Outline for CSC 161 Modules

Although this page has strong historical roots, numerous revisions and refinements are underway to reflect the evolution of this course.

Introduction

The table below provides a general overview of the modules for CSC 161. Each module has these elements:

1. an overall goal: at the end, students will have accomplished this goal
2. a listing of topics from C, the Scribbler 2, or other areas
3. a listing of readings (either from a textbook or from prepared materials) that provide the needed background for the topics
4. 2-4 examples that illustrate the topics (full programs that together cover the listing of topics and could be used to introduce the material to CSC 161 students
5. 2-4 lab exercises that engage students with the main elements needed to achieve the overall goal
6. the description of a project that gives students practice in the topics, encourages students to integrate the ideas, and concludes with student-produced project code that does something interesting in meeting the overall goal of the module

Resources

The table references these materials:

• Kernighan & Ritchie, The C Programming Language, Second Edition

Table Outlining Current Modules

Module	Overall Purpose	Summary and Main Topics	Readings	Illustrative Examples	Lab Exercises	Project Description
000	Introduction: Play a song Introduce foundational concepts of C programming, the Scribbler robot, and the Linux terminal window. These topics comprise major components of imperative problem solving with C.	An introduction to Linux basics, C programming, and the Scribbler robots, including: basic Linux introduction to using the terminal elements of a C program, including variables and primitive types use of the eSpeak speech synthesizer basic Scribbler actions (beeping)	reading about Linux Kernighan & Ritchie: pp.1-13 (Introduction & 1.1-1.2, 2.1-2.3) Scribbler 2 Notes: S2 Robot Start-Up Guide IPRE Reference Manual generating sounds eSpeakPackage.h MyroC.h Notes on editing, compiling, and running C code with the Scribbler 2	Pirates of the Caribbean Spirit Song Scribbler eSpeak Beep and move Avoid objects Set robot's name	Linux basics Overview of C The eSpeak package and Linux using the Scribbler 2: connect, disconnect, sound	Program a song Develop, compile, and run a program that includes a song/melody at least 30 seconds long.
001	Motion and sensors Introduce and explore capabilities from loops and conditionals, which are fundamental control structures of imperative problem solving. Changes of state provide contrast with functional problem solving.	An introduction to control flow in C and Scribbler programming, including types and variables using conditional statements (e.g., if, switch) using loops (e.g., initialization, iteration, condition testing, loop body, for, while) Scribbler motion	Kernighan & Ritchie: Sections 1.3, 2.10-2.12, 3.2-3.6 (variables, conditionals, loops) Boolean values and expressions Scribbler 2 sensors Scribbler 2 motion	Dance Ice cream truck Couple simulation Act, based on sensors Loops to create patters Robot navigation	types and variables conditionals and Scribbler 2 sensors and motion loop and Scribbler 2 motion,	Make the robot dance and sing. Implement a program that controls a robot's movements to avoid obstacles. The program should include if and switch statements, for and while statements.
010	Motion and sensors Organize data and structure algorithms to help manage the logical complexity of programs in C. Data structures include 1-dimensional arrays. Tackle logical complexity by organizing components of solutions to problems and encapsulate common tasks. Parameters include values, addresses, arrays, and function prototypes.	An introduction to the use of data structures, functions, and procedures to manage the complexity of programs. Main topics include one-dimensional arrays, values and addresses as parameters, testing programs and functions, Scribbler 2 motion and sensors	Kernighan & Ritchie: Sections 1.6, 1.7, chapter 4, 5.1 (1-dimensional arrays, testing, functions, values and addresses, with the & operator) Notes on arrays Array parameters function prototypes as parameters	Computing maxima, minima, and averages Organizing movement data Finding perimeter, area, of module Programs with both values and addresses as parameters Simulating throwing of darts to compute Pi	functions with and without value parameters, return values functions with value and address parameters (2 labs) 1-dimensional arrays function parameters, testing	Follow a moving object Implement an "Uninterpretable dance" in a program, in which each of several dance steps are performed in separate functions. Function parameters should include both values and addresses.
011	Utilize character data and process user input Introduce C's model for characters and string data; allow users to enter data from the terminal, and provide mechanisms to process user data.	A consideration of ways to expand problems and problem solving from simple static programs declaration towards coded solutions that take input and follow commands based on input, including: characters strings input/output	Kernighan & Ritchie: Sections 1.5, 1.9, 5.2-6, 5.10, chapter 7 (characters, strings, I/O, pointers (part 1)) Notes on reading data Strings and characters in c	string storage examples with scanf examples with getchar and putchar	characters and strings reading with scanf character-by-character input	Robot follows typed commands (2-3 days) Design a program that controls the robot through commands typed into the terminal. Commands include basic motion (forwards/backwards, turning, stopping), sound, and basic sensor use.
100	Image Processing Explore additional mechanisms to group data into logical packages, and apply the general concepts to the storage, retrieval, processing, and display of images.	Data structures supporting collections The study of general mechanisms to group data together into logical units, including structs 2-dimensional arrays Discussion of common algorithms on collections, including processing data in tables the insertion sort	Kernighan and Ritchie: Chapter 6 structs insertion sort	collection movement data together 2-dimensional arrays structs to store image data insertion sort with images	structs 2-dimensional arrays transforming an image insertion sort	Image processing Develop several functions to transform images in several ways.
101	Music Composition An introduction to dynamic storage, providing flexibility in meeting variable needs of a problem. A linked list provides a particularly flexible structure for creating and editing elements of music.	Dynamic data structures An introduction to flexible data structures, including pointers memory allocation linked lists	Kernighan and Ritchie: Chapters 5-6 structs, pointers, linked lists Linked lists Program management Makefiles	malloc example scheme-like lists general lists lists for movies	pointers Scheme-like lists Linked lists in C Linked lists for a movie Program management, header files	Music composition --- insertion of series of notes periodically into song tune (2-3 days) Develop/expand a program to store and edit notes in a song, Basel on the flexibility of a dynamic linked list structure.
110	Stacks and Queues as Fundamental Abstract Data Types An exploration of two fundamental abstract data structures: stacks and queues, together with implementations using both arrays and linked lists.	A study stacks and queues as abstract data types, together with several possible implementations, including arrays storing references to original data arrays storing copies of data linked lists, based on Scheme-like lists general linked lists	Reading on stacks Reading on queues Reading on bash scripts	Variations on stack implementations	stacks queues (with arrays) queues (with linked lists) bash scripts	Study consequences of different stack implementations Given 4 different stack implementations, consider what is stored, what is returned, and consequences of each approach
7	Integrated Robotics A review of common approaches to integrate a wide range of problem-solving techniques and programming concepts in C in the control of Scribbler 2 robots.	Advanced Input/Output Many elements throughout the course can be brought together in the control of robots, including Command-line arguments File streams Text files (organized by line)	Kernighan & Ritchie: Sections 5.10, Chapter 22 (files, command-line arguments, sorting, queues) Working with Strings	generating files reading files as streams reading files line-by-line reading state data by year	command-line arguments reading file streams reading text files	Controlling a robot, with command logging integrate sensors, motion, song; loops, conditionals, i/o, functions, files, and command-line arguments in a common setting

     http://www.walker.cs.grinnell.edu/courses/161.sp15/module-overview.shtml