Introduction to Programming for Engineers
Course offerings
Why should I study Introduction to Programming?
Humans have been preparing programs, in a simple way, for thousands of
years.
We live in a remarkable age, where general-purpose computers are able
to perform, in seconds, calculations that a century ago would have taken
a lifetime.
As engineers, you will all be exposed to computer-aided design tools, and
computerised equipment.
If you want to get the most from this equipment, you need to understand
how it works, and how to control it --- how it "thinks".
Perhaps you will enjoy the task so much that you will design the next
generation of such machines.
Even if you never prgram again after this course, the skills you will learn
can be applied in project management and contract-writing, and will help
you to think clearly about problems.
What will I learn?
We will teach you three things:
- How to think clearly about problems "like a programmer", and how
to translate your thoughts into an algorithm
- How to use MATLAB to implement algorithms and solve simple
engineering problems that require numerical computation
- How to use C to implement algorithms, and solve more general
problems.
What should I know before I enrol?
The course will assume some familiarity with high-school mathematics,
including algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and diffential calculus.
Since you are an engineer and will concurrently be taking other
more-advanced mathematics courses, this should not be a problem!
How will my performance be assessed?
Your performance in the course will be assessed in three ways:
- Practical exercise marks will contribute between
20% and 30% to your final score.
- The final exam usually contributes the remainder of
the marks.
- Tutorials are not usually assessed.
However, we do record your attendance.
The precise details of assessment vary from year to year, and will
be explained at the first lecture.
What comes next?
If you enjoyed this course, the next step in your programming education
is the course:
Object-oriented Programming
which introduces C++, a more modern programming language.
What do students think of this course?
From time-to-time, we ask students to give their opinion of this course,
and allow the lecturers to respond to the evaluation.
The most recent results, labelled "courseEvaluation", and "courseResponse"
are here:
Handy links
Disclaimer
The information presented here should apply to most students.
It is possible, however, that special conditions may apply to you.
You can find out by reading the
University Calendar program rules
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