Introduction to Programming and Problem Solving

Year
1
Academic year
2012-2013
Code
01000043
Subject Area
Computer Science
Language of Instruction
Portuguese
Mode of Delivery
Face-to-face
Duration
SEMESTRIAL
ECTS Credits
6.0
Type
Compulsory
Level
1st Cycle Studies

Recommended Prerequisites

Mathematical background at a basic level. Logic thinking and abstraction skills.

Teaching Methods

This course is organized in two classes of two hours each during fourteen weeks, without distinction between theoretical and practical classes. During each class, we will present the relevant concepts and will immediately apply them. The concepts will be exemplified with code snippets while the practice will be driven by problems that foster student’s motivation. As the number of students will be lower than in a traditional lecture, it will be possible some degree of personal tutoring.

Learning Outcomes

The main goal is to teach/learn the basic principles of procedural programming in the context of problem solving. A programming language is just the vehicle that enables us to express algorithmic solutions to problems, and from that point of view they are all equivalent, yet we opt by Python for it minimizes the burden of complex syntax and because it induce good programming practices.

We expect students to acquire and develop the skills of analysis and synthesis, of problem solving, critical reasoning, practical application of the knowledge, and the informatics competences related with  the concepts under study. We also want to foster the autonomous learning and group work skills, the interpersonal relationships and the oral and written communication.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

  1. Computers, programs and computation
  2. Basic concepts: simple objects and operators
  3. Assignment statement, name space
  4. Abstraction mechanisms: functions and modules
  5. Control structures: sequences, conditionals and loops
  6. Structured objects: lists, tuples and dictionaries
  7. Programming methodology: problems, algorithms and program development
  8. Interaction with the external world: files
  9. Abstraction mechanisms (II): complements about functions
  10. Advanced concepts: comprehension lists, iterators and functionals
  11. Control structures (II): exceptions
  12. Methodology of Programming (II): recursion
  13. Analysis of Algorithms

Head Lecturer(s)

Bernardete Martins Ribeiro

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Performance in class: 10.0%
Mini Tests: 30.0%
Exam: 60.0%

Bibliography

-          Introdução à programação e resolução de problemas, E. Costa, pré-publicação, DEI, 2012.

-          Python: programming in context, B. Miller and D. Ranum, Jones and Bartlett, 2009.

-          Learning Python (4th edition), M. Lutz, O’Reilly, 2009.