CPSC 231: Mini-Assignment 4
Due at 4 PM. For assignment due dates see the [main
schedule] on
the course webpage.
New Concepts to be applied for the assignment
- Defining classes, declaring references,
creating objects and calling methods
- Splitting a program into multiple
files/module
- If you want credit for your work: Do not
use any pre-created functions/methods unless you are given explicit
permission to do so. [Generic
list of allowable pre-created code in the form of python libraries].
Additional functions/methods allowed for this assignment: len, append
Only new concepts that need to be applied in the assignment are
listed, concepts previously applied in other assignments may need to used in the
implementation of your solution.
Functional requirements
Your program must consist of two classes (as described below). Aside from the 'start()'
function you are not to define any other functions for this assignment. If you
do implement other functions or methods then you will receive few, if any, marks
for features listed below. Make sure you use the same method names specified.
Also to make it easier to mark ensure that your method carries out the
prescribed tasks exactly as specified (so the the person knows precisely
what results should come out at what times).
Details
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Attributes: name (String),
and health (int)
(0.5
GPA)
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- A no argument constructor that sets
the name and health attributes to the following default starting
values ("nameless" for the name and -1 for the health
(0.8
GPA)
- A 'gainLevel()' method that displays a message onscreen
("Congratulations!") and increases health by 5.
(0.8
GPA)
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- Declares a reference to an Adventurer and calls the default
constructor.
(0.3
GPA)
- Displays the health and name of the adventurer, the default
values appear.
(0.5
GPA)
- Sets the name of the adventurer to 'Balin'.
(0.3
GPA)
- Calls the 'gainLevel()' method of the adventurer.
(0.3
GPA)
- Displays the health and name of the adventurer, the new values
should appear 'Balin' and and a non-default value for the health
(increased by 5 over the default).
(0.5
GPA)
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How to do determine 'how you did' on
an assignment? (Short answer: you can thoroughly test your program and become
familiar with non-functional requirements)
Program functionality (implementing working
program features)
-
Test your program: Because the
assignment description (along with required features) is posted ahead of
time if you test your program thoroughly before submitting the final
version then you should get a pretty clear idea of "how you will do".
Style and documentation (non-functional assignment requirements)
- To keep the marker's workload reasonable and to reduce marking time
unless otherwise specified in the description these things will not
factor into the grading of mini-assignments.
Although it won't affect your grade for mini-assignments you should still
practice applying good style in your solution as well as writing
documentation. It will keep your skills for the full assignments (when you will
be graded on these things) and get you used to having good habits.
- Naming conventions: You should employ
good naming conventions for identifiers (variables and constants) as covered
in the "Introduction to programming" section of the course.
-
Your file must be specifically
named as specified under the specific point [Naming
the file] under the "Marking and grading" heading.
- Named constants should be used as
appropriate.
- Python documentation: This should be
specified in the header of the program (very top of your program in the form
of Python documentation). The basics of documentation were covered in the
"Intro to programming" section of the course. Later sections may include
additional details.
- Identifying
information:
All assignments should include contact information (full name, student
ID number and tutorial section [Here's
a Link
if you don't know how to find this information])
at the very top of your program.
- Program version.
(version date or version number).
- Under the
version you should specify which assignment features were
implemented in that version. An example covering the use of program
versioning and documentation was covered in the "Introduction to
programming" lectures.
-
Any program limitations or weaknesses.
- In general: The program output and the
program code itself (python program) must be properly aligned and formatted
including whitespace as needed to group related parts and separate sections
(which again was covered in the "Intro to programming" lectures of the
course. Additional requirements in the formatting of output may be included
in the ["Functional
requirements"] section of the assignment.
- Finally your program should follow
the 5 rules of thumb for designing software (Jakob
Nielsen's 10 usability heuristics)
which were included at the notes on 'Repetition' e.g. prompts to the user to
enter the required information should be clear to the user as to what is
required, good error messages should be provided for erroneous input etc.
Questions or concerns about grades after they have been released:
Assignments will be marked by your tutorial instructor (the "Teaching
Assistant" or "TA") for your
tutorial section. When you see your assignment grades the marker is the
person should be directing your questions towards.
If
you still have question after you have talked to your TA, then you can of
course talk to your course
(lecture) instructor but please indicate in your
email that you first contacted your TA before going into your concerns.
If you don't know which tutorial section you are officially registered in
then you can find this information in the Student Center in the [PeopleSoft
university portal].
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How you will be graded
for mini assignments.
Since the grading for mini-assignments is often simple
(unlike full assignments a separate grading spreadsheet is not needed)
you can find feedback, when it's applicable, in D2L under Assessments->Dropbox and
then clicking on the appropriate assignment link.
Collaboration:
Assignments must reflect individual work;
group work is not allowed in this class nor can you copy the work of others.
Some "do nots" for your solution: don't publically
post it, don't email it out, don't show it to other students;
don't even verbally discuss solutions to any graded work (i.e. you can't do this
in an exam so you can't do this for assignments).
And unless otherwise told you should not use program code for other sources
(which include but aren't limited to: tutors, artificial intelligence programs
such as ChatGPT). For more detailed information as to what constitutes academic
misconduct (i.e., cheating) for this course please read the following [link].
Method of submission:
Reminder: You are to submit your assignment using D2L [help
link].
Make sure that you [check
the contents of your submitted files]
(e.g., is the file okay or was it corrupted, is it the correct version, it
is the correct file
etc.). It's your responsibility to do this! (Make sure that you submit your
assignment with enough time before it comes due for you to do a check). If
don't check and there were problems with the submission then you should not
expect that you can "learn your lesson" and simply resubmit. Whatever
you submitted into D2L by the final due date is what will be marked.
-
Do not use compression utilities (such as zip) or archiving utilities
(such as tar) otherwise your submission may not be marked. The space savings
in D2L is not worth the extra time required by the marker to process each
submission.
-
How often can you submit: Multiple
submissions are allowed for this assignment: You can (and really should)
submit work as many times as you wish before the due date. However
only the latest file submitted is the one that will be marked, everything
else will be ignored (because it is not fair to your marker to sort through
multiple versions of your files).
-
What to submit: Python programs only (file name ends in .py)
Any other type of file will be rejected by D2L.
Late
submissions for full assignments when there is no extension granted: Make
sure you give yourself enough time to complete the submission process so
you don't get cut off by D2L's deadline (or your submission will be
automatically flagged as late by D2L and it will be graded appropriately)..
Submission received: |
On time |
Hours late : >0 and <=24 |
Hours
late: >24
and <=48 |
Penalty: |
None |
-1 GPA |
-No
credit (not accepted) |
Unless otherwise told you
are to write the code yourself and not use any pre-created functions (or
methods). For most assignments the usual acceptable functions include: print(), input() and
the 'conversion' functions such as int(), float(), str().
In
addition you use functions or methods with text formatting capabilities such as
'format()'
or the 'write()'
method of the 'sys'
library module. You
can use any method that you wish (e.g. using format specifiers or the 'format'
method) to set the precision for the output. Look at the particular assignment description for a list of other
functions/methods that you are allowed to use and still get credit in an
assignment submission. If it's not listed then you should assume that you won't
be able use the function and still be awarded credit.