CSC 051 Introduction to Computer Science

Instructor & Text Lectures and Readings Programming Assignments and Laboratories Documentation and Handouts Exams Grading Summary Collaboration & Academic Honesty Policy

Computer Science 051 is an introduction to algorithm development emphasizing object-oriented design. Algorithms will be implemented as programs in the Java programming language. We will introduce data structures and recursion as tools to construct correct, understandable, and efficient algorithms. These topics will be developed further in CSC 052, CSC062, and more advanced computer science courses. For those who wish a good introduction to the science of computing. we highly recommend the combination of CSC 051 and CSC 052, which includes an introduction to a broad array of topics in computer science. For those who wish a more intensive introduction to programming, we suggest the combination of CSC 051 and CSC 062.

By the end of this course you should have a good basic understanding of how to develop (design, code, and debug) medium-sized programs in Java, and have a basic understanding of how one might analyze programs for correctness and efficiency.

This course is a prerequisite for all upper level Computer Science courses. In Computer Science 051 we do not assume that you have had any previous computer programming experience. If you have had extensive previous experience you might consider CSC052 or CSC062. Please discuss this with any member of the department's faculty if you feel you fall into this category.