MIME-Version: 1.0 Server: CERN/3.0 Date: Sunday, 24-Nov-96 22:37:29 GMT Content-Type: text/html Content-Length: 5209 Last-Modified: Friday, 15-Nov-96 18:50:35 GMT CS381/481 Fall 96 Course Information

CS381/481 Fall 1996
Automata and Computability Theory
Course Information


Table of Contents


Personnel

Instructors


381: David Pearson
pearson@cs.cornell.edu
Upson 5133
255-9189


481: Dexter Kozen
kozen@cs.cornell.edu
Upson 5143
255-9209


Teaching Assistants


381: Francis Chu
fcc@cs.cornell.edu
5153 Upson
255-1237


481: Nikolay Mateev
mateev@cs.cornell.edu
4156 Upson
255-5033


Time and Place


Office Hours


Sources

Texts

There is no required text. The entire course is covered by the lecture notes, which are accessible online from the course home page. The notes are also available in hardcopy for $7 from Linda Mardel, 5147 Upson. You may also find the following supplementary texts useful. They are on reserve in the Engineering Library, Carpenter Hall.

Handouts

All handouts, homework sets, etc. will be available online. They are accessible from the course home page. Most of the notes are in postscript format, so you will need access to a postscript previewer such as "ghostview" or postscript printer. All the printers in the undergraduate labs handle postscript. Please contact us if you experience difficulties.

Homework sets and handouts will be posted periodically. It is your responsibility to check for new postings. New postings will be announced in the newsgroup cornell.class.cs481.

Public Newsgroup

A public newsgroup cornell.class.cs481 has been created for technical discussions, questions, and announcements concerning 381 and 481. Please feel free to use this group as you would any newsgroup or bulletin board. Free-ranging technical discussions are especially encouraged. We will try to respond to questions posted to this group within one working day.

Homework and Exams

There will be weekly homework assignments consisting of 4-6 problems, due Wednesday at 4pm. You can pass it in in class on Wednesday morning, or get it to the appropriate TA before 4pm without penalty. You must pass it in to the TA, not to the instructor, secretary, or undergrad office. Slip it under his door if he's not there; he'll collect them shortly after 4pm. No late homework will be accepted without a good excuse. Please clear it with the TA in advance if possible. We will have the homework graded and back to you by Friday. Homework must be submitted in hardcopy form; no email, please. Homework assignments and solutions will be available online and accessible from the course home page.

There will be two 50-minute prelim exams and one 100 minute (cumulative) final exam. Exams are open book and notes.

The prelims, final and homework will each be worth approximately a third of your grade.


CS381 vs. CS481

CS381 and CS481 follow roughly the same syllabus, but 481 is faster-paced and goes into more depth. It is meant for more theoretically inclined students, grad students, and undergrads bound for grad school. Corrective shifting is encouraged in the first few weeks. If you are not sure which course is right for you, please come talk to us.
CS381/481 home page