Overview
COMP 501: Systems Development with Emerging Technology provides an industrial-strength coverage of Java programming, including the important core packages; however, all aspects of Java cannot be covered in a single course in any depth. Those areas not covered in great depth compose core elements of other courses. For instance, the material for programming in a server environment (networking, distributed systems, enterprise beans, servlets, JSP) is limited. However, these areas will be examined in courses covering e-commerce, website technology, and distributed systems.
COMP 501 is recommended for all students wishing to enroll in graduate courses that require Java programming or an understanding of Java programming and who do not have Java programming experience.
After completing COMP 501, you will be expected to program well and independently in Java and be able to pick up new packages and classes, as required. Other courses in the MSc(IS) curriculum are dependent upon these skills. Students may come into COMP 501 at different levels of object-oriented programming expertise, but all are expected to leave as competent Java programmers.
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to
- apply the basic and advanced features of Java to continue with the graduate study courses that require Java programming.
- understand the concepts of objects, data abstraction, inheritance, polymorphism, runtime mechanism, and Java threads to apply in Java applications.
- create new packages or reuse existing packages, as required.
- perform GUI programming, component programming (beans), networking and distributed programming, and multimedia (Java 3D and Java Media Framework).
- analyze the areas of emerging Java technology through a review of the learning materials and a significant self-directed study project in one of the following areas: Java Beans, Java 3D, Java Media Framework, Design Patterns, and XML.
Evaluation
To receive credit for COMP 501, you must achieve a course composite grade of at least B– (70 percent), an average grade of at least 60 percent on the assignments, and a grade of at least 60 percent on the final exam.
The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:
| Activity | Weight |
| Assignment 1 (Units 1 & 2) | 10% |
| Assignment 2 (Unit 3) | 15% |
| Assignment 3 (Units 1–9) | 20% |
| Self-Assessment Activity | 5% |
| Conference Participation | 15% |
| Final Exam | 35% |
| Total | 100% |
The final examination for this course must be requested in advance and written under the supervision of an AU-approved exam invigilator. Invigilators include either ProctorU or an approved in-person invigilation centre that can accommodate online exams. Students are responsible for payment of any invigilation fees. Information on exam request deadlines, invigilators, and other exam-related questions, can be found at the Exams and grades section of the Calendar.
Materials
All course materials are found online.