Hi all,
This should (hopefully) be the final message from me for this course. Thank you all for seeing it through to the end, it is always pleasing when the number of exam submissions matches the number of Assignment 1 submissions. I was very impressed with this year's cohort - based on your assignments and exam submissions I would say that you are the strongest group I have seen take this course. Quite a few of you have shown a real aptitude for this subject, and I hope that many of you continue to explore Theoretical CS.
A big shout out to Ethan and Ian - I sat in on a couple of their tutorials, so I know firsthand how much they added to the course.
Your assignment marks should now be visible on the course website. The marks shown include lateness penalties/early bonuses - i.e. the marks are what was submitted. If there are any gross inaccuracies, please let me know - marks can be amended with not too much trouble. I am happy to provide feedback on any mark (including exam marks when they become available), please drop me an email if you have any questions.
The forum will remain open for a couple of weeks - and the exam is now (effectively) public domain, so feel free to discuss questions/solutions.
I'd like to finish with my favourite proof from your exams - the student shall remain anonymous (primarily because I'm not sure I can find which paper it came from). Here is (my paraphrasing of) their beautiful proof of Q2(a):
L is regular, so rev(L) is regular (from Assignment 1).
Regular languages are closed under concatenation so L' = L·rev(L) is regular. [many of you got here]
The language P of all palindromes is context-free (from lectures).
Because the intersection of a CFL and a regular language is context-free, we therefore get that mirror(L) = P∩L' is context-free.
Thank you all again,
Paul
Hi all,
The final exam is now available on the course website (under Activities).
It is due at
9am (Sydney time) on Tuesday 10 May 2022
.
Multiple submissions are acceptable - please remember to submit early and submit often.
I will be around for questions on ed from 9-11 today; any significant announcements will be made through course-wide announcements - so please keep an eye on your email.
Paul
Hi all,
As mentioned in today's lecture, there will be a [recorded] Q&A session on Monday (2pm-4pm), where I will answer any questions you have about the course, and work through solutions to several problems (e.g. previous exam questions) - ideally suggested by you. This lecture is completely optional, but will offer the most benefit with student participation.
It has occurred to me that the consultation scheduled for next week is not well timed for anyone with Assignment 4 questions. So the Q&A session on Monday will also be open for questions/discussions about the ongoing assignment - though, like the consultations, this is intended to be somewhat interactive and student driven.
Paul
Hi all,
I realise that for students - especially those that have more than one course at the moment - this point in term is always extremely busy. The final assignment of any term is always a balance between giving students an opportunity to test their understanding of the later concepts (in this course, this covers most of the complexity content) and giving them ample time to prepare for exams. Curtailing the assignment (or even making it optional) is not fair on those students that want (or need) to test their understanding/ability on the later topics; but having an assignment needing a similar time commitment as the previous assignments can also add unnecessary stress at a very stressful time.
In order to address both issues, I will be adjusting the submission details for Assignment 4.
Early submissions will now receive a bonus of +20% (up to +100%) to the raw mark for every 24 hours prior to the deadline.
That is, submissions received prior to 12:00 on Saturday will be graded as usual, but the final mark will be doubled (capped at 100); submissions received between 12:00 on Saturday and 12:00 on Sunday will have the final mark scaled by 1.8; submissions received between 12:00 on Sunday and 12:00 on Monday will be scaled by 1.6; etc.
This gives students the choice between a reduced, but fully-weighted assessment in a shorter time; or the standard time frame for the complete assignment.
Note:
For submissions eligible for the early submission bonus, attempts at a reduced number of
complete
problems (excl. 4(e)) will be regarded more favorably than partial attempts of all problems.
I will try to set up the give system to grab the daily submissions in case students change their mind about an early/later submission, but for now assume that any bonuses/penalties will be applied to your latest submission.
Special consideration will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, however, the default position will be a reduction in late penalties only (i.e. the early submission bonus only applies to submissions made prior to the original deadline).
Note 2:
This is the first time I have tried something like this to address the issues plagued by the end-of-term assessment, and it is something I would definitely consider going forward. I would certainly appreciate your feedback - in particular if you think the bonus is harsh/fair/lenient; and if you think the idea does/does not give a good balance between the competing issues outlined at the start.
Paul
Hi all
The final assignment is now available on the course website. It is due on Thursday 28th April at 12:00 (AEST).
Paul
Hi all,
Sorry, I made a mistake in my uploading of the tutorial solutions that I didn't realise I had made until today. These should all now be visible. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Paul
There was an issue with the submission setup for Assignment 3a. This is now fixed, so you may submit your Turing Machines and you will see the feedback.
Note:
You can submit any/all of your TMs to get feedback - in particular you can submit multiple TM*.txt files at once. Your final score will be taken as your last submission - so please make sure you
submit all your TM files in your final submisson.
Paul
Hi all,
Tomorrow morning webCMS will be inactive from 8-10am. As this significantly overlaps ideal submission time, I will extend the deadline to
5pm Monday 21 March (AEDST)
. I will update the submission portals with the new time shortly.
I am also working to get Assignment 1 marks (and partial feedback) tonight.
Consequently there has been a short delay in the release of Assignment 3, this will be released as soon as Assignment 1 marks are available.
Paul
Hi all,
Due to unforeseen circumstances, tonight's consultation will have move to 9pm.
Apologies for the late notice.
Paul
Hi all,
Although Assignment 1 is not due until Monday, I have made the next assignment available to give you an extra couple of days to familiarise yourselves with it.
There is no expectation of you to work on it before the deadline of Assignment 1 - submission is not required until two full weeks after the deadline of Assignment 1. That is, Assignment 2 is due on
at 12:00 Monday 21st March, 2022
.
Paul
Hi all,
There is a severe weather warning for Wednesday (and possibly Tuesday evening) which may impact travel to and from campus for this week's face-to-face tutorials. Any student of the face-to-face tutorials that cannot make it to campus safely should attend one of the online tutorials at the same time. Students of the face-to-face tutorials should monitor their email in case your tutor cannot make it to campus.
Hi all,
Assignment 1 is now available, the spec can be found on the course website (under "Course Work -> Assignments" or "Activities").
It is due at
12 noon (AEDST)
on
Monday 7 March 2022
. Submission is through give (or via the course website).
Paul
Hi all,
I am currently experiencing a power outage courtesy of the storm and I am unsure when it will be resolved . Consequently I am cancelling tonight's consultation.
Apologies for any inconvenience,
Paul
Hi all,
Welcome to COMP4141, Theory of Computation. This is just a brief announcement to introduce you to various aspects of the course: the website, the learning interfaces, and the staff (me).
This term COMP4141 will be delivered primarily online - lectures will be delivered online in real time via zoom; and there are a combination of online and face-to-face tutorials.
I encourage you to familiarise yourself with the course website:
http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~cs4141
as it provides the starting point for all aspects of the course.
Lectures begin at 2pm on Monday (today). Details of the lectures can be found on the course website once you have logged in to webCMS [please note that the zoom link was updated earlier today]. If you do not yet have your zID/zPassword set up, please contact me directly (contact details can be found through the Course Outline page). Lectures will be recorded, and the recording will be available shortly after the lecture finishes.
Tutorials begin on Tuesday (tomorrow). Details of tutorials will be available on the course website presently.
You will shortly receive an email inviting you to join the course forum on ed. The course forums also provide a platform to ask questions and discuss the course material.
Looking forward to virtually meeting you later today
Paul Hunter
(Lecturer in Charge)