TIC4002 - Week 2 - Admin Info

Week 2 [Fri, Jan 15th] - Admin Info

Submit post-lecture quiz Thu, Jan 21st 2359 counted for participation
Get connected to our communication channels

1 Submit post-lecture quiz Thu, Jan 21st 2359 counted for participation

Read weekly topics allocated for this week. Submit the Post-Lecture Quiz (on LumiNUS) to test your knowledge of those topics.

2 Get connected to our communication channels

If you haven't done so already, follow the 'Preparation' instructions of the following panel, to get connected with the communication channels used by the module.

Tools: for communication

Forum (for longer-running discussions)

The preferred channels for module-related communication is the forum on GitHub https://github.com/nus-tic4002-AY2021S2/forum/issues (not the LumiNUS forum)
When communicating with instructors, use the forum. Use private channels (e.g., emails, private messages, face-to-face, private chat groups) only when the forum is not suitable. Rationale: 1. More classmates can benefit from the discussions, 2. It is also safer because the prof can monitor information you receive for accuracy.

You are encouraged to help others in the forum (e.g., share tips, help with technical problems). We consider such sharing when giving out A+ grades and when recruiting tutors.

Preparation:

We encourage all to watch the forum to get alerts when new issues/comments are posted

MS Teams (for quick chats, in-lecture consultations)

Use MS Teams for short chats.
Install MST in your computer. Installation and login instructions are here. Remember to login using your NUSNET account.

for in-lecture consultations: TIC4002_2021 Jan-May

+ Other info relevant to this week:

Admin Apdx B (Policies) → Policy on plagiarism

Policy on plagiarism

We encourage sharing, but you should share with everyone in the class, not just a selected group. That is,

You are not allowed to share individual assignments with classmates directly.
You are not allowed to share project-related things with other teams directly.

If you submit code (or adopt ideas) taken from elsewhere (you can even reuse each other's work), you need to comply with our reuse policy.

Detection:

Detecting plagiarism in code is quite easy. You are not fooling anyone by reordering code or renaming methods/variables.
As all your work is publicly visible on GitHub, sooner or later somebody will notice the plagiarism.

Penalties:

For submissions not affecting marks: We make a record of cases of plagiarism but we do not take further action. Such plagiarism does not disadvantage other students. Therefore, we prefer to spend all available resources on helping honest students to do better rather than to chase after dishonest students. If you think you gain something by plagiarizing, go ahead and do it. It's your choice and it's your loss.
For the final project/exam: Any case of claiming others' work as yours will be reported to the university for disciplinary action.

Admin Apdx B (Policies) → Policy on reuse

Policy on reuse

Reuse is encouraged. However, note that reuse has its own costs (such as the learning curve, additional complexity, usage restrictions, and unknown bugs). Furthermore, you will not be given credit for work done by others. Rather, you will be given credit for reusing work done by others.

You are allowed to reuse work from your classmates, subject to following conditions:
- The work has been shared publicly by us or the authors.
- You clearly give credit to the original author(s).
You are allowed to reuse work from external sources, subject to following conditions:
- In case of reusing more than a short code snippet (e.g., reusing an entire library or an entire feature), the work comes from a source of 'good standing' (such as an established open source project). This means you cannot reuse a significant portion of codebase written by a friend or a past student. But you may reuse/adapt small code snippets from any source such as stackoverflow.
- You clearly give credit to the original author. Acknowledge use of third party resources clearly e.g. in the welcome message, splash screen (if any) or under the 'about' menu. If you are open about reuse, you are less likely to get into trouble if you unintentionally reused something copyrighted.
- You do not violate the license under which the work has been released. Please do not use 3rd-party images/audio in your software unless they have been specifically released to be used freely. Just because you found it in the Internet does not mean it is free for reuse.
- Always get permission from us before you reuse third-party libraries. Please post your 'request to use 3rd party library' in our forum. That way, the whole class get to see what libraries are being used by others.

Giving credit for reused work

Given below are how to give credit for things you reuse from elsewhere. These requirements are specific to this module i.e., not applicable outside the module (outside the module, you should follow the rules specified by your employer and the license of the reused work)

If you used a third party library:

iP/tP: Mention in the README file (under the Acknowledgements section)
tP: Mention in the Project Portfolio Page if the library has a significant relevance to the features you implemented

If you reused code snippets found on the Internet e.g. from StackOverflow answers or
referred code in another software or
referred project code by current/past student:

If you read the code to understand the approach and implemented it yourself, mention it as a comment
Example:

//Solution below adapted from https://stackoverflow.com/a/16252290
{Your implmentation of the reused solution here ...}

If you copy-pasted a non-trivial code block (possibly with minor modifications renaming, layout changes, changes to comments, etc.), also mark the code block as reused code (using @@author tags with the -reused suffix)
Format:

//@@author {yourGithubUsername}-reused
//{Info about the source...}

{Reused code (possibly with minor modifications) here ...}

//@@author

Example of reusing a code snippet (with minor modifications):

persons = getList()
//@@author johndoe-reused
//Reused from https://stackoverflow.com/a/34646172 with minor modifications
Collections.sort(persons, new Comparator<CustomData>() {
    @Override
    public int compare(CustomData lhs, CustomData rhs) {
        return lhs.customInt > rhs.customInt ? -1 : 0;
    }
});
//@@author
return persons;

Giving credit to AB3 code: If your project started with the AB3 code and your new code follows a design similar to AB3, that doesn't mean you need to credit AB3 -- this is because a brownfield project is expected to follow existing code where possible, in the interest of consistency. However, don't take credit for existing AB3 code (i.e., ensure such code doesn't appear under your name in the tP code dashboard) unless you have modified that code substantially.

Adding `@@author` tags indicate authorship

Mark your code with a //@@author {yourGithubUsername}. Note the double @.
The //@@author tag should indicates the beginning of the code you wrote. The code up to the next //@@author tag or the end of the file (whichever comes first) will be considered as was written by that author. Here is a sample code file:
```
//@@author johndoe
method 1 ...
method 2 ...
//@@author sarahkhoo
method 3 ...
//@@author johndoe
method 4 ...
```
If you don't know who wrote the code segment below yours, you may put an empty //@@author (i.e. no GitHub username) to indicate the end of the code segment you wrote. The author of code below yours can add the GitHub username to the empty tag later. Here is a sample code with an empty author tag:
```
method 0 ...
//@@author johndoe
method 1 ...
method 2 ...
//@@author
method 3 ...
method 4 ...
```
The author tag syntax varies based on file type e.g. for java, css, fxml. Use the corresponding comment syntax for non-Java files.
Here is an example code from an xml/fxml file.
```

<textbox>
  <label>...</label>
  <input>...</input>
</textbox>
...
```

Do not put the //@@author inside java header comments.
👎

/**
  * Returns true if ...
  * @@author johndoe
  */

👍

//@@author johndoe
/**
  * Returns true if ...
  */

What to and what not to annotate

Annotate both functional and test code There is no need to annotate documentation files.
Annotate only significant size code blocks that can be reviewed on its own e.g., a class, a sequence of methods, a method.
Claiming credit for code blocks smaller than a method is discouraged but allowed. If you do, do it sparingly and only claim meaningful blocks of code such as a block of statements, a loop, or an if-else statement.
- If an enhancement required you to do tiny changes in many places, there is no need to annotate all those tiny changes; you can describe those changes in the Project Portfolio page instead.
- If a code block was touched by more than one person, either let the person who wrote most of it (e.g. more than 80%) take credit for the entire block, or leave it as 'unclaimed' (i.e., no author tags).
- Related to the above point, if you claim a code block as your own, more than 80% of the code in that block should have been written by yourself. For example, no more than 20% of it can be code you reused from somewhere.
- GitHub has a blame feature and a history feature that can help you determine who wrote a piece of code.
Do not try to boost the quantity of your contribution using unethical means such as duplicating the same code in multiple places. In particular, do not copy-paste test cases to create redundant tests. Even repetitive code blocks within test methods should be extracted out as utility methods to reduce code duplication. Individual members are responsible for making sure code attributed to them are correct. If you notice a team member claiming credit for code that he/she did not write or use other questionable tactics, you can email us (after the final submission) to let us know.
If you wrote a significant amount of code that was not used in the final product,
- Create a folder called {project root}/unused
- Move unused files (or copies of files containing unused code) to that folder
- use //@@author {yourGithubUsername}-unused to mark unused code in those files (note the suffix unused) e.g.
```
//@@author johndoe-unused
method 1 ...
method 2 ...
```
Please put a comment in the code to explain why it was not used.
If you reused code from elsewhere, mark such code as //@@author {yourGithubUsername}-reused (note the suffix reused) e.g.
```
//@@author johndoe-reused
method 1 ...
method 2 ...
```
You can use empty @@author tags to mark code as not yours when RepoSense attribute the code to you incorrectly.
- Code generated by the IDE/framework, should not be annotated as your own.
- Code you modified in minor ways e.g. adding a parameter. These should not be claimed as yours but you can mention these additional contributions in the Project Portfolio page if you want to claim credit for them.

At the end of the project each student is required to submit a Project Portfolio Page.

PPP Objectives

For you to use (e.g. in your resume) as a well-documented data point of your SE experience
For evaluators to use as a data point for evaluating your project contributions

PPP Sections to include

Overview: A short overview of your product to provide some context to the reader. The opening 1-2 sentences may be reused by all team members. If your product overview extends beyond 1-2 sentences, the remainder should be written by yourself.
Summary of Contributions --Suggested items to include:
- Code contributed: Give a link to your code on tP Code Dashboard. The link is available in the Project List Page -- linked to the icon under your profile picture.
- Enhancements implemented: A summary of the enhancements you implemented.
- Contributions to the UG: Which sections did you contribute to the UG?
- Contributions to the DG: Which sections did you contribute to the DG? Which UML diagrams did you add/updated?
- Contributions to team-based tasks
- Review/mentoring contributions: Links to PRs reviewed, instances of helping team members in other ways.
- Contributions beyond the project team:
  - Evidence of helping others e.g. responses you posted in our forum, bugs you reported in other team's products,
  - Evidence of technical leadership e.g. sharing useful information in the forum

Keep in mind that evaluators will use the PPP to estimate your project effort. We recommend that you mention things that will earn you a fair score e.g., explain how deep the enhancement is, why it is complete, how hard it was to implement etc.

OPTIONAL Contributions to the Developer Guide (Extracts): Reproduce the parts in the Developer Guide that you wrote. Alternatively, you can show the various diagrams you contributed.
OPTIONAL Contributions to the User Guide (Extracts): Reproduce the parts in the User Guide that you wrote.

PPP Format

File name (i.e., in the repo): docs/team/githbub_username_in_lower_case.md e.g., docs/team/goodcoder123.md
Follow the example in the AddressBook-Level3

To convert the UG/DG/PPP into PDF format, go to the generated page in your project's github.io site and use this technique to save as a pdf file. Using other techniques can result in poor quality resolution (will be considered a bug) and unnecessarily large files.

Ensure hyperlinks in the pdf files work. Your UG/DG/PPP will be evaluated using PDF files during the PE. Broken/non-working hyperlinks in the PDF files will be considered as bugs and will count against your project score. Again, use the conversion technique given above to ensure links in the PDF files work.

Try the PDF conversion early. If you do it at the last minute, you may not have time to fix any problems in the generated PDF files (such problems are more common than you think).

PPP Page Limit

Content	Recommended	Hard Limit
Overview + Summary of contributions	0.5-1	2
[Optional] Contributions to the User Guide	1
[Optional] Contributions to the Developer Guide	3

The page limits given above are after converting to PDF format. The actual amount of content you require is actually less than what these numbers suggest because the HTML → PDF conversion adds a lot of spacing around content.

Admin Apdx B (Policies) → Policy on tech help

Policy on tech help

Do not expect your tutor to code or debug for you. We strongly discourage tutors from giving technical help directly to their own teams because we want to train you in troubleshooting tech problems yourselves. Allowing direct tech help from tutors transfers the troubleshooting responsibility to tutors.

It is ok to ask for help from classmates even for assignments, even from other teams, as long as you don't copy from others and submit as your own. The preferred way for this is to ask in the forum rather than privately, as 1. it gives others an opportunity to benefit as well 2. the teaching team can confirm the accuracy of the help you are receiving.

We encourage you to give tech help to each other, but do it in a way that the other person learns from it.