February 2, 2026

• Current Readings
  • Josh Bloch on API Design
  • Why Java Interfaces Are So Very Cool (Chapter 17 from Java Garage) by Eben Hewitt
• Towards Ethics by Default, One Step at a Time by Vitaly Friedman
• Technical Guides
  • How to Throw Exceptions in Java from Rollbar Guides
  • Designing with Exceptions by Bill Venners
    
• Upcoming Deadlines
  • Journal: Testing, due Friday, February 6 (effectively 3:08am Saturday morning)
  • Project: Cell Society - Generalize and Robustness, due by Tuesday, February 17 (effectively 3:08am Wednesday morning)

January 27, 2026

• Current Readings
  • Open Closed Principle by Robert Martin
  • Model-View Separation Principle from Applying UML and Patterns by Craig Larman
  • JUnit Test Infected by Kent Beck
• Technical Guides
  • JavaFX, sections 4-5 from Core Java by Cay Horstmann
  • Git Branching and Merging: A Step-By-Step Guide by Jeff Brown
• Upcoming Deadlines
  • Journal: Starting and Ethics, due Friday, January 30 (effectively 3:08am Saturday morning)
  • Project: Cell Society - Basic and Test, due by Tuesday, February 3 (effectively 3:08am Wednesday morning)

January 22, 2026

• Mentors will be determined this week, so plan to schedule a meeting with your assigned TA by Sunday
• Upcoming Deadlines
  • Project: Cell Society - Plan, due by Wednesday, January 28 (effectively 3:08am Thursday morning)

January 20, 2026

• Current Readings
  • Access Control (Encapsulation) from Thinking in Java by Bruce Eckel
  • Object-Oriented Software Development: Discovery of Inheritance through Generalization by Rick Mercer
• How to Work Well on Teams from Software Engineering at Google by Titus Winters, Tom Manshreck, and Hyrum Wright
• Technical Guides
  • Java Tutorial: Inheritance and Polymorphism
  • Java Tutorial: Enumerated Types
  • Refactoring Tutorial: Replace Conditional with Polymorphism by Martin Fowler
• Upcoming Deadlines
  • Journal: Project Analysis, due Saturday, January 24 (effectively 3:08am Sunday morning)

January 15, 2026

• Complete this online survey about your weekly availability as soon as possible (you may submit it multiple times in case your schedule changes before Add/Drop)
  Teams for most projects will be chosen for you based on you schedule compatibility

January 13, 2026

• Current Readings
  • Single Responsibility Principle by Robert Martin
  • Code Smells by Kent Beck and Martin Fowler (Chapter 3 from Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code)
  • Everything is an Object from Thinking in Java by Bruce Eckel
• Technical Guides
• Refactoring: Extract Class from SourceMaking.com
• Upcoming Deadlines
  • Journal: Thinking about Habits and Failure, due by Friday, January 16 (effectively 3:08am Saturday morning)
  • Project: Breakout - Complete, due by Tuesday, January 20 (effectively 3:08am Wednesday morning)

January 8, 2026

• Welcome to CompSci 308!
  • This website is your primary portal to the course: you are responsible for all material here, so check for updates frequently
  • Please help us make this course as useful as possible for you by letting us know if you need help or if something is not working for you
• Current Readings
  • Chapter 1 from Clean Code by Robert Martin
  • OO in One Sentence by Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas
• Technical Guides
• JavaFX, sections 1-3 from Core Java by Cay Horstmann
• A Visual Guide to Version Control using GIT (or as videos)
• Markdown Manual: The Web's Simplest Plain-Text Syntax by Matthew Guay
• Upcoming Deadlines
  • Before our first class on Thursday if possible, download the latest versions of the software to be used in the course
    If you run into trouble connecting everything, you will be able to get help during class and during Office Hours this week
    
  • Journal: CompSci Autobiography, due by Sunday, January 11 (effectively 3:08am Monday morning)
  • Project: Breakout - Plan and Starting Code, due by Tuesday, January 13 (effectively 3:08am Wednesday morning)