Lab Assignment 1: (Due Date, January 24).

Part 1. All of the assignments in this class are to be turned in electronically via a web page. In addition to helping me keep track of your homework, this method turning in assignments will exercise your skills in HTML (the language of the web) and Unix (the operating system on gwis2).

Hopefully, you have at least some experience with these. If not, you might want to look at my Unix/HTML survival guide.

First, if you don't already have a gwis2 account you will need to get one. Second, if you don't already have a home page on gwis2, you will need to set one up. Minimally, you will need to do the following (Note: This is both a revision and an elaboration of the instructions handed out in class):

1. Choose option 9 on the first gwis2 menu to get a Unix prompt.
2. Create sub directory of your root directory called a file called "public_html" (use the command "mkdir public.html").
3. Make sure the new directory has read permission ("chmod a+rx public_html")
4. Enter that directory (use the command "cd public_html"). For security reasons, only files in the directory "public_html" and its sub directories can be visible as web pages. Your home page (called "index.html") should go here (see below for information on creating the files).
5. Create a sub directory called "math181" ("mkdir math181" and "chmod a+rx math181"). A file called "assignments.html" should go here. It will be your Math 181 homage and will contain links to your graded assignments and any other information you want to share with the class.
6. Enter the directory "math181" ("cd math181") and create a sub directory called "secret" ("mkdir secret"). This is where you will put your ungraded assignments. Make sure the directory is readable ("chmod a+rx secret").
7. Give the directory secret password protection. Directions on how to do this are on the GWU-IT Help Desk web site: http://www.helpdesk.gwu.edu/helpdesk/manuals/webpages/passwd_pt.html
8. Now you need to populate each of your three directories with web pages (i.e., HTML files). These will be: a file called "index.html" in your "public_html" directory (your home page); a file called "assignments.html" in your "math181" directory (a homage for the math181 portion of your web site); and a file "ungraded.html" in your "secret directory" (so I can find your ungraded assignments and grade them). There are essentially three ways to do this;
9. Use whatever Unix editor you like (the easiest is probably "pico"; other choices are "vi" and "emacs") to create these HTML files directly in gwis2. See the following web pages:

 

 

Unix help: http://www.helpdesk.gwu.edu/helpdesk/manuals/unix/unix.html

HTML help: http://www.helpdesk.gwu.edu/helpdesk/manuals/webpages/started.html

The advantage to this method is that you will learn some Unix and some HTML.

10. Use the Netscape Composer (part of the standard Netscape browser) to create your web pages locally on your PC. Then "publish" your web pages to gwis2. You can read about how to do this http://www.helpdesk.gwu.edu/helpdesk/manuals/webpages/composer.html
11. As a final possibility, create the web pages on your PC and use FTP to upload them to gwis2. Here is a FTP client for Windows available to GWU students and faculty: http://www.helpdesk.gwu.edu/helpdesk/manuals/ibm/wsftp.html
12. Answer the questions in Part 2. Put the resulting document in the directory "math181" and make a link to it in "assignments.html" file. Acceptable formats are text (extension ".txt"), HTML, or MS-Word (extension ".doc").
13. Be sure to test your web-site, including the password. Then pass-in your password and your URL (something like http://gwis2.circ.gwu.edu/~yourname/math181/math181.html) to me on Jan 24.
14. For future assignments: Before assignments are graded, please put them in the "secret" directory (I will have the password so I can grade them). After an assignment is graded you can move it to your "math181" directory to share it with the class. I will comment on acceptable formats when I assign them.

Here are a few more web links on Unix and HTML:

Basic Unix:   http://www.npac.syr.edu/education/web/courses/1/unix/getting-started.html , http://www.uga.edu/~ucns/wsg/unix/gstart/

Basic HTML: http://www.werbach.com/barebones/

Part 2. Please answer the following questions in about 600-800 words. Put your answers in a file in ASCII text or html format in your "math181" directory and provide a link in "assignments.html". I will read your answers on your web page, and your classmates will be able to read them too.

1. What kind of formal training in computing have you had? What kind of computing experience do you have? What programming languages (or computing environments) have you used and how experienced are you in them? Have you ever programmed for pay? What is the "most interesting" program you have written?
2. What mathematics courses have you taken? Were computers used? If so how? If not, could they have been used in a meaningful way?
3. What is your major field of interest? What are some mathematical techniques that play an important role in that field? How is computer used in that field? Have you used it in the courses you have taken? Can you think of a problem in your field that involves computing and that might potentially serve as a good final project?