CSC151 2009F, Class 03: An Introduction to the GIMP

Admin:
* Sorry for the mixup in class yesterday.  I had not expected the time to 
  get passwords to get passwords would be so long.
  * So, we'll spend a little time talking more about the course today.
* The College asks that every student in this course fill out the RISC
  survey.
  http://www.grinnell.edu/academic/psychology/faculty/dl/risc/
* There are THREE readings for tomorrow
  * One gives the basics of Scheme, the language we'll be using this 
    `semester
  * One is on MediaScript, the program development environment we'll be
    using
  * One talks a bit more about how the Scheme interpreter works 
    (or at least how you can think about the Scheme interpreter working).
  * Bring questions!
* Okay, responses to intro survey Wednesday

Overview:
* Leftovers from the previous class.
  * Algorithm components
  * Course goals
* GIMP stuff
  * What is GIMP?
  * Why GIMP in 151?
* Lab + Reflection.

What goes into an algorithm?

* We look at common components as a preview of
  * THe tools you're going to use
  * The things you'll need to learn in Scheme as you express algorithms
* Numbers!  (And other basic types)
* Subroutines / Procedures/ Functions - Group a set of commands together
* Repeat
  E.g., "Repeat 8 times: Move forward five inches, turn 120 degrees"
* Making choices - If this situation holds, do this thing, otherwise
  do something else
* Basic operations
* Names!

What are SamR's goals for CSC 151?
* Learning about algorithms
  * By writing them
  * And analyzing them
* Using images as the primary domain
* Working in pairs at the computers

* Why images
  * See the results of your work
  * Images are fun
    * For students
    * For Sam
  * Evidence from the literature
  * Sam convinced the government to pay him to teach using images
  * Worked well so far (two years)

* Some collections
  * What does shift-select do?
  * What does select-shift do?