Introduction to computing: Difference between revisions

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(Created page with "The chapter order in here is similar to that of lectures given in a first semester of introduction to computing. In the first lectures the teaches describes the basic architecture of a computer, the fundamentals of input and output, without worrying about any technical specification such as clock, bits or memory amount. At this stage the focus is on understanding how the computer's logic functions by using a high level programming language. The low level and the algebra...")
 
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The chapter order in here is similar to that of lectures given in a first semester of introduction to computing. In the first lectures the teaches describes the basic architecture of a computer, the fundamentals of input and output, without worrying about any technical specification such as clock, bits or memory amount. At this stage the focus is on understanding how the computer's logic functions by using a high level programming language. The low level and the algebra behind the computer science theory is not seen. The first algorithms start out as simple counting problems with elementary arithmetic, from there it gradually progresses, one command at time, to more complex program structures. It's important to pay attention to the concepts, because computer science is inherently cumulative. If you go wrong with elementary arithmetic, as a consequence, you shall have trouble to use loops. If you have trouble understanding the concepts of how computer memory works (the superficial description, not the low or physical level) and block structured programming, you'll probably have trouble understanding functions.
# [[About introduction to computing]]
# [[Pseudocode]]
# [[Introduction to C]]
# [[Tracking algorithms with pencil and paper]]
# [[Conditional structures]]
## [[if else]]
## [[conditional operator]]
## [[switch case]]
# [[Loops and repetition]]
# [[Arrays and matrices]]
# [[Struct data ype]]
# '''Functions'''
## [[Introduction to functions]]
## [[Functions, arrays and matrices]]
## [[Functions that return a struct]]
## [[Introduction to pointers]]
## [[Functions, structs and pointers]]
## [[Introduction to recursive functions]]
## [[Pointer arithmetic]]
# [[Search and sort]]
# [[Dynamic memory allocation]]
# [[Random numbers]]
# [[Characters and strings]]
# [[Programming practices]]
# [[Commented exercises]]


The content made available here nor includes the introductory part about the history of computing, nor the overall view of the core parts that make up a computer. Usually, in one of the first three classes the teacher makes a quick introduction to machine code or low level language, but that's just to show to students that the high level languages is, in the end, "translated" to machine code by the language's compiler.
I'm using the discussion page at the top of the page to log all the changes. It's better than leaving comments in a per article basis.
 
Depending on which under-graduating course you are taking, the introductory discipline is the first and the last computing discipline of your curriculum. The algorithms studied in the introductory course should be the same for any under-graduating course, regardless of which programming language is being used. What changes from one under-graduating course to another is the context of the algorithms and problems, which might be more mathematical or not. The computer's memory is not studied in depth, it goes as far as considering it a place to store data, how to manage it's a complex problem that is not seen in this introductory course.
 
Introduction to computing does not cover how to create a programming language or how the internal circuits of a processor work. What it does cover are the concepts of algorithms, the fundamental reasoning that is required to solve simple problems about counting numbers, read from and write to computer's memory or test whether something is true or false. From this foundation come subsequent disciplines that cover performance analysis and how to build efficient data structures. The presence of it in courses not directly related to computing is due to constant need of computers to solve problems. Complex calculations or calculations which take a long time to complete are too costly or even unfeasible to be done by hand.

Latest revision as of 23:47, 23 January 2025

  1. About introduction to computing
  2. Pseudocode
  3. Introduction to C
  4. Tracking algorithms with pencil and paper
  5. Conditional structures
    1. if else
    2. conditional operator
    3. switch case
  6. Loops and repetition
  7. Arrays and matrices
  8. Struct data ype
  9. Functions
    1. Introduction to functions
    2. Functions, arrays and matrices
    3. Functions that return a struct
    4. Introduction to pointers
    5. Functions, structs and pointers
    6. Introduction to recursive functions
    7. Pointer arithmetic
  10. Search and sort
  11. Dynamic memory allocation
  12. Random numbers
  13. Characters and strings
  14. Programming practices
  15. Commented exercises

I'm using the discussion page at the top of the page to log all the changes. It's better than leaving comments in a per article basis.

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