Administrativia

Welcome

Computers for All

• Diomidis Spinellis <dds@aueb.gr (mailto:dds@aueb.gr)>
  MBA International
  Department of Management Science and Technology
  Athens University of Economics and Business (http://www.aueb.gr)
• Phone: 210 8203981
• Office: Ydras 28, 5th floor

Goals

• how computing works
• how it affects your business
• how it affects our world

• make informed decisions
• be intelligently skeptical about technology

Overview

• Anatomy of a computer; computer architecture
• Data: representing information
• Introduction to programming
• Algorithms and data structures; database systems
• Networks and operating systems
• Computer security
• Software engineering and open-source software

Notes

• Equivalent to the presentation "slides"
• Accessible over the Web http://www.spinellis.gr/cfa ( http://www.spinellis.gr/cfa)
• Continously updated
• Links for printable version at the end of the table of contents

Assessment

• Exercise 1: create your home page (markup languages - HTML) 20%
• Exercise 2: Excel Christmas Tree (introductory programming) 30%
• Essay: Select, install, use, and review a FLOSS application 30%
• Written exam: 20%

Other paedagogical elements

• Action based learning (aka games)
  • Prepare (if needed)
  • Participate
  • Take it seriously, but not too seriously
• Case studies: read before each lecture

Books

• J. Glenn Brookshear. Computer Science. Addison-Wesley, eighth edition, 2004.
• David G. Messerschmitt and Clemens Szyperski. Software Ecosystem: Understanding an Indispensable Technology and Industry. MIT Press, 2004.
• Paul Graham. Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age. O'Reilly and Associates, Sebastopol, CA, 2004.
• Clive Max Maxfielf. Bebop to the Boolean Boogie. Newnes, 2003.
• Bruce Schneier. Secrets & Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World. Wiley Computer Publishing, New York, 2000.
• Donald A. Norman. The Invisible Computer. MIT Press, Cambridge, 1998.
• Michael A. Williams. A History of Computing Technology. IEEE Computer Society Press, 1997.

Coursework Instructions

Deadlines

Exercise 1: Create your Home Page

To setup your page on the lab's web server, hand in the file(s) to Spiros Kallinikos (mailto:skallin@aueb.gr), who will upload your files to the server's directory.

Exercise 2: Excel Christmas Tree

Essay: Select, Install, Use, and Review an Open Source Application

Selecting an Open Source Application

1. Visit http://sourceforge.net (http://sourceforge.net) to browse through its 92000 registered projects.
2. Select a Free/Libre open source application you perceive as useful to do your job.
3. Make sure the application can run on your computing platform.
4. Make sure none of your colleagues has selected the specific application. Have a look at the page http://istlab.dmst.aueb.gr/cfa-reservations.txt (http://istlab.dmst.aueb.gr/cfa-reservations.txt) to see which projects have already been taken.
5. Reserve the application, by sending email to cfa-reservations@istlab.dmst.aueb.gr (mailto:cfa-reservations@istlab.dmst.aueb.gr).

Essay Outline

1. Application Overview

   Start with the application's name and sourceforge.net URL. Continue with a short summary of the application.

2. Application Functionality

   Describe what the application does. Include screen dumps here, if appropriate.

3. Development History

   Describe the history behind this application. How long is it being developed? Is it derived from another application?

4. Development Team

   Describe the application's development model and team. Is this a lone developer, or an organized team? How is the team organized? Who can participate? If the above are not document in the application's web pages, just say so.

5. Documentation Overview

   Describe the documentation that comes with the application. Does it contain a user manual, a reference manual, a FAQ list, technical information? Is on-line help available? Can you print it in a nice format? Is it available for browsing over the web?

6. Source Code Overview

   Try to unpack and browse the application's source code. Most likely, its size and complexity will ovewhelm you; this is expected. If, you notice something worth reporting, include it here.

7. Support Options

   If you have a problem with the application how can you obtain support? Is there a mailing list, a newsgroup, or an open forum for sending questions? Are these qustions answered promptly? Is there a company providing paid support?

8. Application Quality

   You may find some of the following criteria (derived from ISO/IEC 9126) useful for discussing the application's quality.

   • Functionality: Suitability, accuracy, interoperability, security, functionality compliance
   • Reliability: Maturity, fault tolerance, recoverability, reliability compliance
   • Usability: Understandability, learnability, operability, attractiveness, usability compliance
   • Efficiency: Time behavior, resource utilization, efficiency compliance
   • Maintainability: Analyzability, changeability, stability, testability, maintainability compliance
   • Portability: Adaptability, installability, replaceability, coexistence, portability compliance
9. Software License

   How is the application licensed? Does it affect the way you use it?

10. Critical Evaluation

    Evaluate the application in the context of your work and time constraints. Was installing and learning the application a waste of time, or did you benefit from it?

11. Appendix A: Detailed Logbook

    Log your work in a logbook. Adopt the following format, and submit it as an appendix. Be honest, this part will be graded for its completeness, but its actual contents will not affect your grade. Do not try to impress us with an entry indicating you worked on New Year's day.

    Date	Time	Action
    2004.12.23	13:14	Work session start
    2004.12.23	13:15	Browse sourceforge.net, looking for application
    2004.12.23	13:38	Start downloading Fingerprint manager
    2004.12.23	13:42	Install application
    2004.12.23	13:43	Installation failed
    2004.12.23	13:45	Work session start
    2004.12.23	13:46	Browse sourceforge.net, looking for another application
    2004.12.23	13:55	Work session end
    2004.12.26	20:03	Work session start
    2004.12.26	20:10	Download Mozilla
    2004.12.26	20:15	Install application
    2004.12.26	20:30	Send my first email message
    2004.12.26	20:30	Work session end

12. Appendix B: Questionnaire

    This part is also not used in the grade, but its completion is compulsorily.

Questionnaire

	Disagree               Agree
I find an open source application easy to use	1	2	3	4	5
Using an open source application would make it easier to do my job	1	2	3	4	5
I intend to install and use an open source application on my computer	1	2	3	4	5
All things considered, using an open source application in my job is a good idea	1	2	3	4	5
Using an open source application would enhance my effectiveness of the job	1	2	3	4	5
Learning to operate an open source application is easy to me	1	2	3	4	5
I intend to use an open source application as a primary function in my job	1	2	3	4	5
All things considered, using an open source application in my job is a positive idea	1	2	3	4	5
Using an open source application in my job would increase my productivity	1	2	3	4	5
I find it easy to get an open source application to do what I want to do	1	2	3	4	5
Using an open source application in my job would enable me to accomplish tasks more quickly	1	2	3	4	5
It is easy for me to become skillful at using an open source application	1	2	3	4	5
I would find an open source application useful in my job	1	2	3	4	5
My interaction with an open source application is clear and understandable	1	2	3	4	5
I intend to use an open source application frequently in my job	1	2	3	4	5
I find an open source application to be flexible to interact with	1	2	3	4	5
All things considered, using an open source application in my job is a beneficial idea	1	2	3	4	5
I intend to use an open source application in doing my job	1	2	3	4	5
All things considered, using an open source application in my job is a wise idea	1	2	3	4	5

Coursework Advice

• Schedule plenty of time for these difficulties.
• Don't wait till the last moment to test your program.
• Test early and often the results of your work (web page, program).
• Early on, make sure you are familiar with the submission procedures, and that these work for you.
• Don't wait till the last moment to submit your work.

• Contents

 Last change: Monday, April 11, 2005 11:17 pm
 Unless otherwise expressly stated, all original material on this page created by Diomidis Spinellis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Greece License.