28040 - Information Technology (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

The student will learn a programming language and will be able to design programs using simple algorithms and data structures.

Course contents

Computer science and problem solving. Abstract machines. Python machine. Programming in Python: names and visibility, functions, immutable and mutable objects, basic data types (numbers, strings, tuples, lists, dictionaries) and their use in the solution of problems. Abstract data types: binary trees. Sorting algorithms. Introduction to computational complexity. Limitations of effective procedures: non decidable problems. 

The course involves an important lab activity, where the instructors is joined by teaching assistants.

Readings/Bibliography

John V. Guttag
Introduction to Computation and Programming Using Python
Third Edition: With Application to Computational Modeling and Understanding Data
MIT Press, 2021

Other textbooks:

Allen B. Downey
Think Python 2e.
O'Reilly Media, 2012. ISBN 978-1449330729.
On-line manuscript: see greenteapress.com/wp/think-python-2e/

Jessen Havill
Discovering Computer Science: Interdisciplinary Problems, Principles, and Python Programming
Chapman and Hall/CRC. ISBN 9781482254143

Teaching methods

Lectures.

Guided programming experimentations using the students' PCs, in selected hours, in pair programming if the pandemic will make it possible. 

During the lab hours the instructor is joined by several teaching assistants.

The course is given in the second semester (from mid February to May).

For the students of LM in Scienze Filosofiche: the course is taken from that of L in Mathematics, hence it will be given from mid February to May.

As concerns the teaching methods of this course unit, all students must attend Modules 1 and 2 on Health and Safety online

Assessment methods

There is a single exam covering both the lectures and the lab. Lab homework is assigned every week---this homework is not graded, but if handed in regularly, it will result in one point bonus in the final grade.

Final exam consists of a programming test (0 to 10 points; 5 points needed to pass) and a written test (0 to 24 points; 13 points needed to pass). Final grade is the sum of the two sufficient grades, plus the bonus (if any).

Lab test is waived for the students in Philosophy.

Teaching tools

Info and material available at www.cs.unibo.it/~martini/MATH . During the term of the lectures, material will be available on virtuale.unibo.it

Students are encouraged to install on their PCs Thonny, an environment for the programming language Python 3, which will be used during the lectures.

All material for the lab will be available on the Moodle platform lab-info-mat.cs.unibo.it/moodle/. Log in using "Credenziali istituzionali di Ateneo" (not plain "Login"). The first time you need to enrol using the key "cremona"

Office hours

See the website of Simone Martini