We plan about 7 MPs, with 1-2 weeks to finish each one. A link will appear here as each MP is ready.
All MPs are individual assignments.
You are expected to plan your work so that you can submit each MP by its posted deadline. We expect to see preliminary submissions well ahead of the deadline. Each deadline has a 2-day grace period to allow you to manage problems (e.g. illness) that arise before the deadline. The grace period will not be extended if you start work very close to (or after) the deadline and then problems arise during the grace period.
In the case of major problems beyond your control (e.g. extended illness), contact the instructor.
Code will be graded automatically. We will provide basic test examples. The submission system will run basic tests each time you submit, to help you confirm that you've submitted the right files and there aren't any misunderstandings about the calling conventions. However, it is your responsibility to do further testing to make sure your code works correctly. To assign final grades, we will typically test your code on other examples, with other parameter settings, and/or with different/modified datasets.
The MPs will be written in Python. If you've never used Python before, you should start getting used to it now, rather than waiting for the release of the first MP. A good place to start is the Python Tutorial (also available in hardcopy form). You should install version 3.6 or 3.7 on your computer, as well as the pygame graphics package. We believe that python 3.8 should also work but this hasn't been fully tested. Please report any problems on piazza.
Using a virtual environment may make it easier to avoid problems with different versions of python or its libraries. See these instructions for how to set one up.
If you are using Windows Subsystem for Linux, look at these additional instructions.
If you are using Mac/OSX, look at these additional instructions.
Your code may import extra modules, but only ones that are part of the standard python library. Unless otherwise specified in the instructions for a specific MP, the only external library available during our grading process will be pygame.
We normally expect you to develop code on your own personal machine. Among other things, the EWS labs may not be reliably open this term. However, as a backup plan (e.g. if your laptop breaks), you can also use linux machines in the EWS labs. For basic remote access, ssh to linux.ews.illinois.edu. Here are some links for more featureful access:
On EWS, follow these instructions to set up python and pygame in your login environment. Notice that the software provided for certain MPs will require graphics, in which case it is unlikely to run over a remote terminal connection.
MP code will be submitted to gradescope. See individual MP instructions for details.
Regrade requests should be posted to the "regrade" folder on piazza.