GTECH 731 Programming for Geographic Applications

syllabus  •  schedule  •  links  •  students

Professor Sean Ahearn
sahearn@hunter.cuny.edu
212-772-5327
1023 Hunter North CARSI Lab

Teaching Assistant
Gordon Green
gordongreen@earthlink.net
212-543-4478

Fall 2008 Meeting Location and Time
Tuesdays 5:35 p.m. - 9.15 p.m. Room 1090B-HN

Prerequisites (or co-requisite)
GTECH 732 and some type of computer programming course, or instructor's permission

Google Group
http://groups.google.com/group/gis-programming-group

Texts
Learning C# 2005: Get Started with C# 2.0 and .NET Programming by Jesse Liberty covers the essentials and is required;
Java Programming for Spatial Sciences by Jo Wood fills in some of the spatial material using Java, and is optional.

A free version of Microsoft Visual Studio ("Express") 2005 is available at http://www.microsoft.com/express/2005/download. Be sure to download the C# edition. The labs have Visual Studio 2005 installed. If you are using 2008 at home, there may be some slight incompatibilities.

Supplemental readings will be circulated or posted the course schedule page as needed.

Exercises
Spending time programming is key, and the small weekly exercises are intended to ensure that all students get plenty of practice.  All exercises should be zipped into a single file and emailed.  Each set of exercises should be emailed by the end of the night the week following the date the material is covered. 

Grades
Labs and project:  75%
Quizzes:  25%

Description
Summary: Programming methods specific to geographic and cartographic applications; programming assignments; graphics. A programming language helpful but not required.

The goal of this course is to provide an understanding of basic programming techniques and how they can be applied to GIS. Foundational concepts are introduced via geographically-oriented examples using the C# language and an implementation of the Simple Features Specification.

After the basic programming ideas are introduced, the course diverges from the texts and moves on to more GIS-specific topics.

Academic Integrity Statement

Hunter College regards acts of academic dishonesty (e.g., plagiarism, cheating on examinations, obtaining unfair advantage, and falsification of records and official documents) as serious offenses against the values of intellectual honesty. The College is committed to enforcing CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity and will pursue cases of academic dishonesty according to the Hunter College Academic Integrity Procedures. Plagiarism, dishonesty, or cheating in any portion of the work required for this course will be punished to the full extent allowed according to Hunter College regulations.