Lecture 17

Announcements

Test Review

Test 1 is held during normal class meeting time. It is 50 minutes long (even if you are in 1111).

LNEC and excused absences should already know about their arrangements. If you do not, contact LNEC or your professor immediately!

Test 1 Review Sheet

Topics

• General Points
  • There will be a coding question; problem solving will be involved.
  • You should be able to read code and interpret what it is doing.
  • The test is 50 minutes long (both 1110 and 1111).
• Not on the test
  • The encryption chase itself is not on the test.
  • File writing is not on the test (but file reading is fair game).
  • Arrays are not on the test.
  • Parts of Java we explored only through Turtle are not on the test (e.g., writing methods is not on the test)
  • You do not have to know what to import to get access to various classes.
• CS in General
  • Where do we see computers in the world?
  • What is ambiguity? What has that got to do with CS?
  • Why is it important for people to have a basic understanding of computing?
• Parts of a Program: be able to identify, write, and know where to place
  • import statements (assuming we tell you what to import)
  • class declarations
  • the main method header
  • { }, ( ), ;, and .
• Primitives and Types
  • Know in general all 8 primitive types
  • Know in detail the 3 main ones (int, double, char) since you'll be coding with them
  • Know how casting works (i.e., how to turn a double into an int)
  • Know the operators, including %, +=, ++, how / differs for ints and doubles, and the various comparison and boolean operators (!, &&, and ||)
  • Know how to declare a variable and change what is inside it
  • Know how to use the Math library methods Math.pow, Math.sqrt, and Math.random
• Using objects
  • Know that all types other than the 8 primitives are objects
  • Know to use .equals() on objects, not ==
  • Know how to make a new object of a given type
  • Know how to invoke a method (i.e., . and ())
  • Know the basic String methods (charAt, substring, indexOf, replace)
  • Know the basic Scanner methods (the various next____ and hasNext____)
• Decision structures
  • Know how to write if, if-else, and if-elseif-else statements
  • Know how to interpret code that uses if, if-else, and if-elseif-else statements, including ifs inside of other ifs
  • Know how scope works: a variable declared inside a block vanishes when that block closes
  • Know in general what a switch statement is
• Loops
  • Know how to write while and for loops
  • Know how to read code that uses do-while, while, and for loops, including loops inside of loops.
  • Know how to write a loop that repeats something a given number of times and a loop that reads all of the available input from a Scanner.

Studying for the Test

1. Practice coding without using Eclipse.

   You'll be writing code on paper. This feels different than writing it in Eclipse. You don't want to be surprised by how different it feels. Practice writing code by hand.

   A few small syntax errors is OK. But if you are really off we will take off points. Try to write correct code

   We'll usually give you the basic wrapper and have you fill in the rest. For example, we might give you this:

   import java.util.Scanner;
   
   public class Question2 {
       public static void main(String[] args) {
   

       (we'll leave space here for you to write)

       }                                       
   }

   Try re-solving the homework problems on paper without looking at your code or textbook.

   You can find more sample problems in Programming Challenges in the textbook; try, for example, chapter 3's problems 8, 12, 15, and 16; and chapter 4's problems 2, 7, 8, 9, and 16.

   Also remember that speed matters. 50 minutes is not a long time.

2. Reading programs: we'll show you code and ask you what it does. You won't be able to have Java run it. Practice thinking through code without running it.
3. Review the Lecture Notes: Not everything in the book is equally important. Review the lecture notes to see what we emphasized. If you are confused by some point, check the podcast.