| Program Detail |
: This course teaches students how to write computer programs. The class presents the principles of structured programming using the BASIC language, perhaps the most common language for personal computers. Because of its ease of use it is ideal as a first programming language and runs on both the PC and Macintosh platforms. The course is designed for people without previous programming experience who do not necessarily plan on becoming professional programmers. However, the knowledge gained in the class can be applied later to other languages such as C and Java. Participants learn to solve problems logically by breaking them into smaller pieces, which can then be solved. Topics include: introduction to computing - how does a computer work?; input and output - getting information to and from the user; variables and expressions - performing arithmetic; data statements - reading information from inside the program; text files - reading information from other files; arrays - groups of variables; debugging - finding errors in your program; graphics - graphs, boxes, shaded areas; and formatting - changing how things look on the screen. |