Category Archives: Computer Science

So, you want to Skip CS II

It is very rare that I recommend anyone skip from the Intro class, the easiest CS class,  to SUPA, the hardest CS class , without the foundation that we build in Computer Science II.

The path to skipping

If you  really want to try to skip CS II, the path would be to complete the online component of CS II curriculum during the school year and to then sit down with me for an interview. If I am satisfied that you are ready to skip CS II, I will then make the recommendation.

Much, though not all, of the CS II curriculum is online and so can be completed at a student’s convenience.

Please know, that most of the students who have followed this path and who found the Intro to CS class too easy and who then skipped into SUPA have ended up regretting this and, more often than not, they have had to drop the SUPA class.

Ask yourself– Would you skip Calculus I and instead jump right to Calculus II?

Probably not.

And it’s not much different here;  while it has been done,  for the most part it has only been successfully pulled off by students who are “hardcore” programmers and who have voluminous experience coding outside the classroom. Kids who have made their own apps and learned how to do real programming on their own.

Now, if that describes you and you have made real apps that you can show, then maybe this is the right move, but otherwise, this jump almost never is.

So, what students should do is this – Have your guidance counsellor sign you up for CS II for next year.   If you complete the online  part of the CS II curriculum, by June, then we can sit down and I will have an assessment of your readiness to make this radical jump.

Mini Open Ended Project

Normally we dedicate an entire quarter to a project. We will instead be dedicating about 2/3 of the quarter.

The parameters are similar but not quite so grand in scope. To get an A, you must create a complex web product . This could be a single interactive application or multiple pages . Simple ideas to get to that point include:

  • a multipage form validation product
    • Multiple pages like the login form
      • validate other things – maybe credit cards
  • A to do list that uses jQuery for animation
  • a game that uses Phaser.io ( not trivial,  but fun)
  • Learn php and mysql to create a simple login system. This would only be for those of you who have been able to successfully setup apache, mysql –probably only the windows users.

Ways to add complexity:

  • include loops
  • include arrays
  • include a 3rd party javascript library like jQuery, Vue  etc..
  • I know  jQuery or undescore , if you want something where I can add somequick tidbits when you’re stuck

 

Everybody must use git and have at least 20 commits over the span of the rest of the quarter.

 

Examples of finished product and grades:

  1. Advanced Form Validation
    • credit card validation using luhn algorithm
    • registration page
      • email
      • password
      • confirm password
      • gender
      • etc..
  2. 1-3 calculators. The # should depend on the complexity
  3. 2 or 3 pages that involve form validation
    • Example : https://directpay.irs.gov/directpay/payment?execution=e1s2
    • Maybe not the most fun but closes to what we have done in class
  4. Come up with something that you want to do and make it happen.

Mr Morris, I just want to pass.

  • then, do a multi page layout that makes use of foundation instead of bootstrap. Foundation is a similar css  framework, No javascript needed but grade ceiling will be low.

Phaser 3 Links

Phaser

http://phaser.io/learn/  ( Where you should start)

Medium To Advanced Level Links (not to start, but once you have a clue)

  • Emmanuele Feronato – amazing blog about game dev and lots of phaser stuff here .
  • Ourcade Co – great, albeit advanced and very professional, tutorials/tips on phaser dev – here .

Great YouTube Videos

  • Zeneva
    • https://youtu.be/hI_LS8bdkM4 – Setting up Phaser, local server, files, creating scenes . Does not use Classes so easier for most to understand

Prior Projects: https://mrmonline.org/supa-2019-games/

Bootstrap Presentation

Deliverables:

  1. PPT highlight and explaining the most important parts, screenshots showing the code, and what it does ( ie. a screenshot also from the web page)
  2. Have HTML files ready to share demonstrating the code.

I have been asked “How many examples should I have”?

And there is no one answer. You should convey the “major important” aspects. Absolute bare minimum is 5 code examples but there is no need to kill us with redundant code that only has small changes.

 

 

Your First Git – Tips

 

  1. setting up your name and email:
  2.  bat file to automatically change directory and run git status

Create a new  text file and add the code below. Then rename the file  so that is a batch file. (ie. that its file extension is “.bat” instead of .txt) .