Pre-assessment

Please do the following questions in one sitting, without consulting anyone else or looking anything up, and press submit just once. (Feel free to discuss it after you've done it, with anyone else who either isn't on the course or has already done it, of course.)

Note that I do not get any information that will identify you, unless you choose to give it in the comment box: I'm interested in refining my understanding of what I can and can't assume in this course, not in assessing you as an individual.

Don't worry if you can't do all the questions; they are a mixture of things I expect you to know, things I don't expect you to know (but if it turns out that lots of you do know them, I will revise how I deliver parts of the course accordingly!) and areas where I'm just curious.

We'll discuss some of these questions in the course of Week 1 and 2.

Answer the following questions in roughly one sentence each:

  1. What does "statically typed" mean?

  2. In software engineering, what is encapsulation?

  3. Why is it important?

  4. Suppose you're considering whether a Java class that you plan to write (call it T) should be a subclass of an existing class (call it S), or not.
    1. What are the advantages of making it a subclass?

    2. What are the disadvantages?

    3. What's the main thing you should ask yourself, in order to decide?

  5. In object oriented programming, what is polymorphism?

  6. For these, please explain as many features of the diagrams as you understand (but you needn't explain the same feature more than once: I'm interested in which diagram elements you remember the meaning of).

    What kind of diagram is this, and what does it mean?
    diagram 1

  7. And this one?
    diagram 2

  8. To what extent do you agree with each of the following statements? (I know, they could all be answered with "it's more complicated than that": just go with your gut. Remember I don't know who you are; be honest!)

    I feel well prepared for this course
    Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree

    I am looking forward to this course
    Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree

    I have chosen this course because I expect it to be easy
    Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree

    I am well organised when it comes to work
    Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree

    When I succeed, it is because I work hard
    Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree

    When I succeed, it is because I am clever
    Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree

    I expect software development to be part of what I do after university
    Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree

    I am confident programming in Java
    Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree

  9. Now think about the largest software system you've ever worked on.

    Roughly how big was it, in lines of code (written by humans, i.e. ignore generated code)?
    Under 1000
    1000-10,000
    10,000-100,000
    100,000-1,000,000
    Over 1,000,000

    Besides you, what was the largest number of people you ever knew to work on it (in software development) simultaneously?
    0 - it was just me
    1-5
    6-15
    16-50
    51-100
    Over 100

    How long were you (or have you been so far) involved in it?
    less than three weeks
    more than three weeks, less than three months
    more than three months, less than one year
    more than one year, less than five years
    more than five years

  10. Any comments? Anything you're concerned about, or would like me to know about your hopes for this course? (If you'd like an answer from me, either put your email address in this box, or mail me separately instead of writing here.)

Thank you!

This page is maintained by Perdita Stevens (perdita@inf.ed.ac.uk)


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