DM550: Introduction to Programming

1. The last ordinary exam is held January 2022
2. The first reexamination will be held March 2022
3. The second and last reexamination will be held August 2022

In relation to the learning outcomes of the degree the course has explicit focus on:

• giving the competence to plan and execute computer programs in Java 
• knowledge of common programming methods
• developing skills in programming in different types of programming languages
• developing skills in software development
• developing skills in constructing bigger software systems
• developing skills in deciding and justify professional decisions
• developing skills in describing, formulating and disseminating problems and results to either other professional or non-specialists or collaborative partners and users
• giving the competence to handle complex and development-oriented situations in study and work contexts
• giving the competence to identify one's own needs for learning and structure one's own learning in different learning environments

This course builds upon the students' highschool competences in Mathematics. The course's content is essential for later courses in algorithms and software development, where the students are required to be able to program.

• design object-oriented models for concrete problems;
• devise a program structure based on the model;
• implement the planned program in the concrete programming language used;
• find and use adequate elements in the program library belonging to the  language;
• plan and execute a testing of the program;
• design and implement recursive solutions of problems;
• design and implement abstract data types;
• use basic tree structures and algorithms for these.

Teaching activities are planned for the following amount of hours:

• Introphase (lectures): 28 hours
• Training phase: 56 hours, of which 28 are discussions and 28 are labs.
• Studyphase: 10 hours.

In the intro phase a combination of classical lectures, where the terms and methods of the course are presented, and more applied sessions, where students are taught how the learnt knowledge can be applied in concrete scenarios, is employed. The training phase is divided into discussions and labs, where the students learn the competences that enable them to transform their knowledge into solution and, consequently, into concrete computer problems. In the study phase the students work independently with improving their understanding and their competences regarding the contents of the course.

Activities during the study phase: Programming of small tasks and little projects.