Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An elementary introduction to computing science and computer programming, suitable for students with little or no programming background. Students will learn fundamental concepts and terminology of computing science, acquire elementary skills for programming in a high-level language, e.g. Python. The students will be exposed to diverse fields within, and applications of computing science. Topics will include: pseudocode; data types and control structures; fundamental algorithms; recursion; reading and writing files; measuring performance of algorithms; debugging tools; basic terminal navigation using shell commands. Treatment is informal and programming is presented as a problem-solving tool. Students with credit for CMPT 102, 128, 130 or 166 may not take this course for further credit. Students who have taken CMPT 125, 129, 130 or 135 first may not then take this course for further credit. Quantitative/Breadth-Science.

COURSE DETAILS:

An elementary introduction to computing science and computer programming, suitable for students with little or no programming background. Students will learn fundamental concepts and terminology of computing science, acquire elementary skills for programming in a high-level language and be exposed to diverse fields within, and applications of computing science. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * CMPT 120 PLACEMENT TEST – do you have enough computing knowledge to pass our placement test? Have you taken Computing Science courses in High School or elsewhere? Have you worked in a business or volunteered as a computer programmer? Have you written programs of 200-300 lines of code or more? IF YES you may NOT have to take CMPT 120 and could enroll directly into the next required courses – CMPT 125 and 127. Challenge yourself and take our placement test. https://courses.cs.sfu.ca/forms/cmpt-cmpt-120-placement-test/ IF NO – please go ahead and enroll in CMPT 120. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This course will be offered in person, face to face. Some assessments (such as coding exercises) will be online, some assessments may be in person, possibly including paper based tests. Details of technology and tools needed in class and for tests will be provided the first class of the semester. All the course information and communication will be centralized in the Canvas course website which will be available by the first day of class, including class materials, readings, assignments, and points. Students should ensure that they receive notifications when announcements are posted on Canvas. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please continue to check our course outline for any possible announcements of change of course modality. Should this course be taught remotely, students must have access to a computer with internet access, allowing the use of a conferencing system such as Zoom.

Topics

• Algorithms and computational thinking
• Procedural programming in Python
• Data types and control structures
• Application areas within computing science
• Fundamental algorithms, including searching, sorting, basics of recursion
• Computability and complexity, introduction
• Basics of binary encoding

Grading

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

Reference Books

• Computer Science Illuminated, Nell Dale, John Lewis, Jones & Bartlett, 2012, 9781449672843
• Starting out with Programming Logic and Design, Tony Gaddis, Pearson, 2015, 9780133985078
• Starting Out with Python-4th Edition, Tony Gaddis, Pearson, 2017, 9780134543666

REQUIRED READING: