Orientation to Comp. Science

Course Description

An introductory survey course covering current developments and future prospects in the field of computing. Coverage begins with the fundamentals of computer architecture and progresses to software and software development processes. Topics included are operating systems, networking, programming languages, software engineering, database systems, and ethical issues in computing.

Learning Outcomes

• Describe data storage and representation of data within a computer.
• State the purpose of Central Processing Unit (CPU) and its components. Explain how it works.
• Discuss some of the ethical/social/legal issues associated with the field of computing.
• Discuss fundamental concepts and activities related to operating systems.
• Explain fundamental concepts related to computer networking and security issues.
• Define algorithm and write pseudocode for some elementary sorting and searching algorithms.
• Define algorithm efficiency.
• Identify different programming paradigms and state their essential features.
• Describe the essential elements of software engineering discipline.
• Discuss fundamental design issues related to database systems and construct some basic SQL queries.
• Prepare and make a professional presentation.