Moving in and out of CS135

CS135 → CS115 Transfer

CS135 can be a demanding course. If you are a 1A student, you may be able to transfer to CS115, the minor level version of the course. This must be done by the deadline - usually about 6 weeks into the term. CS115 covers the same general topics as CS135, but at a slightly slower pace and with less of an expectation of a strong math background.

For details about transferring to CS115, including deadlines, please see the 1A CS Course Rule .

Some important things to note from that page:

  • To discuss your CS135 progress, how you are doing, and whether transferring to CS115 may be a good idea, talk to your CS135 instructor during their office hours.
  • To discuss the consequences of transferring to CS115, such as how your course sequence or Coop may change, speak to your academic advisor.
  • To actually implement the transfer, communicate with the staff in the Math Undergraduate Office. The link, above, has helpful tips on that.

If you transfer to CS115, none of your marks from CS135 will transfer with you. The remaining assignments in CS115 will have their weights redistributed. Any work due in CS115 up to three days after your transfer will be excused.

If you transfer, here are some things you need to know:

  • CS 115 uses its own stepper. In most ways, this stepper behaves like the stepper in DrRacket. However, the substitution rules for Boolean expressions are slightly different. These substitution rules are covered near the end of M02.2. Make sure you work through the examples at the end of that section to ensure you understand the rules. While the differences are minor, for assignments and exams you will be expected to follow the CS 115 rules.
  • CS 115 introduces strings early in the course. CS 135 leaves strings for a little later. Module M03 introduces strings and explains the difference between strings and symbols.
  • CS 115 and CS 135 use the same design recipe, but the two courses document the steps slightly differently. Work through the case study in M04.8. Note that some test cases (the ones written as examples) are placed before the function definition while the remaining test cases are placed after the function definition. The purpose also starts by repeating the header. In practice, you should start by writing down the purpose without the header (just as we do in CS 135). Once you have finalized the header, go back and add it to the start of the purpose. Don’t start by trying to write down the header.
  • In all other respects, the courses are consistent. If you switched close to the deadline, you may have reached lecture L10 or L11 in CS 135. In CS 115, they will likely have completed module M05 and perhaps started module M06. At this point CS 135 is roughly 3-4 lectures ahead of CS 115 in its coverage of material. Some of the more recent material (e.g., sorting, recursion on natural numbers, and recursion on two lists) will be repeated in the upcoming CS 115 lectures.

CS145 → CS135 Transfer (In Fall terms)

Welcome to CS135! This page is to help get you oriented quickly after transferring from CS145.

Here’s the stuff you need to know:

  • We do not use LEARN.
  • No marks are transferred from CS145; you start fresh in CS135.
  • Most course concepts transfer from CS145 to CS135, with a couple of exceptions. We do not use “if” (we use “cond”, see Lecture 03). For Boolean expressions, we use the same substitution rules as the DrRacket stepper, which are not the same as those used in CS145. See rule #1 in Lecture L02.1.
  • The first thing to do is Assignment 00 . It is mandatory and must be done within 48 hours. It is CS135-specific and will be different from any similar assignments done for other courses.
  • You are responsible for assignments that are due 3 business days following CS135 showing up in Quest. Assignments that were due prior to that are excused and the weight will be distributed evenly over the other assignments.
  • Midterm exams held before 3 days after you enter CS135 are similarly excused and the weight redistributed proportionately over the remaining exams (e.g. the final is worth more and so gets more of the weight from redistributed exams).
  • It is to your advantage to do at least parts of the missed assignments and get feedback on your performance and style. Submit as usual (ignoring late warnings). Then email the course account to have the ISAs mark it for feedback and to make sure you are following CS135’s assignment requirements.
  • You are strongly encouraged to get caught up as fast as possible to avoid always feeling behind, struggling with new material, and the resulting stress.
  • Start assignments early and submit often (as questions are completed). The last submission before the deadline for each question is what is marked. By submitting early and often, we will have something to mark if you run into internet or other problems later. We do not accept late assignments and anything submitted after the deadline is marked for feedback only (as long as students have notified the ISAs to look for it).
  • Take advantage of consulting hours as needed.
  • Make sure you understand how course grades are assigned and that in order to pass the course, you must pass the weighted assignments component and you must pass the weighted exams component.