The schedule below shows the tentative dates for all class topics, readings, and assignments. You should complete all assigned reading before class on the day it is listed. Labs will be available shortly before the assigned lab day. There may be some revisions to the schedule during the semester, but I will make sure to announce these changes in class.
If you view this page with JavaScript enabled you can jump to the current week on the schedule, and you should see the next day of class highlighted in the schedule below.
We begin the class by exploring the definition of computer science and by trying to write some basic algorithms.
We consider Racket, the programming language we will use throughout the course.
We consider a key technique in algorithmic thinking, how one “decomposes” a more complex problem or algorithm into simpler ones.
We consider ways to write your own procedures and why you might do so. We also explore how one interprets the algorithms others write. And we develop some mental models for what happens when we run Scheme/Racket programs.
We explore many of the basic types of values in Racket, the capabilities Racket provides for working with those types, and how one builds more complex expressions. We also continue building our mental model.
We consider how one writes procedures that make decisions.
We pause to review some concepts from two weeks of the course.
We explore the whys and hows of working with others. We also catch up on any confusing issues from the first week of class as we prepare for the first set of learning assessment.
We return to Scheme’s list data structure and some ways to use lists to work with collections of data.
We continue our exploration of lists in Racket, including “the big three” list procedures: map, reduce, and filter.
We begin to explore regular expressions, tools used to identify patterns in strings. We also consider files, structures that store data, often for use by other programs.
We check in to make sure that we’re beginning to master the first set of concepts.
We continue our exploration of regular expressions and files.
We consider why and how to name values within procedures.
We consider documentation for your programs: Why to write
documention, when to write documentation, how to write
documentation.
We also consider testing: When, why, and how you might test the
procedures and programs that you write.
We begin our exploration of recursion, the most general form of repetition available in Scheme. You can use recursion to both build and iterate over different kinds of values.
We continue our introductory exploration of recursion in Racket.
We continue to continue our introductory exploration of recursion in Racket.
We consider a slightly different kind of recursion, numeric recursion. In this technique, we once again have procedures call themselves. However, the parameter that we “simplify” at every step is a number, rather than a list.
We consider a host of other issues in the design of recursive procedures.
We check in to make sure that we’re beginning to master the second set of concepts. We revisit concepts missing from the first learning assessment inventory.
We consider Scheme’s random procedure and how one might use
that procedure in generating language.
We explore pairs, the basic building blocks of lists, and consider other, non-list structures one might build from pairs.
We consider structures that allow us to store information for quick retrieval.
We explore vectors, an alternative to lists for storing data. We consider how data are stored in memory.
We build upon the structures we have encountered so far to design our own types and reflect on mechanisms for separating the interface to a type from the implementation of the type.
We consider Racket’s techniques for creating structured data types.
Topics: Structured data. Using structs. Mutable and immutable structs.
We begin to consider the content and structure of the course, exploring both our laboratory environment (Linux workstations) and mechansisms for representing and styling text.
Topics: Getting started with Linux. Generalized markup with XML. Web markup with HTML. Page styling with CSS.
We consider how one writes programs that process HTML and XML.
Topics: XML, revisited. Representing XML in Racket. Expressing patterns in XML. Seaching XML. Constructing new documents from old.
We check in to make sure that we’re beginning to master the third set of concepts. We revisit any missing concepts from earlier assessments.
We consider additional ways to transform XML documents.
Topics: Replacing elements. Inserting elements. Deleting elements. Other approaches.
We explore patterns of recursion in the design of programs, particularly with regards to higher-order procedures.
We get our brains back working on recursion
We prepare to undertake an individually designed project.
We consider a common hierarchial mechanism for structuring data and its relationship to Scheme/Racket and XML/HTML.
We consider how to write recursive programs that process trees and other tree-like structures.
We explore techniques for analyzing the number of calls made in evaluating procedures, particularly recursive procedures. We consider why such analysis is useful. We then delve into a common problem: That of finding values in a collection.
We explore the problem of sorting. When you sort a list, vector, or other collection, you put the elements in order. The order of the elements usually corresponds to the type of the elements. We might sort strings alphabetically, grades numerically, colors by brightness, and so on and so forth. We also reflect on one common sorting algorithm.
We continue our exploration of sorting by considering the applicability of the divide-and-conquer approach to the problem of sorting. We look at one particular divide-and-conquer algorithm, merge sort. We explore the relationship between the number of steps the algorithm typically takes and the number of values in the list we are sorting.
Students present their projects
We check in on the last set of topics and revisit any necessary topics from earlier in the term.
We conclude the course.