Content

1. Basic programs
   • Implementation of simple programs only involving assignments, conditional statements, input/output and the invocation of predefined functions.
   * Introduction to the architecture of computers and the way they execute programs.
   • Concepts: variables, expressions (both numeric and string), assignments, conditional statements, input/output, function calls.
2. Iterative programs (algorithms)
   • Disciplined development of iterative programs using the paradigm of structured programming and of functional decomposition.
   * Proofs of correctness and of finiteness of simple algorithms (a.o by means of induction over the loop invariant).
   • Assessment of the complexity of simple algorithms, with emphasis on time complexity.
   • Processing of mistakes that occurred during execution.
   • Concepts: iterative statements, structured data types (lists, maps, tupples, sets and matrices), loop invariants and loop variants, exceptions.
3. Recursive programs
   • Recursive implementation of algorithms using the paradigm of divide-and-conquer.
   • Insight into the execution of recursive programs.
   • Concepts: function definitions, parameter binding, local and global scope, documentation, runtime stack.
4. Introduction to object oriented programming
   • Introduction to the structuring concepts of object oriented programming
   • Functions: parameter binding, return values, scope, reuse of functions, stepwise refinement.
   • Concepts: classes, objects, constructors, inheritance.
5. Applications
   • Sorting and searching: insight into various strategies to sort data (iselection sort, bubble sort, insertion sort, counting sort, quick sort, heap sort, merge sort) and to search data (linear search, binary search).
   • Real numbers: insight into rounding errors during computations with floating point numbers.
   • Simple simulation and optimisation problems.

All programs are written in the programming language Python.

In this course, students also get to know the relevance and current challenges of Informatics.

Course material

Handbook; slides

Format: more information

Lectures for a large group of students in an auditorium

Course material

Assignments and solutions

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Computer session - Practice session

Exercises are solved in an interactive way. The sessions are organized for small groups under supervision of one or more teaching assistants. All exercises are solved on computer.