CS 151: Introduction to Programming

Course Description:

Prerequisite: Any math course ≥ MA 131 or ACT math score ≥ 22 or SAT math score ≥ 520 or COMPASS math score ≥ 46 or CS 144.
This course introduces students to algorithmic design and structured/modular programming. Programming concepts will be put into practice by using Java for programming projects. These basic programming concepts and constructs will be covered: variables, data types, strings, arithmetic and logical operators, branching statements, loops, and debugging. Additionally, these object-oriented programming concepts will be covered: classes, instance variables, methods, and constructors. 3:0:3

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Explain basic programming concepts - program compilation, program execution, history of Java.
2. Demonstrate creativity and problem-solving skills.
3. Use the TextPad integrated development environment to enter, run, and debug Java programs.
4. Debug and test Java programs.
5. Write Java programs that use proper style and documentation.
6. Demonstrate proper use of the object-oriented principle of encapsulation.
   • Given a problem description, the student should be able to decide on appropriate classes, private instance variables, public instance methods.
7. Demonstrate proper use of top-down design.
   • Given a description for a non-trivial method, the student should be able to implement it by deciding on appropriate helper methods and parameter passing.
8. Write Java programs that use:
   • primitive types and expressions - int, double, char (including escape characters), operator precedence, etc.
   • strings - concatenation, equals, length, charAt
   • Boolean variables and Boolean expressions
   • control structures - if, switch, while, do, for, nested loops, conditional operator
   • Math class
   • wrapper classes
   • object-oriented programming concepts - classes, instance variables, instance methods, constructors

Assessment Measures:

Assessment Tool	Linkage to Learning Outcome #:
Homework Assignments:
Assign a sufficient amount of homework such that all of the above objectives are covered.	All
For each homework assignment, include one or more of: short answer, multiple choice, trace the given code, debug the given code	1, 4, 8
For each homework assignment, include one or more programming projects.	2-8
In order to meet the "creativity and problem-solving skills" objective, the student must be required to produce programming project solutions from given problem descriptions. Note that this objective is not met if a student is able to produce solutions only by pasting together given code fragments. Although pasting code fragments together is sometimes appropriate, it does not enforce the development of creativity and problem-solving skills.	2
Exams:
Include one or more of: short answer, multiple choice, trace the given code, debug the given code.	1, 4, 8
Given a problem description, produce a solution in the form of a short program or a method(s).	2, 6-8

Textbooks

To view the approved textbook list, click here.