Assignment 3 CMPT 125 Intro. To Computing Science & Programming II Fall 2023

Assignment 3 (10% of Course Total)

Due date: 11:59pm, Nov 10, 2023

At least part of the assignment will be graded automatically. Make sure that your code compiles without 

warnings/errors and produces the required output. Also use the file names and structures indicated as 

requested. Deviation from that might result in 0 mark.

Your code MUST compile and run reasonably efficiently in the CSIL machines with the Makefile provided. 

It is possible that even with warnings your code would compile. But this still indicates there is something 

wrong with you code and you have to fix them, or marks will be deducted.

Your code MUST be readable and have reasonable documentation (comments) explaining what it does. 

Use your own judgement, for example, no need to explain i += 2 is increasing i by 2, but explain how 

variables are used to achieve something, what a certain loop is doing, and the purpose of each #include.

Description

There is only 1 question in this assignment. However, there are several files you need to submit. Write 

your answer in the corresponding file as instructed along with your student information. You can include 

any libraries that are covered in class (i.e., stdio, stdlib, string, math, stdbool). You can also write your own 

helper functions. Only one of these files should contain the main function.

Question 1 [16 marks]

In this question you are going to extend the program you made in Assignment 2 by providing more 

functionalities. You are again going to write your own main function so the program runs.

Create a program that reads all the talk information from a file and provide an interface for the user to 

query talk entries. Your program must support the following functionalities as options:

 Option 1: to load a talksfile  C ask the user to input the name of the file containing talk information

and load the entries from that file (report # of entries). Note that the file can be non-existent (if 

so the program should print the error and keep running), but if it exists you can assume the format 

inside that file is consistent (duration, talk title, overview, ---), with each line having at most 300 

characters. It is possible for the user to load a different file by choosing this option again, which 

will replace the previously loaded entries. You can assume the filename as at most 50 characters.

 Option 2: to list talks sorted by duration  C list the talk entries from shortest to longest. If with the 

same duration there are more than one talk entry, any order within that duration is acceptable.

 Option 3:to list talks sorted by title  C list the talk entries sorted by title (as determined by strcmp). 

If with the same title there are more than one talk entry, any order within that title is acceptable.

 Option 4: to lookup a talk  C ask the user for a talk title for at most 50 characters (space included),

then report all entries containing the input as a substring. There can be more than one entry from 

the file. The lookup is case-sensitive (i.e.,   computer   and   Computer   are not the same).

o If one or more entries are found, print all the information. Any order is acceptable.

o If no entry is found, print   No such talk on record.  

You can assume the user will always enter at most 50 characters.

Option 5: to terminate the program  C thank the user and end the program.

Assignment 3 CMPT 125 Intro. To Computing Science & Programming II Fall 2023

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Your program must meet these requirements:

 Include the provided header file (.h file) and use the functions defined in the corresponding 

implementation file (.c file) in your driver file (where main is), do not redefine those functions.

 Use a dynamic array of Talk struct pointers to store the talk information. This is the recommended 

approach (instead of a static array with a fixed size) as we might change the number of entries in 

the provided file, and dynamic arrays can accommodate that variation.

 There must be no memory leaks (e.g., your program requests some memory but does not release 

them all before it terminates). In CSIL you can use the Valgrind tool as described to check for that.

 Start with a fancy banner. There is no specific requirement besides it must include your name, 9-

digit SFU ID, and your SFU email address. Let your creativity shine, just nothing offensive.

 If a functionality (e.g., list, lookup) is requested by the user but no file has been loaded, the 

program should print an error message telling the user that no talks file have been loaded and 

prompt the user to do so.

 The sorting for Options 2&3 must be done using the built-in qsort. Meaning you have to write 

your own compare functions for qsort to use (see a3_talklib.h and a3_talklib.c).

And here are some hints for you to write your code:

 The interface is essentially a do-while loop where in each iteration it asks for an option and 

determines what to do, with a repeating conditional of the terminating option has not been 

inputted. It is a common approach for menu-based interfaces.

 Since each item in the dynamic array for the talk entries are pointers, be careful with how you 

are casting the pointer variables in the compare functions (they are pointers to the items)  C

suppose the dynamic array has the type Talk**, then the variables should be cast to Talk**.

 The scanf() function works slightly differently between different formats. One difference is how 

it handles leading and trailing newlines (look up   dangling newline character   if you are curious). 

One option to get around this is put a space in front of the format string (e.g.,    %d  ,    %s  ). You 

are encouraged to explore different ways to get around this issue.

*The entries are randomly generated using ChatGPT with a specific format and then lightly modified. 

Hence, the content might not make sense and have very similar wording patterns  C no need to worry.

Include the function definitions corresponding to a3_talklib.h (and your helper functions, if any) in a 

source file named as a3_talklib.c. Remember the .h file declares the functions and the .c file define them.

Include your main function (and your helper functions, if any) in another source file named as 

a3_talkLookupSystem.c. We call this the driver file because this is where the program starts.

To determine where to place a helper function, think about its purpose. If it provides functionality with 

the Talk structs (e.g., create/clear Talks, compare Talks), it is a library function; if it provides functionality 

of the program (e.g., print a fancy banner), it is a program function. Incorrectly placing these functions 

will lead to mark deductions in the Coding Style category.

Assignment 3 CMPT 125 Intro. To Computing Science & Programming II Fall 2023

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Here are some sample input and output (you can assume user input is always valid, but could be incorrect):

Figure 1. Opening a non-existent file (incorrect input) then an existing file.

Figure 2. Listing talks sorted by title.

Assignment 3 CMPT 125 Intro. To Computing Science & Programming II Fall 2023

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Figure 3. Looking up for   Quantum Computing    C yes there are actually duplicates in the file!.

Coding Style [4 marks]

Your program should be properly indented, have clear and meaningful variable names (e.g., no single?letter variable names except loop iterators) and enough white space and comments to make it easy to 

read. Named constants should be used where appropriate. Each line of code should not exceed 80 

characters. White space should be used in a consistent manner.

Keep your code concise and efficient. If your code is unnecessarily long or inefficient (e.g., hard-code for 

all possible cases, extraneous function calls), we might deduct marks. To help you to get into the habit of 

good coding style, we will read your code and marks will be deducted if your code is not styled properly.

Using the Makefile and Other Supplied Files

The Makefile provided in this assignment is used by a command in the CSIL machines called   make   to 

quickly compile your code. It is especially useful if you have multiple source files. To use it, type the 

following command in the prompt (make sure you are in the directory with all the files of Assignment 3):

$ make test1

The example above illustrates how Question 1 is compiled into an executable called   test1   when using 

the Makefile. Replace the   test1   with   test2  ,   test3  ,   etc. for other questions. You can then run the 

executable by typing   ./test1   to test your code for Question 1. If you make changes to your code, use the 

make command again. You can also use   make all   if you want to compile all your code at once.

The header file a3_talklib.h is there to make the compilation work. Take a look at it for information about 

how each function should work. You might have to modify it and you will have to submit it this time.

Submission

Submit only the 3 source files (a3_talklib.h, a3_talklib.c, a3_talkLookupSystem.c) to CourSys. Refer to the 

corresponding Canvas assignment entry for details. 

Assignment late penalty: 10% per calendar day (each 0 to 24 hour period past due), max 2 days late.

Academic Honesty

It is expected that within this course, the highest standards of academic integrity will be maintained, in 

keeping with SFU  s Policy S10.01,   Code of Academic Integrity and Good Conduct.   In this class, 

collaboration is encouraged for in-class exercises and the team components of the assignments, as well 

Assignment 3 CMPT 125 Intro. To Computing Science & Programming II Fall 2023

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as task preparation for group discussions. However, individual work should be completed by the person 

who submits it. Any work that is independent work of the submitter should be clearly cited to make its 

source clear. All referenced work in reports and presentations must be appropriately cited, to include 

websites, as well as figures and graphs in presentations. If there are any questions whatsoever, feel free 

to contact the course instructor about any possible grey areas.

Some examples of unacceptable behavior:

 Handing in assignments/exercises that are not 100% your own work (in design, implementation, 

wording, etc.), without a clear/visible citation of the source.

 Using another student's work as a template or reference for completing your own work.

 Using any unpermitted resources during an exam.

 Looking at, or attempting to look at, another student's answer during an exam.

 Submitting work that has been submitted before, for any course at any institution.

All instances of academic dishonesty will be dealt with severely and according to SFU policy. This means 

that Student Services will be notified, and they will record the dishonesty in the student's file. Students 

are strongly encouraged to review SFU  s Code of Academic Integrity and Good Conduct (S10.01) available 

online at: http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html.

Use of ChatGPT or Other AI Tools

As mentioned in the class, we are aware of them. I see them as helpers/tutors from which you can look 

for inspiration. However, these tools are not reliable and they tend to be overly confident about their 

answers, sometimes even incorrect. It is also very easy to grow a reliance to them and put yourself at risk 

of not actually learning anything and even committing academic dishonesty. Other issues include:

 When it comes to uncertainty, you won  t know how to determine what is correct.

 If you need to modify or fine tune your answer, you won  t know what to do.

 You will not be able to learn the materials and thus will not ne able to apply what you learn in 

situations where no external help is available, for example, during exams and interviews.

For introductory level courses and less sophisticated questions, it is likely that you  ll get an almost perfect 

answer from these tools. But keep in mind if you can get the answer, everyone can also get the answer. 

Bottomline is, if you ask these tools to give you an answer and you use the answer as yours, you are 

committing academic dishonesty by claiming work that is not done by you as yours.

Note that different instructors might have different policies regarding the use of these tools. Check with 

them before you proceed with assignments from other courses.

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