Introduction to Programming COMP SCI 1MD3 Introduction to Programming Sanzheng Qiao http://www.cas.mcmaster.ca/~qiao

A long journey begins with a single step Understand how computers work Utilize computers’ enormous power First step Basics of programming

What matters Logic: Know exactly what your program is supposed to do Discipline: Consistent style, format Documentation Spacing, indentations Line breaks Positions of curly braces { }

Why bother? Who cares what a program looks like if it works? Doesn’t it take too much time to make it pretty? A well-written code is easier to read and to understand, almost surely has fewer errors. In the rush to get programs out the door to meet some deadline, it’s easy to push style aside, to worry about it later. This can be a costly decision.

Emphasis Basics of programming, rather than Java specifics. Writing better code from the beginning and improving it as it evolves. Principles of programming style, clear, simple, straightforward logic, meaningful names, neat formatting, helpful comments, and consistency.