Tuesday, 8/24/99

• Introduction: course and people.
• General information about the course.
• Rules, policies, and responsibilities.
• Lab information.
• Contents and tentative schedule.
• Other things listed on course syllabus.
• General questions?
• hw#1
• Introduction to computing:
  • Pre-modern: attempt at automating math and problem solving
  • G1: vacuum tubes and direct manipulation/machine code

Thursday, 8/26/99

• Intro to computing (continued)
  • G2: transistors and assembly language
  • G3: IC and high level language
  • G4: VLSI and different types of computers/systems
  • Internet and WWW
• Range of computers
  • super-computers
  • mainframes
  • mid-range
  • mini/workstations
  • PC/micro
  • special purpose controllers/processors
• Computer organization:
  • CPU (central processing unit) or processor
  • I/O (input/output devices)
  • storage (internal memory and external/secondary storage)
• Computer Science: basic theory and principles
  Areas within CS:
  • algorithm, theory of computation, complexity,
  • data structure, database,
  • programming languages, computing environment
  • HCI (human computer interaction), graphics and GUI (graphical user interfaces),
  • numerical analysis, scientific computation,
  • AI (artificial intelligence), etc.
• Computer Engineering: hardware and computer system/network
  Areas within CE:
  • hardware/component design and engineering
  • systems design and analysis
  • computer organization/architecture
  • distributed systems
  • network
  • operating systems (OS) and system software, etc.
• Software Engineering: developing/maintaining large software systems
• More questions about hw#1?

Tuesday, 8/31/99

• More questions about hw#1?
• Languages and programming/software development:
  • object/executable code
  • source code
  • assembly languages: assemblers
  • high level languages: compilers and interpreters
  • compiler example: gccx
  • interpreter examples: UNIX shell, Lisp interpreter
• Introduction to C and UNIX
• using gccx:
  • gccx hello.c
  • gccx -o hello hello.c
• Example of C programs:
  • hello.c: message printing
  • "gccx" compiler, -> "a.out": executable
  • greeting.c: simple input/output handling.
  • add2.c: numerical computation
• Common elements in C programs (so far)
  • #include: standard vs user defined header files
  • file header: author, date/history, functionality descriptions
  • main()
  • use of space and indentation for program documentation
• hw#2

Thursday, 9/2/99

• hw#2
• Programming process:
  • problem analysis
  • algorithmic design
  • coding (in a high level language)
  • compiling and debugging
  • documentation/report and solution
  Mapping to CS:
  • see list of areas with CS (previous class)
• Software development process:
  • requirement analysis
  • product specification
  • design (high/low level)
  • implementation
  • testing
  • release and support/maintenance
  Documentation and quality assurance throughout the process.
  Development methods: structured and object-oriented programming.
  Mapping to SE:
  • process, ISO 9000, SEI/CMM
  • measurement and analysis,
  • requirement engineering,
  • design/analysis methods,
  • testing and quality assurance,
  • maintenance,
  • CASE (computer aided software engineering) tools, etc.
• C language overview
  • origin, connection to UNIX, and popularity
  • evolution, ANSI C, and connections to C++
  • overall structure of C programs
  • example programs: hello.c, greeting.c, add2.c
  • files: ".c" and ".h" types
  • #include: standard vs user defined header files
  • functions, no nesting
  • file header: author, date/history, functionality descriptions
  • main()
  • functions (later)
  • statements: assignment, I/O, decision, loops
  • use of space and indentation for program documentation

Tuesday, 9/7/99

• more questions about hw#2?
  • information presented in a clear, readable way
  • consistent usage of space and indentation
• data types: domain & operations
  • string constant in "hello.c"
  • strings in "greeting.c"
  • integers (int) in "add2.c"
  • floating-point data (double) in "add2f.c" and "ave2f.c"
• variables vs. constants
• (un-named) constants: integer, floating-point, strings.
• operators and operands
  • operands: constants, variables, functions
  • mathematical operators:
  • "/" and "%":
  • re-write "cmtofeet.c" using "/" and "%" (see "cm2ft.c").
  • operator precedence rules and the use of "(" and ")"
  • not available in C: how to implement
  • simple operators
  • library for more complex operators
  • other operators (logical, etc.) later
• expressions and assignments
  • single type
  • mixed types: interpretation and conversions
    - implicit conversion (size-up)
    - explicit casting
    - in assignment, convert to lhs
• hw#3

Thursday, 9/9/99

• questions about hw#3?
  • standard test values
  • correct data types
  • hw#2: emphasis on I/O and simple calculation (not data types)
• variables (and constants, and functions) names: rules, legal vs. good
  • letters, numbers, and "_"
  • leading character: letter ("_" for system functions/variables)
  • trailing characters and length
  • keywords/reserved words in C (p.39)
  • capitalization: case sensitive, but all capital (e.g. PI, BUF_SIZE) usually denotes constants
  • meaning of names
  • other "good style" guidelines: simplicity, avoiding keywords/constant/function-like names, C++ keywords.
• Chapter 3: learning by examples and problem solving paradigm
• in class: Chapters 3 & 4 together
• some commonly used idioms in C
• input-compute-output idiom:
  • prompt
  • input operation
  • computing
  • result output
• function calls and arguments/parameters in the above idiom:
  • printf(), match by position
  • example in "cmtofeet.c" and "inchtocm.c" from Chapter 2
  • other calls: GetInteger(), GetReal(), etc.
• some commonly used shorthand idioms in C
  • increment and decrement: ++ and --
  • pre/post operation of ++ and -- in embedded statements
  • assignment: +=, -=, *=, /=.
• control flow for procedural languages: flow charts
  • sequential statements
  • conditional branching
  • loops
  • batch processing (input-compute-output) vs. interactive processing
• conditions and "if"
  • example programs:
    - sign1.c
    - sign2.c
    - signtest.c, Figure 4-3, p.115 (Chapter 4)
  • if (condition) statement;
  • if (condition) {statementT} else {statementF}
  • expressions in comparison:
    - "oddeven.c" from Chapter 4
  • "else" and "else if" (more later)

Tuesday, 9/14/99

• More questions about hw#3?
• comparison/relational operators: >, >=, <, <=, ==, !=.
• the need to handle more numbers/information
• deterministic vs. non-deterministic loops
• loop examples and concept
  • "add10.c" from Chapter 3
  • "addlist.c" from Chapter 3
  • "addw.c".
  • flow-chart
  • iteration: process of repeating a set of operations
  • loop: control and body
  • loop index and bound(s)
  • initialization
• repeat-N-times idiom: "for" statement
  • "for" syntax/flow-chart
  • initialization/control/update together
  • update after loop body
  • "add10.c" vs. "add10w.c".
• read-until-sentinel idiom: "while" statement
  • "while" syntax/flow-chart
  • explicit "break" vs. exit from loop control
  • conditions used directly in "while"
• converting "for" <=> "while"
  • "add10.c" vs. "add10w.c":
  • initialization
  • update/step
  • some field(s) may be empty in "for"
• hw#4

Thursday, 9/16/99

• questions about hw#4?
  • design decisions: sentenial vs. explicit end?
  • difference between target and tolerance
• debugging exercise (Sec. 3.4)
  • inspection: syntax and semantics
  • testing: input/output relation, path
  • formal verification
• output formatting in "printf()"
  • format code (p.82): d, f, e, g, s, %
  • parameter matching by place
  • spacing: implicit vs. explicit number
  • alignment: right (default) vs. left (-)
  • precision (.)
• programming style (pp.86-88), relating to homework assignments
  • comments and documentation
  • presentation: spacing and indentation
  • consistent style/format
  • meaningful names and naming conventions
  • standard idioms and conventions
  • avoid un-necessary complexity
• use of named constants (liftoff.c)
  • advantage for program understanding
  • advantage in program maintenance
• truth values
  1. standard C: 0 for false, non-0 for true
  2. boolean type in textbook
• logical operators: and, or, not
  • C language: &&, ||, !
  • differentiate from: &, |
  • truth table
  • use in programs: leapyear.c (ch.4)

Tuesday, 9/21/99

• more questions about hw#4?
• short circuit evaluation
• more about "if"
  • relation/comparison operators
  • logical operators: &&, ||, !.
  • other conditions: 0 and non-0
  • "else" and "else if"
  • nested if's
  • nested if vs. compound conditions
• "else if" and "switch ... case"
• "switch-case" syntax/flow-chart
• comparison with cascading "else if"s
• sample programs from chapter 4:
  • if: oddeven.c
  • switch: cardrank.c
  • compound conditions: leapyear.c
  • nested if: lpyr.c
• check the equivalence of logic in "leapyear.c" and "lpyr.c" above
• statements (Chapter 4)
  • simple statements
  • embedded statements: use with caution
  • multiple assignments: use with caution
  • blocks: implicit vs. explicit
  • control statements: conditionals vs loops
  • "if" statement vs. "switch" statement
  • "while": "loop-and-a-half" problem ("addlist.c" vs. "addw.c" before)
  • "for": single point of control (initialization/condition/update)
• multiple statements: using matching "{" and "}"
• how to match "{" with "}":
  • indentation rules, align pairwise (2nd variation in textbook)
  • editing: "match-then-fill" strategy
• precedence table (p.131)
• IT overview

Thursday, 9/23/99

• Information and society
  • social issues
  • impact on society
  • program/software specifics
• Ethics
  • professional ethics
  • professional/social responsibilities
  • IEEE and ACM code of ethics

Tuesday, 9/28/99

• Microsoft/commonly used PC/Computer utilities
• spreadsheet/worksheet: MS Excel
  • cell and cell manipulation
  • formula and formula replication
  • functions: commonly used, statistics, logical, etc.
  • relative and absolute addressing
  • advanced: chart and other utilities
• hw#6
• continuation of IT issues and ethics.

Thursday, 9/10/99

• Microsoft/commonly used PC/Computer utilities
• document processing/formatting software
  • WYSIWYG or not?
  • MS Words
  • LaTeX
  • HTML
  • example documents
  • comparison:
    - learning curve
    - consistency and functionality
    - different views of the document
• exam review

Tuesday, 10/5/99

• Exam#1: see exam information.