Preliminary info

"I am just a tiny cactus but I believe in you!"

Sections, a.k.a. labs

These start on Wed Jan 22/Thu Jan 23. To be clear: sections are not being held on either Mon Jan 20 or Tue Jan 21, even though lectures have started by then.

Labs involve programming exercises. If not bringing your own computer, enroll in a section in Phillips 318 or Carpenter 104 (the "Blue" room), which have computers available.
Attend only the section you are officially enrolled in: staffing is based on enrollment numbers.
Not in the section you want? Use Student Center to swap sections [instructions]. There are over a dozen sections available [Spring 2025 roster section listing: use NetID login to see rooms], even though Student Center may show only 5 or so by default.
Desired section currently full? Don't contact the instructors, Instead, check back on Student Center regularly. If you are patient, our experience is that you are likely to be able to Student-Center-swap into a section that works for you: seats tend to open up every day during the first week of classes or so.

Grade policies of particular note

Workload/primary basis for grading: lecture attendance with iClickers, twice-weekly lab exercises, roughly 6 programming assignments (done alone or in pairs), 2 in-person evening prelims (Tue Mar 11, Tue Apr 22); 1 in-person final.
1. Non-traditional aspect: Regardless of weights on exams, assignments, etc., students must receive a C- or better on both prelims in order to receive a C- or better in the course. This is not meant to be a high bar.
No set "forced distribution" of percent of class getting a certain grade or pre-determined grade cut-offs. Students are not in competition with each other; also, cut-offs are adjusted for the difficulty of the exams and assignments each semester. We would be thrilled if everyone earned an A, and we believe you are all capable of doing so!
No A+ grades awarded. We approve of students reporting Cornell GPAs as out of 4.0.

Is this class right for you?

CS 1110 is designed expressly for students without programming experience to learn introductory-level programming concepts and algorithm development and analysis. So, if you don't have programming experience, not only are you welcome, but you are our primary audience! You can take the course as the beginning of a path to a CS/IS major or minor, or as your only/last course in computing.

The course is not the right fit for the following:

"Just" want to learn the basics of Python or "just" have specific applications in mind, and are not looking for development in fundamental programming skills? Consider CS 1133 or this list of Spring 2025 courses mentioning Python.
Have CS AP credit or close-to-equivalent experience? We recommend starting with CS 2110. You can switch to CS 1110 during add/drop.
If you have taken or are taking CS 2110/ENGRD 2110, CS 2112, or a course offered or cross-listed with a CS number 3000 or above, you are not permitted to take CS 1110. Consider CS 1133 or this list of Spring 2025 courses mentioning Python.

Contacting us

We believe most questions can be held for after the first lecture. But for now, if you need to get in touch, please email cs1110-prof@cornell.edu . Prof. Clarkson, Prof. Lee, and our course administrative assistant Lacy Jordaens all have access to that email address. Please do not use our individual email addresses.