Course of Study for Computer Programming
| Topic | Reading | Exercises | Programming Assignment |
| Getting the Tools to Work, Basic syntax and semantics of a higher-level language | Read the article on How Java Programming works at the How Stuff Works website. Complete all the small programs in the article. the programs are given to you so this is a good way to ensure your tools for Java programming (the Java compiler, the Java runtime environment, and your chosen IDE) are working. The programs use applets. (A diminutive of application, a small application is an applet.) All of the programming assignments after this do not use applets. | ||
| Variables, types, expressions, and assignment | Java Tutorial: Language
Basics, Variables (Read all sub topics) Java Tutorial: Language Basics, Operators (Read the Arithmetic Operators, Relational and Conditional Operators, Assignment Operators, and Summary of Operators Sub topics) Java Tutorial: Language Basics, Expressions, Statements, and Blocks |
Exercises 1 | Simple Calculations |
| Basics of boolean logic (truth tables, and, or, not operators) | Reread Java Tutorial, Language Basics, Operators, Relational and Conditional Operators | ||
| Conditional control structures | Java Tutorial, Language Basics, Control Flow Statements and if / else statement subtopic | Exercises 2 | Decision Making |
| Iterative control structures | Java Tutorial, Language Basics, Control Flow Statements, the while and do-while subtopic and the for loop subtopic | Looping Problems | |
| Structured decomposition | Java Au Naturel Chapters 1, 2, 3 and the Integers and For-loops interlude. | Simple Classes | |
| Arguments and parameters, reference and value parameters | Java Au Naturel Chapters 4 and 5 | ||
| Strings and string processing | Java Au Naturel Chapter 6 | String Processing | |
| Arrays | Java Au Naturel Chapter 7 | Exercises 3 | DNA Matching |
| 2 Dimensional Arrays | |||
| Records/Structures/Objects
Implementation of user defined data types (classes / structs) |
Reread Java Au Naturel Chapter 1, 4 and 5 | ||
| The role of algorithms in the problem-solving process | |||
| The concept and properties of algorithms | |||
| Data representation in memory | |||
| The concept of recursion | |||
| Recursive mathematical functions | |||
| Simple recursive procedures | |||