engg1111 computer programming, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Java Programming

Download engg1111 computer programming and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Java Programming in PDF only on Docsity!

Introduction

ENGG1111 E/F Computer Programming and Applications 2017 - 2018 Loretta Choi

What are we going to learn?

• Why programming? (Why this course?)
• What is Computer Science?
• Basic computer concepts
  • What are the basic components in a computer?
  • How does a computer execute a program?
• A sample C++ program
• Testing and debugging
• Program design

What can computing devices do?

• Tedious tasks
• Repetitive tasks
• Dangerous tasks
• Computers carry out these tasks, but, who tells

them how to do / what to do?

Who should learn programming?

• Computer scientists / engineers / scientists /

mathematicians … ONLY?

• Steve Jobs: “Everyone should learn programming…”
• Take a look at code.org

Programming is FUN!

• It’s fun and exciting to see your

own ideas actually work

• Start with a purpose and formulate your

problem

• leisure / entertainment / services / business
• Devise your own solution
• Implement your idea with a program
• See it works

Applications

• We use application software (or applications /

apps) everywhere in our daily life

What is Computer Science?

• From Wikipedia:
  • Computer science is the scientific and practical

approach to computation^ and its applications

• Theoretical side:
  • How difficult is a problem? What is the least amount

of resources (time / space) needed?

• Can computers solve all problems efficiently?
• Take a look at the courses offered by the CS dept
• http://www.cs.hku.hk/programme/courses-offered.jsp

How to learn programming?

• Take a course
• Read books / codes / manuals
• Write codes, keep practicing
• Note the behavior/outcomes of different codes
• Don’t be afraid to make mistakes
• Be explorative, ask “what if?” and test your ideas
• Be patient, be persistent
• Got stuck?
  • Ask questions but be specific “I don’t understand. My program doesn’t work.” vs. “I’m getting this error, what does it mean? how to fix it?”
  • Seek answers from the Web, e.g. Google

From a Problem to a Program

• Think about the spoken languages Good Morning (^) おはよう 早晨^ Bonjour These are just the syntaxes of specific languages Most importantly, what message do you want to convey? A problem / A task A solution (An algorithm) A computer Problem^ program solving Coding Which method? Which data structure? Which programming language? Which programming construct?

BASIC CONCEPTS Understanding how computer works

Hardware

• The actual physical parts that

make up a computer.

• Central Processing Unit (CPU)
  • The “brain” of the computer.
  • Follows instructions in a program.
  • Performs simple tasks like
    • Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
    • Move data from one memory location to another. A quad-core i7 CPU

Hardware

• Main Memory
  • Long list of memory cells.
  • Each memory cell has an address (a number) that gives its position in the memory.
  • Each memory cell consists of 8 binary digits (8 bits = 1 byte).
  • Volatile^ – information will be lost when the computer is switched off. … Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 … 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Main Memory Information is represented as “0”s and “1”s in main memory. A DDR3 RAM

Hardware

• Input Devices
  • Any device that allows a user to

communicate information with

the computer.

• Output devices
  • Any device that allows a

computer to communicate

information to the user.

Software

• Software that are frequently encountered in

programming

• Operating system
• Command prompt
• Editor
• Compiler and linker
• IDE (Integrated Development Environment)