Old Announcements
Tue Mar 21: Wed prototype testing is in 32-044
Since Walker gym is in use on Wednesday, we’ll have the second prototype testing session in 32-044 instead. If we don’t all fit in 32-044, we have two overflow rooms on the first floor of Stata that we can use as well.
Use the second session as an opportunity to run a second iteration of your prototype. You can also run your second iteration outside of class.
This Friday will be studio presentations for GR3, which is due the Sunday after spring break.
Fri Mar 17: Office hours today
TA office hours for ps2 will happen today 2-5pm in 32-G7 lounge.
If you struggled with getting the animation working in pset2 (problem 5), you will have another opportunity to submit a working solution of your animation with pset3 and still receive full points for pset2 problem 5.
If you already had your animation perfectly working on the pset2 deadline two days ago, we will give you bonus points for getting this to work on time. The bonus points will be added to either pset2 or pset3 depending on where you could benefit most from some extra points.
Thu Mar 16: Problem Set 3 released
Problem Set 3 is released. It’s due Wed Apr 5, after spring break. PS3 builds on PS1 and PS2, so use the time to get PS2 working as well as possible.
Tue Mar 14: Problem Set 2 erratum about board size (appeared on Piazza last week)
For those who didn’t see the Piazza post about it last week, board sizes above 9x9 may not behave properly because the board size is initialized with a string instead of a number, which causes Javascript to go wat.
Change how the board is initialized in index.html, as described in the post.
Mon Mar 13: Snow closing
Because of the snow day, we’ll have reduced office hours, Tuesday 3-5pm, staffed by people who live on campus. Instructor office hours will still be Tuesday 4-5pm. Ask for pset help on Piazza, and stay warm.
Tue Mar 7: Problem Set 2 errata
Using canvas is not required in Problem 1 (resizing the board). Canvas is only required beginning in Problem 4 (show suggested move). This has been clarified in the pset handout. Apologies for the confusion.
Additionally, line 209 of board.js should read:
console.log("removeAt found no candy at " + row + "," + col);Mon Mar 6: Check your version of the course
Add date is this Friday, so you should make sure you are registered for the appropriate version of the class (6.813U, 6.831M, 6.831D). The differences between the versions can be found in the general information handout.
You may check which version of the class our records indicate that you are taking by looking at the Sections in LMOD.
If you are listed in the wrong version, please make a private post on Piazza asking to change, no later than Friday. Please also ensure that your official course registration with the Registrar reflects whether you are taking the undergrad version (6.813) or one of the grad versions (6.831). We can’t change that for you.
Mon Feb 27: Group project pages
Each group now has a Google Doc where you can write up your GR1 milestone. You’ll use the same page for all subsequent milestones of the group project, GR2 through GR6.
Each member of your group should have gotten an invitation to edit the doc, to your gmail address. If you didn’t see an invitation, ask your teammates first whether they have an invitation. If nobody in your group got an invitation, please make a private post on Piazza.
You can also reach your group’s doc through the list of group projects posted on the 6.813/6.831 website. An MIT certificate is required to reach this list from the website.
Thu Feb 23: Studios tomorrow; PS2 posted
Studios start tomorrow; your group’s studio time and location can be found on Piazza.
The normal all-class meeting in 34-101 is cancelled on Fridays when we have studio. Go to your studio instead.
PS2 has also been posted on the website. It’s due March 15, which is a long time away, but you’ll need to get your PS1 solution working in order to do PS2 and PS3, so use the time wisely.
Mon Feb 20: TA office hours this week for PS1 help
If you need debugging help with PS1, there will be office hours on Tue/Wed/Thu 2-5pm, in 32-G7 lounge (the lounge right outside the elevator lobby on the 7th floor of the Gates building).
Office hours in general are shown on the calendar.
Wed Feb 15: PS1, GR1, programming labs
The first programming problem set, PS1, can now be found on the website. It’s due next Wed 10pm.
It’s also time to look for a group project team and propose your project idea. The GR1 assignment is on the website and describes the requirements of the project and your group. The first part of GR1 – submitting your project idea and group members – is due next Tue 10pm.
If you need help finding group members, Piazza has a “Search for Teammates” post that you can use.
Finally, for getting help with learning HTML, CSS, Javascript, and jQuery, which you’ll need for PS1, there are optional programming labs tonight and tomorrow night, 7:30-9:30pm in 32-082.
Mon Feb 13: calendar adjustments because of snow closing
Today’s class, 03 Efficiency, is postponed to this Wednesday. If you missed doing its reading exercises last night, you now have until Tue 10pm.
The original class for Wednesday, 04 Safety, has been postponed until next Wednesday. It will keep the number 04 because its reading was already released and renumbering it now would be painful.
Some later topics have been moved around and renumbered as a result; see the calendar on the website.
Wed Feb 8: preparation for this Friday, and HW1 released
This Friday we will have an all-class meeting at 1pm in 34-101, just like today. We’ll talk about learnability, and you’ll need to prepare by doing reading 2 and answering its reading questions. Reading questions should be submitted by 10pm the night before to get participation credit. There will be a nanoquiz at the start of Friday’s class.
Homework 1 (hall of fame and shame) is also posted, and is due next Wednesday.
Undergrads and masters students (in 6.813U and 6.831M) will have no studio this Friday. Studios for those versions of the course will start once we’ve formed project groups.
PhD students (in 6.831D) do have a studio meeting this Friday, 2-3pm (right after class) in 38-166 (very close to 34-101). More information about what to prepare for the 6.831D studio will be emailed directly to the people who signed up for 6.831D on the signup form.
Mon Jan 23: Welcome!
You’re getting this message because you preregistered for 6.813/6.831 User Interface Design and Implementation. We’re looking forward to a fun class this semester, but there are a few things you need to know.
In order to join the class properly, you must fill out this signup form. Please fill it out now.
Attendance is required at the first class on Wed Feb 8. The course is normally oversubscribed, so you must attend the first class and fill out the signup form by the end of it, or else you won’t be able to take the course for credit.
The class meets MWF1, and you should make sure you don’t have any schedule conflicts with any of those days and times. For about half the Fridays, we’ll skip the all-class meeting at 1 and break up into studio sections instead (at 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, or 4pm depending on which section your group is in).
Laptops will be required for all classes – including the first. If you don’t have a functioning laptop, IS&T has a loaner program, but you should act now to get one.
The course has a prerequisite: 6.005 or equivalent software engineering experience. We will be enforcing this requirement, and in particular, we expect you to have all of the following:
- Substantial programming experience in Java, C#, C++, or a similar language (i.e. not just Python or Javascript)
- Experience building at least one graphical user interface
- Experience working in a small software development team using version control
Note that programming experience limited to HTML, Javascript, or Python does not satisfy the prerequisite for this course, and you will not be able to take the course for credit.
That’s it for now. See you in February!