electiveHQ

This module provides a comprehensive foundation in computer programming using the medium of the C programming language. It covers basic programming concepts common to all programming languages (such as data types and expressions, flow of control, file I/O) as well as advanced features of the C language such as pointers and multidimensional arrays. More advanced synthetic data structures are also covered, including linked lists and stacks. An introduction to algorithmic complexity analysis is provided, using sorting algorithms as an illustration. The module has a strong laboratory component as students are provided with a structured set of programming exercises to guide them through the concepts covered in lectures. The programming exercises require students to design their own algorithmic solutions as well as to program their solutions in C.Specific topics covered include:* Types, operators and expressions* Basic input/output* Flow of control* Functions* The C preprocessor* Arrays, pointers and strings* User-defined types* Structures* File handling* Program organisation* Elementary data structures* Sorting algorithms* Analysis of algorithms