Some introductory stuff...

about me:

I'm from New Jersey (Island Heights). I went to high-school just down the road in Hightstown (Peddie). I graduated from Trinity College in Connecticut in '97 with a double major in Math and Computer Science. I came here to Princeton right after graduation as a student in the Ph.D. program. I thought that perhaps I might want to be a professor, since I really liked teaching computer science. I started teaching 126 precepts that fall, so this is now my 6th semester teaching them. Last year, I decided to drop out of the Ph.D. program because I hadn't found any particular area of research to pursue. However, I stayed to teach 126 precepts. This fall, I re-applied to the graduate program, and I'm now working on getting my MSE. I also work an afternoon or two a week at my parents' company: Worthington Biochemical Corp.

contacting me:

email: lworthin@cs or q@worthington-biochem.com

office: room 206, hours: MF 2:30-3:30

how to do well in this course:

  1. lectures: if you don't understand something, either email me, email the professor, come to my office hours (or those of the prof or other preceptor), or ask questions as precept is starting or ending...and keep asking the same question over and over again until you get an answer that makes sense to you!
  2. precepts: ask dumb questions!! the dumber the better. correct me if I make mistakes...stop me if I go too fast. if you're getting lost or confused, odds are you're not alone. so, please ask a question even if you feel like you should know the answer. There is no question too dumb to be asked in precept. There are, however, questions that are too 'smart' for precept. If you are an experienced programmer and you have advanced programming questions, save them for after class. Please don't ask questions that are likely to confuse beginners just learning a concept for the first time.
  3. homework: you do not need to turn in exercises: the answers are also in the course packet. You should do readings as needed. If you've just learned a concept in lecture or precept that isn't making sense, read the corresponding chapter in Deitel & Deitel or K&R. Also, you will often need to read some of the texts to understand the exercises. Try not to get behind in the readings & exercises. There will usually be time at the end of precepts to go over exercises, so make note of questions you'd like to go over in precept.
  4. assignments: the majority of your time in this course will be taken up by programming assignments. Do them early! Read the assignments before Friday precepts, which is when they will usually be introduced. If possible, come to my office hours Friday afternoon to discuss ways to approach the problem in detail. Also, send me lots of emails describing any problems you're having. Don't waste hours of your time trying to find a single minor error.