A Quick Guide to CS at NCSSM
Welcome to our world. Here are some things to help you with course choice.
Here is a decoder ring for the course offering sheet.
| Purple Sheet | Our Course |
|---|---|
| CSC400 | Intro to Programming via the WWW (JavaScript/PHP) |
| CSC402 | Intro to Procedural Programming |
| CSC404 | Intermediate Programming |
| CSC406 | Advanced Programming |
| CSC410 | Data Structures I |
| CSC412 | Data Structures II |
| CSC414 | Data Structures III |
| CSC408 | C++ and the STL |
If you have never taken programming before... You should sign up for Introduction to Procedural Programming. The only prereq for this is good algebra skill and a little proficiency with a GUI (be able to save files, make folders, use a mouse, etc.). The full description of this course can be found by choosing First Year under this menu.
The quick description of the intro course is as follows. You are introduced using LINUX. You will learn the basics of UNIX and learn enough HTML to write a simple web page. You will learn how to use the UNIX editor vi. Then you will turn your attention to coding in Python. You will be able to write code in a friendly environment with simple, straightforward syntax. Your Python skills can be applied in math and science classes. You will write a final project that is a simple working application.
You then go on to take intermediate programming.
NEW for 2007-08! We will be offering a second "flavor" of introduction to programming that will emphasize programs that run on the web. The primary language for this will be JavaScript (this is different from Java). You will learn how to write programs that run on a web page and that give interactivity to your site. The core ideas covered in the other introductory programming course will be done in the context of JavaScript or PHP.
We will do all of this in a LINUX environment. You will learn all the LINUX you need to know from scratch.
If you have had some prior programming... If you took the beginning class at NCSSM last year, sign up for intermediate. You will have a chance to try your hand at event-driven programming while learning about inheritance and interfaces. This class will build your programming and problem-solving skill.
If you took programming elsewhere, see a CS faculty member so we can advise you on proper placement. Do not underestimate our introductory course. It's quite substantial, and you get to learn quite a bit about recursion and functional programming. If you feel confident and we think it's a good idea, we'll put you in intermediate directly.
If you took the AP and go a 4 or 5 Talk to us. You may still well enjoy our Data Structures course. It's a safe bet you didn't learn about generics and programming with container classes. You will gain a deeper insight into Java and learn about searching and optimization algorithms and write some sophisticated projects that apply these ideas.