CSC151 2007S, Class 02: An Introduction to CSC151

Admin:
* Attendance (watch Sam forget names!)
* Due: Assignment 1: Class Basics
  * Sam will read these this weekend and perhaps even respond
* Readings for Monday: DrFu and Introduction to Scheme
* Homework 2 
* Sorry that this room is so sterile-looking, we'll try to improve it
  (but no, we will not try to introduce bacteria)

Overview:
* Drawing, revisited.
* Lessons from day one.
* Common parts of an algorithm.
* Getting started with Linux.
* About the course.
* Some administrative details.

Lessons:
* It's sad when computer scientists, whose profession is writing clear
  instructions, can't
* Um - Universally mystifying
* There is more than one way to solve a problem
  * Particular ways of solving this problem
* Some of this stuff is hard
* Instructions should be specific and precise
  * Computers, like CS profs, are sentient and malicious, and will misinterpret if possible
* Cover all of your bases
* Try executing the instructions yourself
* Try to work in groups - More of you can defeat these evil things
  * Less likely to make careless errors
  * Helps "cover all of your bases"
  * Stimulates creativity
  * Lets you benefit from different ways of thinking
  * When you have to talk about it, you think about it more than when it's just in your head
* Know the parameters of your problem
  * And realize that different instatiations of the problem may have 
    different parameters

Parameters of the problem/Solution, revisited
* Common techniques for writing algorithms
* Name things
* Make choices
* Repeat actions
* Name collections of actions to simplify reuse
  "To draw a circle of radius r, centered at 0,0"
    => Fill in all the dots at positions (x,y), such that
        x^2+y^2 = r^2
* Know what basic operations are available

--

About CSC151
* Introductory Course in Computer Science - DUH
* Learn how to write algorithms well
  * What tools are available
  * A language in which to express algorithms - Scheme
    * Simple syntax
    * But powerful
* Emphasis on writing algorithms that draw or manipulate images
* "Standard" science format - Workshop style