The Introduction to Programming online course comprises sessions dealing with variables, expressions, conditional statements, collections, iterative statements, functions, objects, compilation and execution, and best practices.

Introduction to Programming – Course Objectives

This is three-day hands-on course does not concentrate on any one language in particular, rather its aim is to familiarise delegates with standard programming terminology, structures, and principles. Examples are given in three languages – Python, Java, and JavaScript – and delegates may choose any one of these languages with which to carry out the practical exercises. Exercises and examples are used throughout the course to give practical hands-on experience with the techniques covered.

This course aims to provide the delegate with the knowledge to be able to produce simple computer programs that demonstrate an understanding of the three core principles of programming – sequence, selection, and iteration. Delegates will also be exposed to functions, objects, and both procedural and object-oriented programming paradigms. The course further aims to prepare delegates to go on to learn any one of many programming languages in detail.

Introduction to Programming- Online Course Contents

Introduction to Programming – Day 1

• Course Introduction
• Administration and Course Materials
• Course Structure and Agenda
• Delegate and Trainer Introductions

Session 1: INTRODUCTION

• Thinking Like a Computer
  • Input/Output
  • Storage
  • Arithmetic
  • Comparison
  • Decisions
  • Repetition
  • Reuse
• What is a Program?
  • Statements
  • Comments
• What is Code?
• From Source Code to Runtime
• Why So Many Languages?
• What Does a Programmer Do?
• Hello World
• stdin and stdout
• The Console

Session 2: VARIABLES

• Variables – What and Why
• Name and Value
• Literals
• Data Types
• Declaration
• Initialisation
• Assignment
• Constants

Session 3: EXPRESSIONS

• Expressions – What and Why
• Operators and Operands
• Unary and Binary Operators
• Arithmetic Operators
• Assignment Operators
• Precedence
• Associativity
• Complex Expressions

Introduction to Programming – Day 2

Session 4: CONDITIONAL STATEMENTS

• Conditional Statement – What and Why
• Comparison/Relational Operators
• Logical Operators
• if else
• switch
• The Ternary Operator
• Code Blocks
• Variable Scope

Session 5: COLLECTIONS

• Collections – What and Why
• Strings
• Arrays/Lists
• Declaration
• Initialisation
• Getting and Setting Elements

Session 6: ITERATIVE STATEMENTS

• Iterative Statements – What and Why
• while
• do
• for
• break
• continue
• Array/List Traversal

Session 7: FUNCTIONS

• Functions – What and Why
• Declaration
  • Parameters
  • Return Type
• Invocation/Call
  • Arguments
  • Return Value
• Variable Scope (Review)
• Modules
• Libraries
• Procedural Programming

Introduction to Programming – DAY 3

Session 8: OBJECTS

• Object – What and Why
• Object Literals
• Object Properties
• The Trouble with Object Literals
• Classes
• Fields
• Methods
• Instances
• Reference Variables
• Primitive Variables
• Passing by Val/Ref
• Object Oriented Programming
• The Three Principles

EXECUTION

• From Source Code to Runtime (Review)
• Compilation
• Debugging
• Linking
• Execution
• Interpretation
• Platform Dependence
• Compilation and Interpretation (Bytecode)

Session 10: BEST PRACTICES

• Program Design
  • Stating the Problem
  • Devising the Solution
  • Pseudocode
• Coding Conventions
  • White Space
  • Indenting
  • Naming
• Coding Style
  • Readability
  • Flexibility
  • Scalability
• Unit Testing
• Test Driven Development (TDD)

Introduction to Programming- Online Course Details

This is a three-day introductory online course running on consecutive days from 9:30 am – 4:30 pm.

Prerequisites

To gain the maximum benefit from this course an attendee should be able to navigate the filesystem, edit a file, and browse the web. No programming experience is necessary.

Online Course

This course is delivered live online. Course delegates will need a reliable internet connection and a PC or laptop with audio and video capability with the relevant software installed for the training.  Delegates see, hear and interact with the tutor.

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