433-151 Introduction to Programming (Advanced)

This subject is intended for students who have attained a mark of 35 or more for Mathematical Methods 3/4 (or equivalent), and an ENTER of 90 or more (or equivalent). Students who fall outside these guidelines and who do not have prior programming experience should enrol in 433-171 Introduction to Programming instead.

Students may not gain credit for both 433-151 Introduction to Programming (Advanced) or any of 433-142 Computing Fundamentals B, 433-171 Introduction to Programming, or 615-145 Concepts in Software Development 1.

Knowledge of Mathematical Methods 3/4 or Specialist Mathematics is assumed

The objective for this subject is for students to develop an understanding of approaches to solving problems with computers and to be able to demonstrate proficiency in designing and writing programs using a high-level procedural programming language.

Topics covered include algorithmic problem-solving; fundamental data types: numbers, truth values, characters, pointers; fundamental program structures: sequencing, selection, repetition, functions and functional decomposition; number representation, accuracy in numerical computations; simple data storage structures: variables, arrays and structures (records); dynamic data types, including list-, tree-, and hash-based implementations of dictionary and priority queue data structures; and searching and sorting algorithms.

Programming work will be undertaken in the language C.

Laboratory work (expected to take about 30 hours) during semester, worth 10% of the final grade; a mid-semester test worth 15% of the final grade; and a written examination (not exceeding three hours) at the end of the semester, worth 75% of the final grade. Details of assessment components will be advised at the commencement of the subject; all components must be completed satisfactorily to pass the subject.