CSC 160 Fall
2005
Computer
Programming for Non-Majors
Prof. A.
Wittenstein
Contact Information
Office: Alumnae Hall 114
Course Web Page: http://www.adelphi.edu/~wittensa
Phone: 877-4486
Email:
Wittenstein@adelphi.edu
Office Hours
Tu/Th 2:40-3:00pm & 5:50-6:30pm
Class Meetings
Section 01, T/Th 3:05-4:20, SCI 227
Section 02, T/Th 4:30-5:45, LIB 100
Prerequisites
none
Course Description
This course is intended for students with little or no experience in
computer programming. It gives students a feel for what programming is
like, introduces the process of program development, and introduces the
major concepts of programming --- variables, data types, functions,
parameters, assignment statements, conditionals, compound data types
such as structures, lists, and arrays, and repeating constructs such as
loops and recursion.
Course Expectations
Although the course has no prerequisites, and is considered
suitable for General Education distribution requirements, it is nonetheless
hard work. Lectures will not cover everything you need in order to complete the
homework assignments; you need to read the textbook too. There will be homework
assignments every week or two, most of which will require hours of programming,
either in a computer lab or at your home computer.
Since this course meets for three credit hours per
week, it is expected that on average you do at least 3-6 hours of work for
this course per week outside of class time.
Please budget this time to ensure that homework is completed on
time, and the sections of the textbook are read before the
class session covering those sections.
Submitting
Assignments
All assignments are to be submitted via email to Wittenstein@adelphi.edu. They are to be submitted by 11:59pm
on the announced due date. Ten
points will be taken off per day (or portion thereof) for late assignments.
Attendance
Attendance is required.
After four absences, your grade will be lowered by one-third of a grade
(e.g., A to A-, A- to B+, etc.). You are also responsible for whatever
work is covered
in class whether or not you are there. Absence from quizzes,
the midterm and the final exam will be excused only for a good and
well-documented
reason. The decision to allow a make-up exam will be made in accordance
with the policies of
Text
How to Design Programs: An Introduction to
Programming and Computing, by Matthias Felleisen, Robert Bruce
Findler, Matthew Flatt and Shriram Krishnamurthi, MIT Press, 2003.
(on-line version at http://www.htdp.org)
Topics
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Numbers, Expressions, Simple Programs
Chapter 3: Programs are Functions
Chapter 4: Conditional Expressions and Functions
Chapter 5: Symbolic Information
Chapter 6: Structures
Chapter 7: Varieties of Data
Chapter 8: Syntax and Semantics
Chapter 9: Lists and Recursion
Chapter 10: More on Processing Lists
Chapter 11: Natural Numbers
Chapter 12: Composing Longer Programs
Chapter 13: List Abbreviations
Chapter 34: Memory for Functions
Chapter 35: Assignment to Variables
Chapter 44: Conclusion
Grading
Assignments
40%
Quizzes
10%
Midterm Exam 20%
Final Exam 30%