Introduction to Programming

Learning Outcomes

The course provides students with first contact with the fundamentals of computer-aided problem solving. Students are introduced to the basic principles of procedural programming using the C language. The course is accompanied by a workshop, in which participants apply – in a series of tasks – what was taught on the course with the aim of deepening the concepts and techniques.

Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:

• Describe C language data types and control structures.
• Use program development and debugging tools.
• Organize his/her code in an efficient manner.
• Implement the use of the basic constructs of the C language to implement algorithms and solve problems.
• Detect syntax and logic errors in the programs it develops.
• Analyze the requirements of problems to be solved with a computer and formulates algorithms for solving problems.
• Apply the appropriate constructs of the C programming language to implement the algorithmic solutions it has arrived at.
• Collaborate with colleagues to develop programs.

Indicative Module Content

• Introduction to programming.
• The memory model and the variable concept.
• Basic data types and operators.
• Control structures, branches, iterations.
• Functions, scope, and lifetime of variables, calling functions, passing parameters.
• Pointers.
• Arrays.
• Complex data types.
• Recursion.
• Dynamic, interconnected data structures.
• Use of libraries.