CSC152 2005S, Class 1: About the Class

MS. SCHMITZ,
Brad, Todd, Elijah, Rolf, Elizabeth, Shen, A, David, Monica, Jonathan, Saugar, Lorelei

Overview:
* About the structure of class
* What is CS?
* What is this class?
* Administrivia
  * Web site
  * Primary components
  * Approximate schedule
  * Q and A
* Object-oriented programming basics

Example of "group problem solving": What is CS?
* Computer Science is "The Science of Computers"
  * Problem: Although it appears to have a glimmer of brilliance, particularly in its use of infinite recursion, in the end, like all infinitely recursive things, it is useless.

Example of "group problem solving": How do I find the last book that would fit on the first shelf?
* "Find the first book that starts with Z, then the first book that starts with Y, then the boo X"
* But Sam didn't ask for the last book
* How many books fit on a shelf?
* Oh no! They're of variable width.

What is Computer Science?
* The attempt to represent information as digital data and to solve problems
* Suggestion: Define each word separately and then attempt to combine them

What is Science?
* The study of a subject with in which you
  * Observe
  * Form a hypothesis
  * Design an experiment that permits you to test the hypothesis
  * Perform an experiment
  * Revise your hypothesis (lend creedence or "falsify")

What is a Computer?
* An electronic device that "does surprising things"
* Refinement: A programmable device that "processes data"
  "processes" = "represents and performs operations on"

Hypothesis: This "algorithm" is likely to work better than another

Hypothesis: This "algorithm" models the real world sufficiently well

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Most computer scientists would say that computer science is ...
* The study (science) of algorithms (computation) and data
  * Design algorithms
  * Implement the algorithms 
    * as programs
    * as hardware
  * Analyze the algorithms 
    * for efficiency
    * for correctness
    * using the tools of a scientist: (hypothesis, experiment, etc.)
    * using the tools of a mathematician: PROOF
  * Hypothesize about potential algorithms
    * No algorithm can solve problem X
    * No efficient algorithm can solve problem Y
  * Consider the implications of the algorithms

CSC152 is a class in ALGORITHMS and ABSTRACT DATA TYPES
CSC152 is also a class in OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING
* Claim: The language we use to write algorithms affects the algorithms we write
* In 151, you learned that programs can be collections of composed functions
* In 152, you will see that programs can be collections of objects that perform actions and communicate with each other
* In both classes, you saw/will see that programs can be sequences of instructions
WE GROUND ALL OF THIS IN THE JAVA PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE

General work: Labs plus some discussion (20% of grade)
Regular homework, sometimes graded (20% of grade)
Three take-home exams (10% of grade each)
Final project, some large proigramming exercise (20%)
Best of above (10%)
FINAL IS OPTIONAL!  Replaces lowest exam grade, but only if higher