CSCI 103 - Spring 2024 Introduction to Programming

Final Info

Overview and Process

For Spring 2024, we will be moving the final exam for CS 103 to an ONLINE, remote exam. However, it is NOT optional, but must be taken at the scheduled time.

Exact details are still being worked out, but here are the details and policies you need to follow.

1. The exam will be administered on Gradescope starting at 4:30 p.m Pacific. on Tuesday, May 7th, and will still be multiple choice. Login to Gradescope (using the links on our Blackboard section) a few minutes beforehand and at 4:30 p.m. you can refresh and the exam should be available.
2. It will be shorter (likely under 45 min to complete). I’ll announce the exact time soon.
3. Everyone must login via this Zoom link with your camera on during the entire exam and your face must be visible as you take the exam as we will track attendance.
4. You can take the exam from anywhere: dorm, library, home, etc.
5. Students with appointments at OSAS can honor those and take it at the testing center at the start time you scheduled (but bring your laptop) ..OR.. you may take it at an alternate location. Again, if you take it at OSAS, please bring your laptop.
6. You may reference our CS 103 course slides and notes you may have taken or prepared ahead of time. But that is all.
7. You may NOT use:
   • Input or guidance from any other humans or AI-bots
   • Outside editors (VSCode, CLion, etc),
   • Generative AI (like chatGPT), etc.
   • websites (Stackoverflow, cplusplus.com, etc.),
   • Codio

• Date/Time: Tues, May 7th at 4:30 PM Pacific Pacific
• Questions: Any questions about the content of the exam (clarification, etc.) should be asked on EdStem (and not by raising your hand) to avoid disrupting your neighbors.

Topics

The following is the list of topics that you should be familiar with. Use it as a guide to help your studying.

Unit 3a

• Basic objects (structs)
• Assignment of objects
• . and -> operators
• Use of getline()
• Checking an input stream for failure
• Using C++ string class

Unit 3b

• Defining your own classes
• public vs. private
• Constructors and Destructors and when they execute
• Defining member functions
• Splitting your class into files

Unit 4a

• Linked Lists
• Implementing basic operations (push, pop to front, middle, or back)
• Efficiency of various operations given variations of their implementation (with or without tail pointer, etc)
• Pros and cons compared to arrays

Unit 4b

• vector<T> and deque<T> basic operation
• Efficiency of their operations

Unit 4c

• Doubly linked lists
• deque<T> class
• Implementing basic operations
• Efficiency of various operations given variations of their implementation (with or without tail pointer, etc)

Unit 4d

• Multidimensional arrays
• Memory layout of a multidimensional arrays
• Passing multidimensional arrays to functions

Unit 4e

• syntax and use
• advantages of passing by reference
• const references

Unit 4f

• Checking for failure when opening a file
• Using C++ ifstream and ofstream classes for File I/O
• Checking for failure when attempting to receive input (extract a value from the stream)

Unit 5a - Operator Overloading

• Understanding the two approaches (Global vs. Member functions) and when to use each
• The signature of various operator overloads (arithmetic, comparison, etc.)
• friend functions
• operator<< function signature and implementation

Unit 5b - Copy Semantics

• Copy constructors
• Assignment operators
• When each is called
• “Gotchas” that the assignment operator should handle
• Rule of 3

Unit 5c - Class Details

• Default vs. Initializing constructors
• Constructor Initialization Lists
• const keyword

Unit 5d - Inheritance

• Base class constructor and destructor calls
• protected keyword
• public vs. private inheritance
• Composition vs. Inheritance
• Calling base class overloaded functions

Unit 5e - Polymorphism

• Static vs. Dynamic binding (virtual vs. non-virtual)
• pure virtual functions and abstract classes
• need for virtual destructors

Unit 5f - Parsing and Streams

• operator>> and getline()
• When do input streams fail (fail())
• Correct approaches for how and when to check for failure
• stringstreams

Unit 5g - Exceptions

• throw keyword
• try/catch block
• ordering of catch blocks
• stack unwinding (exceptions propagating to calling functions)
• exceptions and inheritance

Unit 5h - File I/O Part 2 - Not covered in Spring 23

• get() and peek()
• seekg() and tellg()

Unit 6a - Recursion

• Tracing of recursive functions

Topics from MT1 and MT2 are potential supporting material (you need to still understand pointers, linked lists, etc.)

Be sure you are very comfortable with:

• Pointers
• C-strings and pointers to C-strings. Arrays of char*’s (like argv[])
• Linked lists (single- and doubly-linked)
• vector<> and deque<>
• Operator overloading (when to use global vs. class member functions, use of friend, etc.)
• Deep copy semantics (copy constructor / assignment operator)
• Inheritance and Polymorphism
• Streams and parsing with >> and getline(), using stringstreams, and knowing when a stream will fail.

Practice Final on Gradescope

• Will be done in our last lab meeting.
• Gradescope Solutions
• Coding problems are on Codoi and solutions are in that assignment.

Other Selected Practice Problems

• Sp24 Final Practice
• Sp24 Final Practice Solutions

Older Practice Problems

• Fall 2017 Final Exam
  • No solutions / crowdsource your answer or come to office hours.
• Fall 2016 Final Exam
  • No solutions / crowdsource your answer or come to office hours.
• Spring 2015 Final Exam
  • Solutions
• Fall 2014 Final Exam
  • Solutions
• Older Fall 2014 Practice Problems