Rogers Jeffrey Leo John (rl2689 at columbia dot edu)
  
• TA Office Hours: Mon & Wed 10:00-11:00am (TA room, Mudd 122A)
  

Introduction

Course Description:
Perl was developed as a general-purpose scripting language to make report processing easier. It gained popularity in the late 90s, and is now used for every conceivable task from natural language processing to graphics. This course covers the basics of the language: data structures, operators, control flow, subroutines and I/O. It also introduces use of regular expressions and other string manipulation techniques, as well as modules.

Recommended Text: Programming Perl (3rd Edition), Larry Wall, Tom Christiansen, John Orwant
The online documention is quite satisfactory on its own, therefore the book is recommended, not required. But it is a good reference, if you need one.

Useful Links:

• Perl Documentation Homepage
  
• Perl Modules Archive (code repository)
  

Requirements

• Access to Perl. The Cunix machine (cunix.cc.columbia.edu) has Perl v 5.8.7 installed.
  To access the machine type 'ssh your_uni@cunix.cc.columbia.edu' at your terminal/shell/telnet and enter your UNI password.
  Alternatively, there are computer labs on campus where you can use your CS account to access perl, or you can download and install perl from the perl homepage online.
  
• Access to courseworks for homework and grades.
  
• No textbook is required, but you are encouraged to consult the references mentioned above.
  
• Some programming experience is useful, but not required.
  

Lectures

This is a rough (ordered) list of topics that will be covered in this class:

• Variables, types and operators.
  
• Statements, control flow.
  
• File input/output.
  
• Subroutines, pattern matching.
  
• References, data structures.
  
• Modules.
  

• Lecture 1 (Oct. 21)
  
• Lecture 2 (Oct. 28)
  
• Lecture 3 (Nov. 11)
  
• Lecture 4 (Nov. 18)
  
• Lecture 5 (Nov. 25)
  
• Lecture 6 (Dec. 2)
  

Homework

Instructions:

• Due at the beginning of class, 50% penalty if late. No exceptions.
  
• However, if you wish, you can do the extra HW and replace your lowest grade with the grade you receive. WARNING: extra HW is as difficult as HW4.
  
• Place your code and any additional files into a folder, and name it 'youruni_hw#' (e.g. iv2121_hw1).
  
• Upload the zipped folder to courseworks (assignments folder) before the due date (4:00pm on Monday).
  

• HW#1   article.txt   (Due: Nov. 4)
  
• HW#2   game.txt   acn.pdf   (Due: Nov. 18)
  
• HW#3   uefa.txt   (Due: Nov. 25)
  
• HW#4   testbank.pl   (Due: Dec. 2)
  
• Extra HW (Optional, Due: Dec. 9)
  

• HW#1:   hw1.pl
  
• HW#2:   extract_mta.pl,   pn_norm.pl,   chess_moves.pl
  
• HW#3:   cup_match.pl,   file_list.pl
  
• HW#4:   BasicMath.pm,   Bank.pm,   BankAccount.pm
  

Final Project

Instructions:

• The project has two parts. Part 1 (write-up) is due December 5th, 4:00pm. Part 2 (implementation, updated write-up) is due by December 12th, 11:59pm.
  
• Late submissions (write-up or implementation) will not be accepted. No exceptions.
  
• Place your code and any additional files into a folder, and name it 'youruni_project' (e.g. iv2121_project).
  
• Upload the zipped folder to courseworks (assignments folder) before the due date.
  
• You will receive an email with your grade and comments. If you submit your project early, it will be graded earlier.
  

Grading

Homeworks: (4 x 15% = 60% of grade)

Project: (40% of grade)

Grading Policy: Homeworks are due on Mondays by 4:00pm. Late submissions will be penalized by 50%. Late projects will not be accepted.