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ENEL 339 Fall 1999 Home Page
ENEL 339 Fall 1999 Midterm Information
Author: Steve Norman
Last modified: Wed Nov 3 22:50:04 MST 1999
Contents
Test Time and Location
The test is from 6:30pm to 8:30pm on Tuesday, November 9.
You will write in either EN A 101 or
EN A 103, depending on your last name.
Room assignments will be announced in the lecture
Friday, November 5,
repeated
in the lecture Monday, November 8,
and posted on the doors of the test rooms on the evening
of the midterm.
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Test Topics
First, let me state a general principle:
The test will focus mainly on topics that were
heavily emphasized in lectures and labs.
I am not going to make a lot of marks depend on
topics that were given very little coverage in lectures and labs.
The test will cover all material up to and including Lab[7] and
the lecture of Friday, Nov. 5, with the following exceptions:
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Test Format
As stated on the Course Outline:
-
the test is closed-book--you
are not allowed to take any books or notes to your seat;
-
you are not allowed to use a calculator or computer during
the test.
The test will consist of many short questions.
Questions will be of the following types:
- You will have to write function definitions or other
short segments of C or C++ to do specific tasks.
In each case it will be clearly stated which of C or C++
you must use.
- You will have to draw diagrams and/or
predict program output to show that you know how a
given program works.
- You may have to write very short paragraphs
(roughly two or three sentences) to show that you
understand key terms and concepts from the course.
Problems where you have to write a medium-size program from scratch--like
the `Quux Boat Race' lab exercises are good tests of your programming
ability but are too long and complex to be midterm problems.
Such problems will not appear on the test.
You will write all of your answers on the question paper,
in spaces provided for answers.
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Reference Material
In order to help you recall C++ syntax quickly during the test,
you will be given a very small booklet of C++ code
examples along with the test paper.
The examples will include:
- The file SimpleString.h from Lab[6] Exercise E
and the file SimpleString.cpp from the solution
to that exercise.
- The files StringOne.h and StringOne.cpp
from a handout that will be distributed in the lecture
Friday, Nov. 5.
StringOne is an example of a class with objects that manage
free store memory.
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Library functions
You are expected to know how to use the following C library
functions:
strcpy, strcat, strlen.
These functions are also available in C++.
You are expected to know the various possible outcomes
of the following statement in C:
nscan = scanf("%d", &x);
where nscan and x are int variables.
You are also expected to know how to use the C++ expressions
cin.fail() and cin.eof().
If you are asked to use any other library functions,
such as functions from <math.h>,
you will be given
documentation for the functions you need.
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Suggestions for preparation
Here are suggestions for review:
- Review lecture notes and course handouts carefully.
The handouts related to memory organization are
especially important.
Many of the `Read This First' sections in lab handouts
contain useful information.
- Re-do lab exercises using pencil and paper,
especially those exercises that you found difficult
when you first did them.
Practice writing complete function definitions with
pencil and paper--writing code by hand is a bit different
from typing code in a text editor, and it's obviously
an important skill to develop for tests and exams.
- Use the textbook to get background information when
you find a particular topic difficult.
Do not attempt to memorize all the textbook
sections listed in your lecture notes
as related reading--that is
a very ineffective way to use your time.
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