Intro to Computer Science I

Catalog description

Computational tools are a critical part of our everyday lives. Software is the driving force behind cutting-edge scientific discovery, blockbuster entertainment, and today's fast-paced marketplace. This course is an introduction to techniques, ideas, and problem-solving approaches that are used to develop some of these tools. At a high level, we focus on developing "computational thinking", which is the practice of using abstraction to design and implement algorithms and software to solve problems that arise in many different areas of our daily lives, such as networks, social media, and scientific computing, to name just a few. At a practical level, students will design, implement, test and document their programs to learn introductory programming concepts, such as: data types and data structures (e.g. lists, dictionaries, trees); programming techniques (modular design using functions, recursion, object-oriented programming); performance analysis via theoretical estimate, profiling and timing. Most assignments in this course are programming assignments aimed to teach the students to express their ideas in efficient and elegant code; no prior programming experience is necessary to join and succeed in the course. Lecture periods are dedicated to introducing new material, discussions, individual and group activities. Lab periods are used for programming practice. CMPS 1500 is the first course for the Coordinate Major in Computer Science.