15-440 Questions and Answers

Overview

The following questions and answers are edited versions of questions we received via email from students and the answers we gave. We don't include every question, instead we just include those that are generally applicable. In order to protect your anonymity, we always remove any identifying information. Any questions that are not answered on this page should be addressed to the course staff or posted on the bboard.

General Questions

  • How can I get help?
    The course staff is here to help. We are happy to help you with any questions or problems that you may have, just let us know you have them (see next question for how). In addition, you can post questions to the academic.cs.15-440.questions bboard for the course staff or other students to answer. Any questions that are likely to be of interest to the whole class as best addressed to the bboard, while questions particular to your project or situation are best addressed to the course staff. If you have questions, please ask. We're here to help!
  • How do I contact the course staff?
    The "staff" page (link on the left) has e-mail addresses for all of the course staff as well as phone numbers and instant messaging screen names for some of the staff. It contains regular office hours during which we are easily locatable. There is also a staff mailing list that will reach the entire course staff. Whichever means you want to use, we're here to help.
  • Do I need a partner?
    Yes. Most of the projects will require working with a partner. If you need help locating a partner, let us know and we will help you find one.
  • Can I use eclipse version 3.3 or 3.4?
    For the early labs you can use what you want, but for the Hadoop lab the plug-in only works with 3.2 so you will have to use that version so we recommend just using it for all the labs.
  • Am I allowed to use code I find on the web?
    You are allowed to use snippets from the web as long as you say where you got it from (in comments above the section copied). If you do not credit your source, then it will be treated as academic dishonesty. Make sure you are not copying so much as to substantially reduce the benefit to you of doing the lab. If you have any questions or concerns about whether using a particular snippet is ok, just ask.