Independent Study Opportunities
Winter and Spring 1998 --- David G. Kay
I have a broad range of projects for students to work on independently.
For each, there is some flexibility on the number of units and the
precise form your participation can take.
Many of these involve Java and the Web,
so if you're interested in
developing or honing those
skills, here are some chances.
For more information, please
get in touch with me.
ICS is currently considering some changes to the first-year courses,
including the use of Java and Windows NT machines. Once these changes
become official, opportunities for projects will include developing
new courseware and lab assignments, porting existing code, evaluating
new support software, and more. Stay tuned to this page for further
details.
Automatic Assistance for Evaluating Student Programming Assignments
It's hard (perhaps impossible) for a human being to read a computer
program of any size and know how well it works, yet instructors of courses
that require programming assignments must perform this task
routinely.
Some tools exist to assist in this and similar tasks, for example by
running each student's program against a suite of test cases and collecting
the results or by comparing students' programs to detect possible
plagiarism. Participants in this project will investigate existing tools,
design new tools, and port or implement them in the ICS environment,
perhaps using Java. (Some work has
already been done on this project, but students are
needed to carry it on.)
Concepts involved
[If you know some of these already, that's good; if not, you
may have the opportunity to learn them.]
Java, Web forms design and scripting, various network programming skills.
Requirements
Upper division standing, 3.0 GPA, interest in and aptitude for
system-building (and pedagogical administration)
Hashing Visualization
It would be nice to see how evenly a hash function distributes
keys throughout a hash table.
This project involves developing a program, probably as a Java
applet, that allows its user to specify a file of keys and a
hash function and presents a clear graphic representation of
where those keys end up in the hash table. (Of course there
are issues of table size and collision resolution schemes that
might be hard-coded at first and parameterized later on.)
Concepts involved
Hashing, Java
Requirements
3.0 GPA and a good sense for visually clear and appealing displays.
TeX to HTML Conversion
This project involves converting a large base of text
in the TeX typesetting language to HTML for Web publication.
Concepts involved
[If you know some of these already, that's good; if not, you
may have the opportunity to learn them.]
TeX, HTML, large Web site design and organization,
scripting or other automated tools for document
conversion
Requirements
3.0 GPA, excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
Security and Privacy on the Internet
Most people use the Internet as if nobody's watching.
They may read news groups dealing with private problems
(such as socially stigmatized diseases); they may
download sexually suggestive information; they may
visit sites run by non-mainstream political groups;
they may send personal Email to their friends or family.
The typical user, sitting alone at his or her computer,
probably thinks this information is private.
But there's no guarantee of that.
Does the service provider promise to keep the information confidential?
Even if so, would its employees turn down $10,000 from the
National Enquirer for a peek at the supposedly confidential
records?
Even many technically savvy users may not be aware
of copies and traces left by a user's internet activities
in newsrc files, caches, system backups, or
statistics gathered about net traffic.
Public figures or government officials certainly
should be concerned about these issues, but "normal"
people too might be the subject of queries from prospective
employers or even social acquaintances.
The task here is to develop a guide for computer users,
detailing the potential privacy pitfalls and recommending
steps to take to protect one's privacy on the net.
Concepts involved
Operational details of network software, including news,
Email, and Web browsers; backup policies and strategies
Requirements
Upper division standing, 3.0 GPA,
something of a secret agent or hacker's mentality---an ability
to ferret out traces of system activity
Other Projects
I am always interested in hearing other ideas for projects.
David G. Kay, 408E Computer
Science
Department of Information and Computer Science,
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697-3425.
(714) 824-5072 --- Fax
(714) 824-4056 --- Email kay@uci.edu