2COS402 Introduction to Programming

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2COS402 Introduction to Programming

• Chris Thorpe
• thorpec_at_wmin.ac.uk
• Room AG14

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Today

• Briefing on what you will be doing this year
• Learning Resources
• KEY questions answered
• Overview of what programming is
• Guidance on what to do next

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The Module

• Module codeCOS402
• Starts September finished May 2006
• Worth 30 credits (double)!
• CORE module
• My role

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Learning Resources

• Yourselves!
• Course book
• Blackboard
• Tutors
• Each other
• Library/Other Books
• Internet

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Learning Resources

• YOURSELVES!
• The MOST important resource!
• YOU will have to take responsibility for learning
  to program by doing it. IT CAN NOT BE CRAMMED!

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Learning Resources

• Yourselves
• You cannot learn to program by reading a book
  it is more like learning to play a musical
  instrument!
• This is a double module worth 30 credits it is a
  core module. We estimate that You should put in
  at least 250-300 hours over the year including
  class contact time. Thats 9 hours a week. You
  have 4 hours contact (lectures and tutorials)
  that leaves 5 hours a week for pre-tutorial
  reading and any catching up of lab work not
  completed.
• We expect you to keep up. Please do not complain
  that I set too much work for the labs, because as
  you have seen you have plenty of time outside
  labs to finish the set work!

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Learning resources

• Course Book You MUST get a copy
• Programming and Problem Solving with C by Nell
  Dale 4th Edition
• ISBN 07637 0798-8
• I will simply refer to this as Dale. E.g. do
  exercises 2-4 on page 1001 in Dale.
• There is also a version available that includes a
  student edition of Visual C.NET Program
  development studio.
• The bookshop has lots of copies

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Learning resources

• Course Book
• Pre-tutorial reading and exercises and Tutorial
  work will be set from this book. I will refer to
  set question numbers
• I will NOT be handing any notes out. There are
  far too many of you!

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Learning resources

• Blackboard
• learning.wmin.ac.uk
• It contains lecture notes (these PowerPoints,
  Demo programs, pre-tutorial and tutorial work
  specifications.)
• It contains assessment guidelines, past papers
  etc.
• Available outside the university! E.g. At home!
• Show them Chris!

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Learning Resources

• Blackboard
• Vital to visit ASAP
• All fully registered students should have access.
• If you are registered and cant access go to the
  library and ask what the problem is.
• If you are not registered fully yet make sure you
  do get registered ASAP. You will have to use my
  backup site to get homework specs and notes.

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Backup site for course material

• If you have problems accessing blackboard because
  of registration issues I will dump the necessary
  course material on my old website.
• Note I will stop doing this after a few weeks
• http//users.wmin.ac.uk/thorpec

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Learning Resources

• Tutors
• Tutors are there to get you out of holes, and
  give one to one advice on techniques.
• Suggest approaches to problems NOT solve
  problems for you.
• Tutors are there to answer any questions on
  written pre-lab and lab-exercises.
• Tutors should not have to lecture.

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Learning Resources

• Each other
• Talk to your fellow students, find out which
  students understand the material you have
  problems with and ask them nicely to explain it
  to you.
• If you think you understand something then
  explain it to others (It is the best way I know
  of proving understanding)
• In labs discuss things with each other.

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Learning Resources

• Internet/Library/Bookshops
• There is a VAST amount of material out there
  catering for complete beginners to the most
  advanced professional.
• It is always helpful to get alternative views on
  tricky subjects.

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The frequently asked questions (FAQs)Why,
What, How, Where and When

• For example
• Why are you learning to program?
• What will you learn?
• How will you be assessed?
• Where will you learn?
• When will you learn?

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Why are you learning to Program? Or whats in it
for me?

• For pure academic interest (I wish!)
• To get a job and pay off your loans!
• You are all doing computer science do you really
  think you can avoid it!
• Because it underpins virtually all your other
  subjects. You will develop problem solving skills
  and organisation skills.

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Why C

• Supports procedural programming and object
  oriented programming.
• C/C de-facto industry standard programming
  language.
• It works on our network (I hope! well it did last
  year)

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Why C

• Friendly development environment and good
  debugging tools.
• Cheap for student edition

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What is computer programming?

• Specifying a precise set of instructions in a
  particular order in order to get the computer to
  carry out a task

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What is computer programming?
The Problem is that computer programming

• Is very different from what many of you have done
  before.
• Is one of the least doable subject from books.
• Needs creative problem solving (thinking)
• Need good organisation
• Needs Lots of practice

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What is computer programming?
The good thing is

• You are all natural problem solvers! Honest!
• In your lives you are constantly solving
  problems.
• What to have for lunch?
• Where to go on holiday?
• How much will I earn tonight working in the bar?
• How do I get from here to the bar by the quickest
  route

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The bad thing is

• We solve many of these problems unconsciously.
• Many have difficulties generalising their day to
  day problem solving skills to the precision
  required for problem solving in computing.
• E.g. A very simple example
• Bobs DIY

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Bobs DIY

• Problem
• Bob needs to know how many cans of paint needed
  to paint a room.
• Buys too much then he loses money
• Buys too little then he loses money (wasted time
  getting more paint)
• Bob wants a clever computer programmer (YOU!) to
  help him.

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Computers are a bit dim!

• You have to detail precisely the instructions No
  Mr Data from Star Trek here, no computer
  understands English!
• You must be able to figure out how to solve the
  problem first (on paper) before you attempt to
  write a computer program to tackle to task.

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Bobs DIY (tidy version)

• Get the coverage of paint (coverage)
• Get the height of room (ht)
• Get the width of wall 1 (w1)
• Get the width of wall 2 (w2)
• Calculate total wall area (totalArea)
• totalArea 2 x ht x w1 2 x ht x w2
• Calculate Cans of paint needed (nCans)
• totalArea / coverage
• Display Result to BOB

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CODE Instructions in C
include ltiostreamgt using namespace std int
main () float coverage float
ht,w1,w2 float totalArea int nCans cout
ltlt "Please enter the paint coverage from the can
" cin gtgt coverage cout ltlt "Please measure
and enter the height of the wall " cin gtgt
ht cout ltlt "Please measure and enter the width
of the wall 1 " cin gtgt w1 cout ltlt "Please
measure and enter the width of the wall 2
" cin gtgt w2 totalArea 2htw1
2htw2 nCans totalArea/coverage cout
ltlt"Hi BOB, you need " ltlt nCans ltlt" cans of paint"
ltlt endl return 0
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Check program works for any wall size and coverage

• There is a problem with this program
• Can you find it?

MORAL never believe what a computer tells you!
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Practice, Practice, Practice

• Computer programming is more like
• Learning a musical instrument
• Learning to play a new sport
• It is an active process
• It is an incremental process
• It constantly builds from previously learnt ideas
• Do NOT get left behind it is VERY hard to catch
  up!

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What will you learn?

• You will learn a new vocabulary, the terminology
  of this subject.
• You will learn how to begin the process of
  problem solving and designing a solution. 
• You will learn how to write the solution to a
  problem down in an unambiguous way. 
• You will learn how to verify if the solution is
  correct. 

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What will you learn?

• You will learn the basic syntax and structure of
  simple C programs
• You will learn how to translate solutions you
  design into C code in a systematic and stable
  way. 
• You will learn how to use the C development
  environment to build and to debug your programs.
• You will learn how to verify whether the C code
  for the solution is correct. 

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What you will learn?

• You will learn the fundamental concepts of
  procedural programming sequences, selection,
  repetition, functional decomposition.
• You will learn fundamental concepts of data
  structures
• You will learn fundamental concepts of Object
  oriented programming

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Overall Syllabus Goal (Semester 1)

• To be able to
• investigate and analyse a real world problem
• Produce and verify a solution formally
• Using sequences, selection, repetition and
  subprogram invocation.
• Using C implement and test your solution

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How will you be assessed?

• Commitment to learn marks
• Your tutors will give you an impression mark for
  what you have done in a tutorial. This mark is
  affected by your pre-tutorial work. This will be
  worth (5 per semester).
• You will have to show your pre-lab exercises and
  specified lab exercises.
• It is your responsibility to sign in each week
  and to make sure you have been graded. The tutors
  mark sheet is the ONLY evidence of your work that
  will be accepted.

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How will you be assessed?

• Working at home/in other times. You MUST do this
  if you want any success. Do not simply rely on
  exercises I set, work from your book.
  Unfortunately because of the burden of proof
  needed only the work done in tutorials will be
  marked.
• If your tutor misses a tutorial, then the maximum
  number of labs you could have attended is reduced
  by one.

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How will you be assessed?

• In a months time there will be a short mid term
  practical test worth 5. Your tutor will simply
  sit sown with you and check you have learnt the
  absolute basics we have covered up to that point.

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How will you be assessed?

• You will have a practical laboratory test at the
  end of each semester, where you are given an
  exercise to do during the lab without aid of
  books, this is worth (25 in semester 1 and 20
  in semester 2)

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How you will be assessed

• At the end of each semester there will be a test
  to check that you have learnt the theoretical
  parts of the course. Each of these tests are
  worth 20.

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Importance of Practical!

• Each component is marked out of 100 marks
• Semester 1
• Value Description
• 5 Tutorial work/Commitment to learning in
  semester 1
• 5 Mid term practical
• 25 In tutorial practical at the end of semester
  1
• 20 Theory test at the end of semester 1
• Semester 2
• Value Description
• 5 Tutorial work/Commitment to learning in
  semester 2
• 20 In tutorial practical at the end of semester
  2
• 20 Theory test at the end of semester 2

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Where and When

• You come to lectures here at your allocated time.
  Lectures are VERY important. It is not like
  school where I have to teach to a set syllabus. I
  set the syllabus!
• You will have been allocated tutorial groups.
  Timetable gives location and times for tutorial
  groups.
• You must stick to your tutorial groups, we cannot
  accept floating from one group to another.
• Labs this week will run, where you should make
  sure you can log on to the system. Visit
  blackboard or my website and check your
  pre-tutorial and tutorial work. E.g. this week
  You should go through the introduction to C I
  have prepared.
• Student guide Your tutor will hand out an
  overview of the key information for the module
  during your tutorial.

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Important Dates (Note in your diary)

• Teaching week 1 This week labs run
• Mid term test Teaching weeks 4 and 5, weeks
  starting 16th and 23rd October. It will take
  place during your regular tutorial slot.
• End of semester practical test Teaching week 12
  (Week starting 11th December) It will take place
  during your regular tutorial slot.
• Theory Test Tutorial Week (Week starting 8th and
  9th January 2007) Theory Tests in auditorium
  during your normal lecture slot.

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To Do List!

• You need to purchase the course book
• In your labs this week confirm your account
  details (username is your student ID and password
  is your date of birth, see your information
  sheet)
• In the lab this week, visit Blackboard go to the
  tutorial specs page and do pre-lab reading and
  exercises for next week.
• Brush up on you basic windows skills, learn to
• rename files
• create folders and subfolders
• copy move files to and from hard disk and
  floppy disk
• delete files and folders

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Try to have fun!

• Bye Bye