Welcome to the Programming Stream Group at the School of Information and Communications Technology

Redirect to Curriculum Review 2012 Overview Page

Introduction

This wiki describes curriculum developments within the programming stream at the School of Information and Communications Technology

The scope of the currently active projects is driven by
- the general need to train professional programmers for direct entry into the workplace
- the growing knowledge-based industries
  - digital game programming industry
  - open source communities for software developers
  - emergence of parallel computing
The information reported here is being provided to
- inform faculty members of the status quo
- solicit comments and criticisms from faculty

What can I do right now?

add your name to the list of active members and identify your interest here
add your project(s) to the list of projects under development here if you have any
- create your own project page describing your own contributions
- add descriptions of your project(s) in detail to this wiki along with current status
- list the work that remains to be done
add any testimonials you have received here
add information to any section of this wiki - quotes, data, testimonials, suggestions

Curriculum Development (2013)

The principal objectives of this year's development are

to complete the alignment of the programming stream courses with the C11 and C++11 standards
to address the wide variation amongst faculty regarding the texts and web-sites developed by Chris S

Resolved Issues

Cathy L, Danny A, Don F, Ron T, Ian T, Mary Lynn M, Chris S present

Data Representation is now fully covered in ULI101
OOP344 will be compulsory in CPA/CPAC from Fall 2013
OOP344 and BAC344 are still optional in CPD

IPC144/BTP100

https://scs.senecac.on.ca/~ipc144/
https://scs.senecac.on.ca/~btp100/
web site, workshops, and exercises have been completed by Chris S
2012 C11 agreed (see below) changes have been incorporated by Chris S
Cathy L found Chris S' timeline left enough time to cover everything with time left over for review and sick days
adding recursion was raised by several faculty last month - Cathy L and Danny A said that they cover it in detail in DSA555/BTP500 - the meeting decided to exclude this topic from the notes, web sites and subject outline but nevertheless leave instructors free to introduce it in 1st semester
Cathy L does not like the new web site notes
Cathy L has setup a wiki for faculty to collaborate on making their own notes as an alternative to Chris S' notes
Cathy L has started uploading Evan W's notes to the wiki

Chris S has added on each page of the web site a link to Cathy L's wiki on matrix
Cathy L noted that not all faculty covered the agreed changes this semester
Sorry I missed the meeting. Anyway FWIW I think we should add more content to IPC144 - such as structs malloc and all operators including bitwise. Just my 2¢....Selmys
Cathy L wanted to add structs also
Chris S produced a pdf that can be printed as a text to be sold in the Bookstore
full changes and the new text are being introduced in Fall 2013
Cathy L has developed videos up to selection constructs

OOP244/BTP200

https://scs.senecac.on.ca/~oop244/pages.141/content/index.html
Working Draft of the Standard (n3337)
structs removed to IPC144/BTP100
auto added
nullptr replaces NULL
keywords filled in
first draft completed including file objects, function templates and abstract base classes
standards history brought up to date
a few more diagrams added
outcomes and quotes reviewed
Danny A disagreed to adding abstract base classes, function templates and file objects and voiced his concern that there was barely enough time to introduce inheritance - although there was no consensus reached on this point, Chris S will move forward with the additions and we will see what happens
Sorry I am late to respond, generally I agree we should follow Chris S notes and I would like encourage newer practices found in C11 for IPC144/OOP344, and in C++0x for OOP244/OOP344. This means stuff like using auto to let compiler decipher type, nullptr to initialize pointers. Students should also learn how to debug programs that are not working based on error messages from compiler, crashes, incorrect programming practices. Making a mistake is ok but repeatedly not initializing pointers, local variables, etc. is a common reason for frustration. Just my thoughts - MF

Issues Raised and Resolved - First Draft

method or member functions - revert to member functions for C++
start with using namespace std; and cout - then switch to std::cout once header file requires iostream - header file should not include using namespace std
unit tests - two sections added - in Modular Programming (week 1) - in Abstract Base Classes (week 11)

Issues Raised and Resolved - Final Draft

optional sections for 244 decided
copy ctors and = ops moved just after Current Object
virtual functions and abstract base classes moved ahead of templates
appendix on library functions added

OOP344/BTP300

Gathering requests to be considered for inclusion in 344/300 until Feb 21 2014
Requests will be classed under 3 categories - mandatory, optional, excluded
Discussions on requested items closing date April 4

Proposed Learning Outcomes

aligned with C# and Java follow up courses - deadline for feedback Feb 28

describe and implement inheritance using abstract base classes, interfaces, and multiple base classes
describe and implement polymorphism using templates and virtual functions
describe and implement data management using linked lists
apply established algorithms to programming solutions using standard libraries
describe separation of concerns using patterns, encapsulation, and closures
describe and implement programming solutions for multi-processor hardware using multi-threading
describe and implement persistent storage of objects using file streams

To Be Done

IPC144/BTP100

OOP244/BTP200
- Chris S to upgrade the web site to include the agreed C++11 changes by mid-October 2013 - first draft is complete - done
- Chris S to produce pdf by mid-October 2013 - done
- full changes and notes will be introduced in Winter 2014 - done
OOP344/BTP300
- Chris S to prepare full subject outlines by end of the semester
- full changes and notes will be introduced in Fall 2014
- Chris S to reach agreement with Fardad on all changes
- Fardad requests lab tutor for 2 + 2 to succeed - lab assistants will be available (MLM)
JAC444/MAP524 for CPA
- Selmys suggests replacing JAC444 with MAP524 OR allowing students to choose one, because
  - Both JAC444 and MAP524 are introductions to Java for C++ programmers. The essential difference is that MAP524 uses the Android/Google API while JAC444 uses the older Java APIs (eg Swing/AWT).
  - Introduces students to Android development earlier (4th semester instead of 5th).
  - Android is the world's most popular mobile platform.

Curriculum Development (2012, 2013)

The principal objectives of these sessions are

to align the programming stream courses with the C11 and C++11 standards

to address the success rate of first semester students in the CPA program

to move towards alignment with Java courses

Resolved Allocation Issues

Data Representation needs to be taught in first semester in another stream

binary - hex | hex - decimal

IPC144/BTP100

add variable length arrays - done

add const - done

add pointer - array equivalence - done

trivial additions to align with standard (see detail page)

remove gets() - done

assign a problem that requires the application of integer data rep knowledge taught in another course in the first half

OOP244/BTP200

move namespace definition to start - done

add inline functions - done

add parameter defaults - done

add simple file objects

move type safe casting nearer start

add simple function templates to polymorphism

add abstract base classes

trivial additions to align with standard (see detail page)

OOP344/BTP300

add multi-threading

add rvalues and move constructors

trivial additions to align with standard (see detail page)

Beyond OOP344/BTP300

trivial additions to align with standard (see detail page)

Delivery Issues

Committee for IPC144 has been struck - held first meeting - will reconvene
Danny, Sunny, and Mark will try applying Chris' timeline over the summer 2012 to enable the introduction of inheritance earlier in the semester

To Be Done

update learning outcomes to suit

OOP244 Proposed Subject Outline

BTP200 Proposed Subject Outline

decide which sections to make optional and which to relegate to appendices
update 244/200 course notes to reflect these changes
prepare 144/100 course notes to reflect these changes - done
agree timeline for implementing changes - done

Proposed Timeline for Implementation

Ongoing Issues

marketing

what is the market saying
what do we market now and how
how do we attract the best and the brightest to our programs

employability

why do top employers reject our top students

faculty education

impact of social media

how will we interface with social media
personal learning environments

delivery

techniques and tools

which platforms should we be using
gnu - which version

clang as an alternate compiler for C/C++ (might need a separate installation request to ITS each time)

visual studio
how early should students be exposed to open source tools
using open source, instead of teaching open source? (repos, wikis, blogging, online collaboration tools)
how early should students work with repositories
1. in early semesters, using repos as individual drop box, and versioning and then move to collaboration features in later semesters
2. which repositories should be introduced?

collaboration

should students work in teams in OOP344, BTP300
teamwork requires significantly more effort on the part of the instructor

Programming Stream

Contents

Introduction

What can I do right now?

Curriculum Development (2013)

Resolved Issues

IPC144/BTP100

OOP244/BTP200

Issues Raised and Resolved - First Draft

Issues Raised and Resolved - Final Draft

OOP344/BTP300

Suggested Topics for Inclusion (not decided)

Proposed Learning Outcomes

To Be Done

Curriculum Development (2012, 2013)

Resolved Allocation Issues

Delivery Issues

To Be Done

Ongoing Issues

marketing

employability

faculty education

impact of social media

delivery

techniques and tools

collaboration

Deferred Issues

Archives

should CPD include a professional option

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