Informatics for Science and Engineering
Code
10344
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia
Department
Departamento de Informática
Credits
6.0
Teacher in charge
Pedro Abílio Duarte de Medeiros, Susana Maria dos Santos Nascimento Martins de Almeida
Weekly hours
5
Total hours
60
Teaching language
Português
Objectives
Knowledge
The fundamental components of a computer.
The tools of a software development system.
The essential constructions of an imperative programming language.
Some fundamental notions of relational databases.
Some basic concepts involved in the World Wide Web.
Application
Decompose a problem into simpler problems.
Design an algorithm for solving a simple problem.
Write a program, making a correct use of the basic constructions of an imperative programming language.
Test a program in a given programming environment.
State a very simple SQL query.
Access resources available in the network inside a program.
Soft-Skills
Ability to do a programming project.
Skills in time management.
Prerequisites
This unit has no access requirements.
Subject matter
Introduction: Problems, algorithms, programs, and computers. Goals and components of computer systems. Program execution. The interpreter.
Fundamental Concepts of Programming: Constants, variables and expressions. Numbers and strings. Predefined functions. Assignment statement and sequence of statements. Levels of abstraction in problem-solving. Functions. Source code files. Program life cycle. Kinds of error. Unit testing. FOR loops. Vectors. The IF statement. Relational and logical operators. Matrices. Graphics. WHILE loops. File systems. Binary and ASCII files. Structures. Vectors of structures.
Networks and communication protocols. The World Wide Web.
Introduction to databases: the relational model, relations, some basic SQL queries.
Simulation of continuous models.
Bibliography
Main reference
- John V. Guttag. Introduction to Computation and Programming Using Python, MIT PRESS, 2016. https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/introduction-computation-and-programming-using-python-second-edition
Alternative reference
- Allen B. Downey. Think Python: How to Think Like a Computer Scientist (version 2.0.17). Versão PDF disponível em http://greenteapress.com/wp/think-python-2e/
- Ernesto Costa. Programação em Python - Fundamentos e Resolução de Problemas, FCA, 2015
Teaching method
There are two hours of lectures and a lab session of three hours each week.
Lectures are problem-driven. They start with a concrete problem, which motivates the presentation of some computer systems topic, some data type or some programming language construct, and end with the complete source code of a program that solves it.
In the lab classes, students design, implement and test programs for solving simple problems in Science and Engineering fields.
Evaluation method
Assessment Components
Assessment has two components: the laboratory component and the theoretical-practical component.
Laboratory Component
The laboratory component comprises three team programming assignments and one team programming project. Teams should have size two.
The evaluation of the programming assigments and of the project include an individual lab session where students are asked to demonstrate their knowledge about the code submitted.
The laboratory component grade (LComp) is the weighted mean of the three programming assignment grades (A1, A2) and the project grade (P):
In order to succeed (and to have access to the exam), it is required that:
Theoretical-Practical Component
The theoretical-practical component comprises two tests. If the weighted mean of the test grades is less than 8.5 and LComp >= 8.0, students can do a final exam. The tests and the exam are written, individual and closed-book.
The theoretical-practical component grade (TPComp) is the weighted mean of the test grades (T1 and T2) or the exam grade (Ex):
In order to succeed, it is required that:
Final Grade
The final grade (F), defined only if LComp >= 8.0, is:
- F = TPComp, if TPComp < 8.0;
- F = 0.4 LComp + 0.6 TPComp, if TPComp >= 8.0 .
All grades (A1, A2, P, T1, T2, Ex, LComp, and TPComp) are rounded to the nearest tenth, except the final grade (F) which is rounded to the nearest whole number.