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Introduction to Computer Program Design

COMP 102 2013 T1 .

Peter Andreae( “Pondy” )

Computer Science

Victoria University of Wellington

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COMP 102

Menu:• What is COMP102 about?

• Where does COMP102 fit in your degree?

• Course organisation

• What to do NOW!

Administrivia:Handouts: • Course Outline• Lab Assignment 1Students with enrolment conflict– please see me after the lecture:• C Palamo, J Player, H Hawe

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Computing is everywhere

• Computer based systems are everywhere• user application programs – browsers, photo editors, chat

programs• social media and mobile phone apps,…• computer games• Information systems in commerce and business• specialised applications – analysing gene data, X-rays,

simulations• controllers for device – cars, washing machines, TVs, DVD

player, etc• operating systems that run computers, cell phones, etc.• network communication: internet connections, phone

exchanges, fibre optics, cell phone systems, etc• ….

⇒ Computing underlies almost all aspects of modern life

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Computer Science

• Computer Science is the science of Computing

• The study of the computing processes that happen inside computers when they are working.

• How do we design, build, analyse systems that deal with information:• text• numbers• graphics and video• sound • sensor and control signals• ….

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Computer Science Questions

How do you….• design a computer system to manage an organisation’s

information?• design an intelligent assistant for your phone that can talk

with you?• enable social interaction over communication networks• send data securely and reliably over unreliable public

networks?• manage large teams of programmers building insanely

complicated programs (not the way Novopay did!)• design algorithms that will create new visual effects for

movies• design a database so that it is impossible to enter

inconsistent data?• design programming languages to make programming easier• ensure that the computer program controlling a nuclear

reactor or a spacecraft never makes a mistake?• design a self-driving car that drives safely on city roads?• make a safe encryption scheme for electronic commerce?• determine whether some computation is tractable or even

possible?

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What is COMP 102?

A first course in • Computer Science• Software Engineering• Network Engineering

A required course for• Electronic and Computer Engineering• Operations Research

An important course for • Information Systems• Media Design

A useful course for • Everyone

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CS

IS

NW

EC SE

MD

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COMP102 not Computer Science overviewWhy not?

To understand the issues and principles of Computer Science, we need to understand and be able talk about computation.

• Programming is about specifying the computation that a computer should do

• We need to be able to write, understand, think about, and analyse programs to address the

• Programming is fundamental to the engineering side of Computer Science.

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What is COMP 102 about

• COMP 102 is about learning the language and the ways of thinking required for Computer Science, Software Engineering, Network Engineering etc.

• Programming is about designing new programs, applications, systems by writing the instructions to make a computer behave in the way we want it to.

• In COMP102, you will design and write lots of little programs for a wide variety of tasks.

• Gives you a new set of mental tools for addressing problems• Different way of thinking from most disciplines• Very precise, coping with abstraction and complexity,

creative.

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Goals of COMP102

• By the end of COMP102 you will be able to • understand, design, and construct small computer programs

(in Java). ⇒ be able to use computers to solve new problems⇒ be able to think in a new way about problems

Note: We don’t assume you have done any programming.

COMP102 starts from the beginning

Example programs:

• Bouncing ball simulator• diagram editor• photo manipulator• little game

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What does COMP102 cover?

Focus of the course:

• Object Oriented programming and design.• Programming with the Java programming language.

• Java is a widely used programming language• Clean enough for learning to program• Useful for real programming• Strong enough for very large programs

• Practical programming, writing small programs.

• Testing and debugging.

• Principles of good design.

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Planning your programme

• You can’t do COMP102 at the same time as COMP103• Some students were enrolled this way by mistake!

• If you are doing BE or BSc (COMP)• then you should do COMP103 in Tri 2.• (unless we let you straight into COMP 103 this trimester)

• If you are doing COMP• then it is very sensible (but not required) to take SWEN 102 in

Tri 2.• You don’t need to change enrolment until mid-year• You should also plan on doing MATH161 in Tri 2.

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Is COMP102 For You?

• Required course for Computer Science, Engineering • Useful course for anyone who wants to be able to

program.• Not about using computers and applications software.• Not an “easy credits” course for most people

• Involves higher level thinking skills than many students expect

• Key factors for success are • logical/abstract thinking, • being able to think about your own thinking processes • problem solving, not memory• attention to detail• not getting behind

• Takes time! plan on around 10 hours / week

• Practical work is critical

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Wide range of Backgrounds

• We assume you have used a computer

• We do NOT assume you have done any programming

• But some students have!• good – it is definitely helpful• if you have done lots of programming, the course should be

easy• It may be that you can take COMP103 this trimester

instead!See me after the lecture.

• We try to meet the needs of the full range of students• Additional support available• Assignments have graduated components.

• If you are repeating the course:• Do the whole of the assignments, without looking at previous

solutions • The course will be similar, but there will be changes.

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Course Organisation

All the details are in the course outline:• handout• on the course web page:

http://ecs.victoria.ac.nz/Courses/COMP102_2012T1/

Lectures• Present new ideas, techniques, examples.

• Tue, Wed, Fri 12-1 MC LT103 (hopefully video recorded)

• Approx 30 lectures • Other 6 lecture slots used for tests, reviews, extension

material, etc.

Optional Tutorial/Review Session • Mon 12-1, MY 632, Starts third week.

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Course Web Site

An essential resource for the course:

• http://ecs.victoria.ac.nz/Courses/COMP102_2013T1

• Course information, announcements, handouts, videos

• Lab Assignment details (times, dates, handouts, files, ...)

• Forum, for questions and discussion

• Info about doing work at home.

• Java documentation

• Other useful links

Primary administrative communication channel.

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People

Lecturer/Organiser (Academic/content issues)• Peter Andreae – “Pondy” Office: CO 222• Peter.Andreae@ecs.vuw.ac.nz or pondy@ecs.vuw.ac.nz

Senior Tutor (Administrative issues, esp labs)• Ambreen Khan-Evans Office: CO 343 • Ambreen.Khan-Evans@ecs.vuw.ac.nz

Tutors (Help in labs or via online help system)• Range of Undergraduates and Graduates

Technical Staff (Reporting problems with the computers) • bugs@ecs.vuw.ac.nz

School Office (Forgotten passwords)• Kelsey, Renee, and Prema School Office: CO 358

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Lab assignments

• Ten lab assignments (roughly weekly),• hand out: Tuesday (or Wednesday morning)• due: 11am Wednesday (a week later) (except #4,

#5, & #10)

• Apply material from lectures and text book to practical programming problems.

This is where your learning happens!

• Done partly in scheduled lab sessions

• Further work required: expect 5 hours outside labs • any of the ECS labs, • VS 3.19 (design school)• on your home computer

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Scheduled Labs

• 2 hr lab, on Wed, Thu, Fri in CO 242/243• Wed 1-3, 3-5, 5-7• Thu 9-11, 11-1, 1-3, 3-5• Fri 10-12, 1-3 • Wed 2:40-4:40 in VS 3.19 (Te Aro campus for Design/Arch

students)• Make-up lab: 3-5 on Friday.

• Tutors present to help.

• Start THIS week (from Wednesday)• First assignment is short, and should not require additional

work outside the lab session.

• Sign up online• https://signups.victoria.ac.nz/

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Course Organisation

Help Desk• Online help:

• Forum for general questions; email/web form for questions about your code.

• Help Desk: Tutors available at various times: TBA

Study groups• We will facilitate organising study groups and tutored

help sessions • Excellent way of helping your learning• Science and Engineering Faculty Awhina programme:

• support for Maori and Pacific Nations students• Women students support group??.

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Text Book and Handouts

Text Book• Java Foundations Lewis, DePasquale, Chase

• Same as for COMP103.• [also OK: Java Software Solutions (6th ed) Lewis and Loftus]

• We consider it an important resource.• The lectures complement the text, not replace it.• Lectures will not cover all the details you need!

• But nor will the textbook!

Handouts• Course outline, Lecture slides, Assignments• Handed out in class.• On COMP102 web page.

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Tests and Exams

Terms Test 1:• 15%• Mon 8 April 5-6 pm• NOT in lecture time!

Terms Test 2:• 15% • Mon 13 May 5-6 pm• NOT in lecture time!

Exam: • 50% • Date tba (between 15 June and 3 July)

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Assessment

Read the Course Outline!!!

Mandatory Course Requirement:• Submit reasonable attempts for at least 8 of assignments 2 to

10.

Final Grade:• Lab assignments: 20% (labs 2 -10)

• Terms Test 1: 15% (mark boosted to exam mark, if better)Terms Test 2: 15% (mark boosted to exam mark, if better)Exam: 50%

To pass the course, you must:• Satisfy the Mandatory Requirement.• Get overall grade of C or better.

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Withdrawal dates

• Early withdrawal with refund: by Fri 15 March• no consequences to early withdrawal

• Standard withdrawal without refund: 18 March – 17 May• Withdrawal recorded• No grade recorded on transcript• Withdrawal counts as a fail for determining "Satisfactory

Academic Progress"

• Late withdrawal with Dean's permission: after 17 May• Requires permission of Associate Dean• Normally given only when special circumstances arise after

17 May.

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Plagiarism (Cheating)

• You must not present anybody else’s work as if it were your own work: • Basic principle of academic honesty.• applies to work by other students, friends, relatives, the web,

books…• If you received substantial help, then you must state who

helped and how much.• If you declare any work from someone else, then it isn’t

plagiarism!!!

• In COMP102: • We encourage you to work in pairs on the core & completion

parts of assignments BUT• You must put a comment at the top of your code saying that

you worked with ….• If you use code from the assigned text book, or

from the lectures, then you do not need to declare it;If you use any other code that wasn’t yours, then declare it!

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Cheating in the assignments.

Assignments are primarily for learning, not assessing

Cheating in the assignments is not worth it!

• You won't learn, so you will probably fail.

• If caught, you'll lose marks --- or worse.

• Assignments have a fairly small contribution to your grade.

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Lab Facilities

• All scheduled labs are in CO242/243 or VS 3.19• Can also use other ECS labs• Can also use home computers.

• Lab Hours: 24/7• Need ID card to access in evenings and weekends

• The labs are for getting work done• Don’t prevent other people from working• If you want to play around, go somewhere else

Read the lab rules!

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Where to go for Help

Depends on the kind of help needed

• Staff: Pondy, Ambreen, tutors• Forum

• Questions, answers, comments, discussion.• On COMP102 Web page.

• ECS School Office:

• Student Services: http://www.vuw.ac.nz/st_services/

• Science/Engineering/Arch&Des Awhina programme

• The Web

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What to do NOW!

• Sign up for the labs Note: You need to be registered for the course

(a) to sign up for a lab(b) to be able to use the school computers

• Read the course outline.

• Get Text Book (Book Shop).

• Read Chapter 1.

• Read Assignment 1 before your lab session.

• Read the course outline. Yes, again!