Principles of Computing (Part 2)

About this course: This two-part course introduces the basic mathematical and programming principles that underlie much of Computer Science. Understanding these principles is crucial to the process of creating efficient and well-structured solutions for computational problems. To get hands-on experience working with these concepts, we will use the Python programming language. The main focus of the class will be weekly mini-projects that build upon the mathematical and programming principles that are taught in the class. To keep the class fun and engaging, many of the projects will involve working with strategy-based games. In part 2 of this course, the programming portion of the class will focus on concepts such as recursion, assertions, and invariants. The mathematical portion of the class will focus on searching, sorting, and recursive data structures. Upon completing this course, you will have a solid foundation in the principles of computation and programming. This will prepare you for the next course in the specialization, which will begin to introduce a structured approach to developing and analyzing algorithms. Developing such algorithmic thinking skills will be critical to writing large scale software and solving real world computational problems.

Created by:  Rice University

• Taught by:  Scott Rixner, Professor

  Computer Science

• Taught by:  Joe Warren, Professor

  Computer Science

• Taught by:  Luay Nakhleh, Associate Professor

  Computer Science; Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Basic Info Course 4 of 7 in the Fundamentals of Computing Specialization Commitment 4 weeks of study, 7-10 hours/week Language English How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. User Ratings 4.8 stars Average User Rating 4.8See what learners said Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.

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Syllabus


WEEK 1


Searching and Data Structures
This week, we will explain the importance of searching. We will also explore various data structures and learn about inheritance.


11 videos, 6 readings expand

1. Video: Introduction
2. Video: The Importance of Searching
3. Video: Generators
4. Video: Stacks and Queues
5. Video: Inheritance
6. Video: Grid Class
7. Video: Grid search
8. Video: Mini-project Video
9. Reading: Mini-project Description
10. LTI Item: Assignment Submission History
11. Reading: Math Notes on Growth Rates of Functions
12. Reading: Math Notes on Grid Representations
13. Reading: Math Notes on Breadth-First Search
14. Reading: Practice Activity - Sorting strings
15. Reading: Practice Activity - Working with Distance Fields
16. Video: CodeSkulptor (optional video from our previous class)
17. Video: Saving in CodeSkulptor (optional video from our previous class)
18. Video: Beyond CodeSkulptor (optional video from our previous class)

Graded: Homework 1
Graded: Assignment: Zombie Apocalypse

WEEK 2


Recursion
This week, we will explain the importance of recursion.


7 videos, 5 readings expand

1. Video: The Importance of Recursion
2. Video: Recursion
3. Video: Binary Search
4. Video: Visualizing Recursion
5. Video: Recurrences
6. Video: Reading Files
7. Video: Mini-project Video
8. Reading: Mini-project Description
9. Reading: Math Notes on Recurrence Relations
10. Reading: Practice Activity - Recursion
11. Reading: Practice Activity - Binary representations for numbers
12. Reading: Practice Activity - Visualizing recurrences

Graded: Homework 2
Graded: Assignment: Word Wrangler

WEEK 3


Trees
This week, we will explain the importance of trees. We will also explore how to set up game trees so that we can efficiently search them.


6 videos, 6 readings expand

1. Video: The Importance of Trees
2. Video: Lambda
3. Video: Trees
4. Video: Illustration of Trees
5. Video: Minimax
6. Video: Mini-project Video
7. Reading: Mini-project Description
8. Reading: TTTBoard Class
9. Reading: Math Notes on Trees
10. Reading: Math Notes on Minimax
11. Reading: Practice Activity - Nim (Tree search)
12. Reading: Practice Activity - Drawing trees

Graded: Homework 3
Graded: Assignment: Tic-Tac-Toe (Minimax)

WEEK 4


Modeling, Assertions, and Invariants
This week, we will explain the importance of modeling. We will also explore how to use assertions and invariants to ensure that our models are always consistent and correct.


7 videos, 4 readings expand

1. Video: The Importance of Modeling
2. Video: Assertions
3. Video: Invariants
4. Video: Modeling
5. Video: Software Development
6. Reading: The Basics of the Fifteen Puzzle
7. Video: Mini-project Video
8. Reading: Mini-project Description
9. Reading: Math Notes on Invariants
10. Reading: Practice Activity - Solitaire Tantrix
11. Video: What is Algorithmic Thinking?

Graded: Homework 4
Graded: Assignment: The Fifteen Puzzle