Here are answers to some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about CIS 732 (Machine Learning and Pattern Recognition) at Kansas State University. General Questions ================= Q1: What is the main course page? A1: http://www.kddresearch.org/Courses/Fall-2001/CIS732 is the URL of the main course page. In general, all courses taught in K-State's graduate program in Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD) have URLs of the form: http://www.kddresearch.org/Courses/[semester]-[year]/CIS[number] Q2: What are the computing (software and hardware) requirements? A2: You shall need to have a computer account that allows you to access KDD systems by secure shell (ssh) and preferably secure copy (scp). A home personal computer running Linux (e.g., Red Hat 6.x or 7.x), MacOS 9 or X, or Windows ME, 2000, or XP is recommended. Other computing and software facilities shall be provided for you. If you are accessing the web lectures through K-State Online (KSOL), please see below. Q3: What programming languages are required? A3: C++, Java, and SML are preferred, but you may use any imperative (C, C++, Java, Smalltalk, etc.), functional (Scheme, SML/CAML, Haskell), or logic programming language of your choice as long as you have prior instructor approval. For any language other than C++, Java, Scheme, or Standard ML of New Jersey, we require 2 weeks' prior notification and you must identify a public domain compiler or interpreter. It shall be your responsibility to set this up. For independent study undergraduate honors projects, MSE projects, MS theses, and PhD dissertations in AI, we permit and even encourage the use of "classical" AI programming languages such as LISP and Prolog, as well as production systems (e.g., JESS, CLIPS) and AI libraries (MLC++, WEKA). In CIS 732, however, we recommend that you use one of the "preferred" programming languages for machine problems unless you are highly proficient in some other one. Q4: What is the workload like in CIS 732? A4: CIS 732 is a research-oriented course for upper-division undergraduates and beginning graduate students. It satisfies an implementation requirement but is only a moderately programming-intensive course. It is, however, a highly reading-intensive course. To enroll, you must have the prerequisites CIS 300 (algorithms and data structures) and 501 (software architecture) or an equivalent course sequence in implementation of data structures and algorithms for sorting (records) and searching (records, files, and data structures such as trees, heaps, graphs, etc.) as well as graph constructions. You should also have taken CIS 301, CIS 575, Math 510, and Stat 410, or equivalent undergraduate-level courses in set theory and logic, analysis of algorithms, discrete math, and fundamentals of probability - otherwise, you'll need to invest more time in reading and understanding most chapters in the textbook by Mitchell and many of the papers. For students with these prerequisites, the programming workload is about 2 hours for every hour of lecture (at least 4-5 per week and up to about 15-20 for a machine problem). Similarly, the reading workload is a minimum of 2 hours for every hour of lecture provided you have had When a written problem set is due instead of a machine problem, expect to spend about the same amount of time (or about an hour more per week). The writing (paper review) workload is about 1 hour per week. Q5: What coursework requirements does CIS 732 satisfy at K-State? A6: CIS 732 satisfies an implementation course requirement for the MSE, MS, and PhD degrees; the recommended COURSE component for the Artificial Intelligence PhD preliminary (i.e., qualifying) examination; and one of the core course requirements for the upcoming graduate degree specialization in Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD). It may also be counted as an undergraduate or graduate technical elective; consult the appropriate program director in your department. Q6: May I hand-write my problem sets? I promise to write neatly. A6: Typeset problem sets are required in CIS 732, but you may use any word processor you wish (PostScript and PDF files are preferred, and MS Word files are also acceptable). These and other rules and guidelines are given in the course introductory handout. Q7: I can't {login | edit | compile | run the handin script}. A7: Send mail to admin@www.kddresearch.org and document your problem carefully (include information on the system, time, and precisely what you were trying to do). Use a MEANINGFUL subject line. Finally, please be patient - the KDD system administrators receive hundreds of e-mails a week and it may take 24-48 hours to get to your problem! Q8: My question hasn't been answered by this FAQ list. Now what? A8: Tip #1 for "How to Do Well in This Course" is ASK QUESTIONS, so please go to the course web page, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ksu-cis732-fall2001 and post your question. You shall need to subscribe, which shall require you to create a free Yahoo! Groups account if you haven't used Yahoo! before. You may also e-mail your question to ksu-cis732-fall2001@yahoogroups.com and it shall be automagically posted and mailed to the class and all instructional staff. Questions for Local Students using K-State Online (KSOL) ======================================================== Q9: When do lectures begin and how do I access them? A9: Lectures shall begin on Tuesday 21 Aug 2001, but may not be accessible for a day or two afterwards. This latency shall be reduced soon after the start of the semester. To view your lectures, go to: http://tegrity.online.ksu.edu/tegrity/ and browse the `bhsu' subdirectory. (You will need to be logged in to K-State Online.) The PowerPoint originals are on the CIS732 Lectures page: http://www.kddresearch.org/Courses/Fall-2001/CIS732/Lectures and both shall soon be linked from the K-State Online (KSOL) course page: http://online.ksu.edu/CIS_732/ Q10: How do I get help with viewing lectures or missing materials? A10: Some instructional facilities are maintained by the instructor and the K-State Department of Computing and Information Sciences (CIS), and some are maintained by the Division of Continuing Education (DCE). If you have any difficulties in viewing your lectures or can't find resources that you need on any web site, please e-mail the following address: cis732ta@www.kddresarch.org and we shall determine which organization manages the files or services you need. It is not necessary to cc: the instructors because we are all on this list. You may be referred to Tech Support for K-State Online (KSOL) and DCE, in which case we shall personally forward your query to: support@dce.ksu.edu There may be a 1-day latency for such queries but if you don't get a prompt response, please notify both cis732ta and DCE Support. Thanks in advance for your patience! Q11: Do I need my own computer, and if so, what OS should I run? A11: Yes. You shall need to run Microsoft Windows (98, NT4, 2000, ME, XP Pro, or XP Home). A Windows 2000 / Red Hat Linux 6.x/7.x dual-boot setup is suggested. For machine problems, you may ssh to systems at K-State's CIS department (where accounts shall be created for you on some CIS machines, including those at the KDD Lab) to work. Various compilers and interpreters shall be available. You are also welcome to download or purchase your own C++ or Java integrated development environments and use those (for the sake of portability and ease of testing, all machine problems shall be required to run in command-line mode.