Computer Science 1620
Syllabus, Introduction
Instructors
Lectures
Robert Benkoczi
 Office D520
 403-329-2298
 robert.benkoczi@uleth.ca
Labs, tutorials
Arie Bomhof
 Office C510
 403-329-5171
 a.bomhof@uleth.ca
Textbook
C++ Programming
Program Design Including Data Structures
4th Edition (this is a picture of 3rd ed)
By: D.S. Malik


Copies have been ordered for the
bookstore.
Not the first time this book has been used
(so used copies may be out there).
Topics

Topics:
(approximate listing and order, scheduling depends on time constraints)

1.
2.
Introduction to Programming
C++ Basics




3.
Control Structures

4.
6.
selection, iteration
Functions

5.
data types
expressions
variables
basic input/output
parameter passing, return values, prototyping, reference parameters
Arrays & Strings
Structures & Classes
Grading Scheme


Programming Assignments (8)
Midterm exam
Final Exam
1 lab quiz
2 class quizzes
CodeLab homework (bonus)

Conversion to Letter Grades (may be revised):




32%
20%
40%
3%
5%
8%
95% or higher
A+
70% or higher
C+
90% or higher
A
66% or higher
C
86% or higher
A-
62% or higher
C-
82% or higher
B+
58% or higher
D+
78% or higher
B
50% or higher
D
74% or higher
B-
Lower than 50%
F
Assignments
 Assignments





8 assignments, due Wednesdays 23:59
4% each
handed in electronically
Not easy! Do not attempt to finish in 1 afternoon
Academic Honesty



you are encouraged to work together to solve
problems
however, you may not copy the work of another
student. TA-s will look for similar code.
copying is a very serious offence … please refrain.
Codelab


Optional, but excellent learning tool for beginners. Will prepare
you for assignments, midterm, and exam.
Example:
URLs:
www.tcgo1.com
www.tcgo2.com
Exams

Midterm




Wed. Oct. 28 (usual lecture time and location)
closed book
20% of your grade
Final



closed book
40% of your grade
cumulative (covers everything from beginning)

no electronics allowed at exams (mp3, cell phones, etc)
 picture ID (preferably a student card) required to write

Quizzes: short (10-15 min), in class, announced 1 week ahead of time.
Labs

Labs




hands-on experience with class concepts
opportunity to work on assignments with assistance
Linux/gcc concepts (not covered in class)
Tutorials:


supplement class material
interactive (Q & A) session)
Class web page:
www.cs.uleth.ca/~a.bomhof/cs1620A

Comments

No late assignments (except for medical reasons)

Plagiarism, copying, and misrepresentation are a serious
offence, and can lead to severe penalties – refer to the course
calendar for details. If in doubt about what constitutes cheating,
please consult your instructor.

Students with special classroom or exam requirements should
consult the calendar (Part 17, 12) for procedures on how to
make such requests.

Comments

Please be respectful of your fellow students.



try to arrive at the lecture on time
please limit your discussion to class discussion during the
lecture
please remember to turn off the sound on any electronic device
(laptop, cell phone, etc).
I will not answer questions about course material
via e-mail. You are welcome to see me if you need
help.
…. Let’s get started

Computers


Man’s greatest invention?
Productivity


Communication


Computers perform many tasks faster and more efficiently
than humans
We communicate with others all over the world quickly
Information

Terabytes of information are available at our fingertips

The progress of computers
1946
The ENIAC
• $500,000
• 30 tonnes
• 5000 ops/second
2007
Laptop PC
• $750
• 4 lbs
• billons of ops/second

Desktop computers

Productivity software
Word processors
 Spreadsheets


Information
How is all of
this accomplished?
Internet
 Electronic resources (encyclopedias)

Games
 etc


Computer Program


A sequence of instructions designed to perform a
specific task, or collection of tasks
Eg. Microsoft Word






Monitors keyboard input, displays it on the screen
Formats input for more readable presentation
Spellchecks your work
Prints your work
Saves your work
….

Computer Programming
The science (art) of constructing a program
to achieve a specific goal
 That is, for every program you have on your
desktop PC, a programmer (team of
programmers) had to create that program


Program

Step-by-step instructions to achieve the
desired task(s)

Each instruction is executed by the processor
Hardware
Dr. John Von Neumann – Princeton University,
1946, proposed the concept of a stored
program computer – a computer whose
program is stored in computer memory.
 This architecture is still the basis for today's
digital computer.
 Prior to this, the computer called the E.N.I.A.C
(1946) could only be programmed by
connecting wires and setting switches.

Von Neumann architecture

VN model: every computer is organized into four main
parts

CPU - central processing unit
brains of the computer.
eg. Pentium 4, AMD Athlon
Main Memory
stores information being processed by the CPU
eg. 1 GByte
Secondary Storage
stores data and programs
eg. 200GByte Hard drive









Input/Output devices
allows people to supply information to and from
computers
eg. printers, scanners, speakers, monitors, etc.



Example

Suppose we wish to perform the following
calculation:
(17 + 29) x 56

how do we program our computer to make
this calculation?

Machine Code

the language of your processor

each line represents an instruction to be executed (this
“code” is stored in the memory; CPU executes the
instruction pointed by the Program Counter; after
execution, the PC points to the next instruction, etc)
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000

place value "17" in memory location 1
place value "29" in memory location 2
add values in loc. 1 and 2, place in loc. 3
place value "56" in memory location 4
multiply values in loc. 3 and 4, place in loc. 5
the solution to the problem is in memory location 5

Machine Code – Problems

1) Difficult to read and write


the numeric version of each instruction must be remembered
each number must be translated to binary
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
place value "17" in memory location 1
place value "29" in memory location 2
add values in loc. 1 and 2, place in loc. 3
place value "56" in memory location 4
multiply values in loc. 3 and 4, place in loc. 5

Machine Code – Problems

2) Prone to error


mistaking a 1 for a 0 (or vice versa) can cause program failure
difficult to diagnose
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
place value "17" in memory location 1
place value "29" in memory location 2
add values in loc. 1 and 2, place in loc. 3
place value "56" in memory location 4
multiply values in loc. 3 and 4, place in loc. 5
if these two bits are switched, addition will occur
instead of multiplication

Machine Code – Problems

3) Time Consuming


simple formula required 5 instructions
suppose you had a really complex task?
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000

Machine Code – Problems

4) Unnatural


machine instructions are quite far from natural language
not entirely intuitive what is being done
•place value "17" in memory location 1
•place value "29" in memory location 2
•add values in loc. 1 and 2, place in loc. 3
•place value "56" in memory location 4
•multiply values in loc. 3 and 4, place in loc. 5
means
(17 + 29) x 56

Machine-Specific

only processors implementing that specific
instruction set can interpret the code
This may not correspond to a load command
on other processors.
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000

Assembly Code
close to machine code
 differences

numbers can be written in a different base
(decimal)
 instruction type given readable name
 instruction is separated visibly into components


Assembly Code
Machine Code
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
Assembly Code
load
load
add
load
mult
t1
t2
t3
t4
t5
Note: A 1 to 1 instruction correspondence
with machine code
17
29
t1 t2
56
t3 t4

Assembly Code to Machine Code
processor does not interpret assembly code
 a separate program called an assembler
translates the assembly code to machine
code

load
load
add
load
mult
t1
t2
t3
t4
t5
17
29
t1 t2
56
t3 t4
Assembler
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000

Assembly Code vs. Machine Code
Machine Code
Assembly Code
• Difficult to read and
write
• Symbolic representations of
instructions and numbers easier
to read
• Error Prone
• Symbolic representations of
instructions and numbers reduce
error
• Time Consuming
• Time Consuming
• Unnatural
• Unnatural
• Machine Specific
• Machine Specific

High-Level Programming Language
e.g. C++, Java, Pascal
 offers a more natural language for
programming
 commands are less coupled to the
instructions of the processor


High-Level Programming Language (C++)
Machine Code
Assembly Code
C++ Code
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000
load
load
add
load
mult
(17 + 29) * 56;
t1
t2
t3
t4
t5
17
29
t1 t2
56
t3 t4

HL Code to Machine Code
processor definitely does not interpret highlevel code
 a separate program called a compiler
translates the code to machine code

Compiler
(17+29) * 56;
0000100100010001
0000101000011101
0001001100101000
0000110000111000
0010010101110000

High-Level Code vs. Machine Code
Machine Code
• Difficult to read and
write
High Level Code
• Most of the instructions in C++
are English words (if, else,
while, for, do)
• numbers can be written in base
10, or 16, or 8, etc.
• Error prone
• words and numbers easier to
interpret
• compiler flags all syntax errors
for the programmer

High-Level Code vs. Machine Code
Machine Code
• Time Consuming
High Level Code
• One C++ instruction often
translates to many machine
instructions
• Existing C++ libraries are
available for use and cut
programming time dramatically
• Unnatural
• instructions are often English
words
• mathematical formulae can be
written in familiar notation

High-Level Code vs. Machine Code
Machine Code
• Machine-specific
High Level Code
• C++ is universal
• Only the compiler is machinespecific

C++
a "high-level language"
 developed by Stroustrup



extended the "C" language
a very popular programming
language

efficient – yet powerful