1. University of Washington Computer Programming I
Lecture 1: Overview and Welcome
Dr. Martin Dickey
University of Washington
Purpose: Give the students a decent feeling for what the course covers and how it’s organized.
Su00 tvi: reorganized to try to get a more coherent sequence. Old version bounced back and forth between concepts and course organization details. Added topic outline slides to break up into sections. Still not perfect, but I think this flows a bit better. This includes all the old slides, which fills a 50 min. hour and can be rushed if one is not careful. Maybe room to delete something.
Formatting is completely chaotic. I tried to clean it up a bit.
Note: Since students do not have course packets the first day, it would be good to reproduce these slides as a handout, along with the general information handout we’ve used in the past. HP
© 2000 UW CSE

2. Introductory Programming
University of Washington
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Lecture material based on CSE 142, Computer Programming I
For more information about this course:

3. CSE 142 Computer Programming I
UW Catalog Description:
Basic programming-in-the-small abilities and concepts. Highlights include procedural and functional abstraction with simple built-in data type manipulation. Basic abilities of writing, executing and debugging programs.

4. C Programming Language
The course is taught using the C Programming Language
Emphasis of course on fundamental concepts which are language independent.
C and C++ are widely used but do present hurdles for novice programmers

5. Are you Ready for this Course?
You should have the equivalent of a U.S. high school diploma
Four years of high school math through Algebra II
Some background in science
Good oral and written English fluency
You do not need any previous background in programming
You should have some basic fluency as a computer user

6. Is This Course for You? If you have never studied programming: YES
If you studied programming once but never used it: YES
If you’ve learned a little HTML or Visual Basic or SQL or something else that seems like it might be programming: YES
If you really want to learn C++ or Java eventually but don’t have access to a C++ or Java course: YES

7. Is This Course for You?
If you already know another programming language and just want to learn C: NO
If you have studied C before and want to deepen your knowledge: NO
If you expect that this one course will make you a programmer so you can get a job: NO
If your primary goal is to become a better computer user, not a programmer: Probably NO

8. So What is Programming Like?
It’s really hard to describe!
Many similarities to solving “word problems” in math
Translate a problem description into a formal solution
Symbol manipulation an integral part
Some people describe it as “puzzle solving”
A mix of high-level creativity and low-level picky details
Added blank lines between bullets

9. Stages of Problem Solving
Ultimate goal: use a computer to solve a problem
Typical stages of building a solution:
Clearly specify the problem
Analyze the problem
Design an algorithm to solve the problem
Implement the algorithm (write the program)
Test and verify the completed program
Maintain and update the program
The word "debug" (and "bug") might be new to students.

10. Focus All stages are important In this course, we ignore none of them
But we focus on:
Algorithm development
Writing a program to implement the algorithm
The word "debug" (and "bug") might be new to students.

11. at the University of Washington
CSE 142
at the University of Washington
One quarter (10 week) course
Course Organization (when taught on-campus at UW):
Lectures 3 times a week
Quiz section once a week
5 Programming projects
Done by students outside of class, on their own time
Two midterm exams
Final exam

12. Using the Video Lectures
Not everything on the slides will be read aloud by the speaker
Not everything the speaker says will be on the slides
You need both! And then some...

13. Beyond the Video Lectures
You won’t learn programming by watching the lectures as might you watch a TV program
What you need in addition is:
Access to the slides (printed or on the web:
The ability to ask questions and get them answered
A textbook you can use for details and examples not in the lectures
And most important: hands-on practice

14. The Importance of Practice
You wouldn’t expect to learn to play the guitar just by watching a TV series on it
There is no substitute for practice. And no one can do it for you
The same holds for learning to program

15. Tips for Success Take the material in order
With rare exceptions:
you can’t skip any lecture
you can’t take material out of order
Master each topic before continuing to the next
Seek help if you get behind
Practice, practice, practice!

16. Homework Can Be Fun Examples from previous quarters…
Su00 tvi: Would be better to have a laptop and actually run something like this, maybe at the beginning of the lecture.
Not sure where to put this, really. Could be a couple of slides earlier.

17. Resources UW CSE 142 Text Course Packet Course Web
“Problem Solving and Program Design in C” - Hanly and Koffman, 3rd Edition, Addison-Wesley
Course Packet
Slides and reference material
Course Web