CSE 134A Project 2: Submission Instructions

(Written by Greg Hamerly.)  Please read and follow very carefully the following submission instructions for Project 2.  Failure to do so will probably cost the graders time, and cost you points.

The report for Project 2 is due Monday, October 22nd at the beginning of class.  Your software must be submitted by 8am Wednesday, given the two extensions.  Here are some notes on what to turn in, and how to do it.

What to turn in

Project report

The project report is to be handed in hard-copy, per Professor Elkan's instructions in class. Directions: 
  • 5-6 pages, printed well on good paper (8.5" by 11")
  • Stapled with one staple, not bound in any way
  • Attach your team self-evaluation form at the back
  • Other appendices are not required.

Source code and testing

Some important reminders for your PHP and HTML source: 
  • You should comment your code thoroughly, describing what each portion of code does, not just how it functions. Avoid trite comments such as "end for loop". Comment anything that may be unclear.
  • Error checking. Your code should handle errors gracefully, not just exit the script if something bad happens.
  • Your source code should be clear. This means that the structure should reflect a thoughtful design, and be formatted well. This also means code should be concise. Your well-named variables should indicate clearly what they are used for.
  • Your source code should be modular. You should write functions to do common tasks. You should re-use existing PHP functions as much as possible. You should break up code into separate files when appropriate, but not too much -- also aim for conciseness. 
See the treatise C++ programming style by Scott Anderson.

README

You should turn in a file called "README" with your source code. The README file should contain at least: 
  • The names and email addresses of your group members.
  • The URL where we can test your project.
  • Any notes you want to make on the rest of the files you turn in. Your names, email addresses, and URL should also be easy to find in your report. 

A minimal example README


Course: CSE 134A
Project: 2
Members:
    Frank Wright (fwright@ieng9.ucsd.edu)
    David Schoengold (dschoeng@ucsd.edu)
    Lindsay Walker (lwalker@ieng9.ucsd.edu)

Please see the following URL where our project may be tested:
http://ieng9.ucsd.edu/php-cs134f/fwright/proj2/webboard.php

The files we have turned in are:
    webboard.php -- our primary script
    functions.php -- a library of functions we include in the other files (database connectivity, message printing, user handling)
    ourtables.sql -- a description of the tables we used in our project

 

How to submit your files

Project report

As noted above, please turn in your project report in class on Monday, October 22nd.

Source code and README

Your source code and README files should be turned in using the following instructions: 
  1. Log in to ieng9.ucsd.edu
  2. create a TAR file containing everything you wish to submit (php files, html files, and README)
    1. go to the directory containing all the files you wish to submit (for example, "cd project2")
    2. to create the tar file "project2.tar", use the command "tar -cvf project2.tar file1 file2 file3..."
    3. verify that all your files are in the tar file with "tar -tvf project2.tar"
  3. submit your tar file with "turnin -c cs134f -p project2 project2.tar "

Notes on the "turnin" program

The turnin program expects only one argument: the file name you want to submit. However, you should also provide the project name with the option "-p project2". This makes it easier for the graders to know that your submission is actually for project 2.  (The turnin program also can take the "-c" option, which identifies which course your file should be submitted to.)

You may submit the same project multiple times (until the deadline). However, to make it easier on the graders you must always submit with the same command-line options.

The turnin program can take only one file to submit, which is why you must create a TAR file, i.e. one file that contains several others.

Notes on file names

Turnin does not care what you name the file you are submitting. It changes the name of your file to "username.project" where "username" is your user id (such as "ghamerly"), and "project" is the argument supplied with the "-p" option. So if you re-submit with a different file name, you don't need to worry about submitting files with the same name.

An example:  If I submit a file with "turnin -p project2 -c cs134f project2.tar", then the turnin program will create a file called "ghamerly.project2" in the submission directory.
 
If you have any questions, first read over these instructions again. Then if you still have questions, email Greg at ghamerly@cs.ucsd.edu.

Greg Hamerly, last revised 10/22/2001