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CMPUT 114 - Introduction to Computing Science

This course introduces you to the basic concepts of object-oriented programming. You learn how to write simple but useful programs using Java, and attain a solid grasp of programming principles in general.

Assignments give you the opportunity to apply the theory in interesting and fun ways.

Previous projects included:

  • programs that simulate computer-human card games
  • web-based shopping systems

Skills Acquired

You will learn:

  • the mechanical requirements of getting a Java program to compile and run
  • how we write different kinds of Java programs: applets and applications
  • how to write code which performs small tasks, and then build these
  • simpler operations into larger, integrated solutions
  • how to debug programs (find and fix errors)
  • how to organize large sets of data
  • how to design programs with a view to maintaining and updating them later

Course Work

The course work may include the following topics:

  • introduction and overview to programming
  • different kinds of Java programs: applets and applications
  • different kinds of data: objects and values
  • variables and final variables
  • solving smaller parts of big programs: methods and parameters
  • control Structures: ifs and loops
  • how to search and sort data
  • how to write data to and from files on disks
  • how to use code that's already been written, i.e. inheritance
  • how to design elegant solutions to problems using a technique called recursion

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