CISC 181 Syllabus Fall 2003

CISC 181---Intro. to Computer Science Fall 2003
Syllabus

Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration.
--- Thomas Alva Edison

Instructor B. F. Caviness, 406 Smith Hall, email: caviness@udel.edu
Office Hours -- 1:30-3:30PM Wednesdays and by appointment
Phone: 831-8234

Course Objectives

The primary objective of this course is to begin a study, that will be continued in CISC 220, 280 and 320, of the tools that one needs to be a well-educated and effective software engineer. These ingredients include

The thorough knowledge of several programming languages.
Skill in using various software engineering tools such as editors, debuggers, profilers, etc.
A beginning knowledge of the Unix operating system, the OS that, for example, underlies MAC OS X and Windows XP and is the one OS that all computer scientists must know.
Knowledge of a wide variety of data structures, their associated algorithms, and how to use them appropriately in applications. This is the primary emphasis of CISC 220.
Skill in assuring correctness of programs. This involves testing of programs and proofs of correctness, i.e., program verification. These are important emphases in CISC 220 and 320.
Ability to analyze the resources (computer time and memory) needed by a program, i.e., analysis of algorithms. Also important emphases of CISC 220 and 320.

In CISC 181 we will be primarily concerned with items (1-3) with some attention to items (4-6). Our main emphasis will be on the study of the programming language C++, a fairly recent extension of the widely used C language. C++ contains many features to support modern concepts in software engineering --- concepts that are not a part of C. For this reason and because C++ is (almost) a superset of C, C++ is replacing C as the programming language of choice in a wide variety of real world applications. Our objectives in CISC 181 will be to

Obtain a solid foundation in core C++, i.e., in those parts of C++ that correspond to C and C++ stream input/output.
Obtain an introduction to the concepts of object oriented programming (OOP), abstract data types, and reusable software through the study of C++ features like overloading operators, classes, inheritance, and polymorphism that support these concepts.
Obtain an introduction to some elementary data structures like stacks, queues, and lists.
Further develop skills in testing and debugging.

Prerequisites

Students are assumed to know at least one computer language like C, Pascal or Basic. This is an important prerequisite. If you do not know such a language, please see me immediately. Also you are assumed to have (or will acquire) a working knowledge of a Unix editor like emacs, vi, or, less desirably, pico.

Texts

Required H. H. Deitel \& P. J. Deitel, C++ How to Program, 4th edition, Prentice-Hall.
Required Amir Afzal, Unix Unbounded: A Beginning Approach, Prentice Hall. An important reference for Unix and the vi editor.