
This course is an introduction to the problem-solving and programming methodologies that are fundamental to the study of computer science. Students gain considerable experience with fundamental language constructs and types, such as expressions, decisions, iteration, functions, structures, and strings. This course (and those to follow in the sequence) is modeled after a college-level class taught by this instructor but is accessible to students who have never programmed before. This is an excellent course for a student exploring the possibility of becoming a programmer or software engineer, or possibly pursuing a college degree in a Computer Science field.
Course Outcomes
• Students will become proficient and comfortable with problem-solving with respect to programming.
• Students will understand the basic methodologies of programming in both the procedural and object oriented environments.
• Students will gain understanding on the syntax and constructs of the C++ programming language.
• Students will be able to explain the concept of objects/classes and be able to represent real world events in class form.
• Students will become proficient in the following programming constructs: expressions, decisions, iteration, functions, structures and strings.
Course Content
This course will cover the following topics:
• Loops
• Methods
• Single and Multi-Dimensional Arrays
• Objects and Classes After seeing what While Loops can do for us, we dive into several other looping structures like the for loop and the do-while loop. We compare the different types of loops and apply them to creating some fun games. Functions allow the programmer to package code in a reusable and efficient manner. If you find yourself using a similar chunk of code multiple times throughout your program, functions are the way to go! Now that we're comfortable creating and using our own functions, we talk about 'scope' - defining where variables exist and are visible. Functions can accept data values to be passed in as parameters. C++ allows for different types of parameters to be used. Students will be provided with weekly PowerPoint decks that will contain all the information they need. We will be using a free online compiler.
I have a degree in computer science and have been teaching all levels of programming and software engineering at the college level for 20 years and have worked in the industry for the same amount of time. This particular course (Introduction to Programming) has always been my favorite to teach. My goal is to give the students an experience that will prepare them to be successful in a Computer Science based college program.
I love programming because there are multiple ways to solve a problem. Computers only do what you tell them to do - whether you realize you're telling them to do something or not!