CMPS 1500 Introduction to Computer Science I

CMPS 1500 Introduction to Computer Science I
Introduction to Computer Science I
Computational tools are a critical part of our everyday lives. Software is the driving force behind cutting edge scientific discovery, blockbuster entertainment, and today's fast-paced marketplace. This course aims to be an introduction to techniques and problem-solving approaches that are used to develop some of these tools. At a high level, we will focus on what has recently been called "computational thinking" which is the practice of using abstraction to design and implement algorithms and software to solve problems. A key focus of this course will be to show that computational tasks and their solutions arise in many different aspects of our daily lives. We will learn basic programming principles as well as applications of computational tools. Python will be the language we will use to explore the following basic programming concepts: Data structures such as lists, vectors, dictionaries,trees; Iteration and recursion; Performance analysis via profiling and timing. We will also see how these elementary concepts are used in a number of application areas such as embedded systems, networks, social media, and scientific computing to name just a few. CMPS 1500 is usually offered in the fall term.
Pre-requistites: None.
credit hours: 4