Foundations of Computer Science

Alberto POSTIGLIONE Foundations of Computer Science

0212700006
DIPARTIMENTO DI SCIENZE AZIENDALI - MANAGEMENT & INNOVATION SYSTEMS
EQF6
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
2016/2017



OBBLIGATORIO
YEAR OF COURSE 1
YEAR OF DIDACTIC SYSTEM 2014
PRIMO SEMESTRE
CFUHOURSACTIVITY
742LESSONS


Objectives
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING:
THE AIM OF THE COURSE IS TO GIVE AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CONCEPTS ("KNOWING") AND TO THE BASIC TECHNIQUES ("KNOW HOW") OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES (ICT), TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH ADEQUATE MASTERY OF THE TERMINOLOGY,
OF THE HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURES, OF THE REPRESENTATION OF THE MAIN TYPES OF DATA AND OF THE OPERATION OF MODERN COMPUTERS, WHICH WILL BE USEFUL BOTH FOR THE CONTINUATION OF STUDIES AND FOR THEIR FUTURE WORK.
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING:
STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE AND EVALUATE THE CAPABILITIES AND PERFORMANCE OF HARDWARE / SOFTWARE COMPONENTS OF A COMPUTER, SELECT THE APPROPRIATE METHOD OF REPRESENTATION OF THE MAIN TYPES OF DATA.
THE STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO USE A RELATIONAL DBMS: BASIC TECHNIQUES FOR THE PROGRAMMING OF AN APPLICATION; CREATION AND MODIFICATION OF THE STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF TABLES, PROPER DEFINITION OF DATA TYPES, DATA ENTRY IN TABLES, CREATING AND USING FORMS AND REPORTS; QUERY THE DATABASE WITH THE SQL LANGUAGE
PARTICULAR EMPHASIS IS PLACED ON THE APPLICATION, WHICH IS A FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT OF THE COURSE AND THE FINAL EVALUATION.
AUTONOMY OF JUDGEMENT:
STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO CARRY OUT THE FIRST EVALUATIONS OF THE ADEQUATE HARDWARE / SOFTWARE SYSTEMS TO ACHIEVE THEIR SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES. THEY WILL HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF THE REAL POTENTIAL THAT A COMPUTER SYSTEM PROVIDES.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
STUDENTS WILL GAIN THE MASTERY OF BASIC COMPUTER SCIENCE TERMINOLOGY, REPRESENTATION OF DATA TYPES AND SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES, SO AS TO EFFECTIVELY USE A COMPUTER, USING AUTONOMOUSLY SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES AND APPLICATIONS STUDIED DURING THE COURSE.
LEARNING ABILITY
THE COURSE AIMS TO ENTICE STUDENTS TO THE PROCESS OF CONTINUING EDUCATION (LIFELONG LEARNING), THAT IS, THE PRACTICE OF A CONTINUOUS UPDATING OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS, TRYING TO STIMULATE CURIOSITY AND INTEREST IN COMPUTER SCIENCE AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES. THIS PROCESS WILL HAVE TO ACCOMPANY THEM THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES, IN A WORKING WORLD IN CONSTANT AND RAPID EVOLUTION.
TO INCREASE THE LEARNING ABILITY, THE TEACHER WILL SHOW THE "PRACTICAL" ASPECTS OF WHAT WILL BE PRESENTED IN CLASS. THE TEACHER WILL TRY TO STIMULATE STUDENTS TO A CONTINUOUS INTERACTION WITH HIM AND WITH THE OTHER STUDENTS AND WILL TRY TO ENTICE THEM TO A SERIOUS AND CONSTANT STUDY, ALSO THROUGH THE "INTERMEDIATE TESTS" THAT COULD COUNT AS A PARTIAL EXEMPTIONS FROM EXAMS.
IN THE CLASSROOM, TO MAINTAIN THE EVER VIGILANT ATTENTION, IT WILL BE MADE USE OF SLIDES, SUITABLY ACCOMPANIED BY MULTIMEDIA ELEMENTS.
IN ORDER TO ACCUSTOM THEM TO THE SELF-LEARNING, STUDENTS WILL BE INVITED TO DEEPEN THE TOPICS OF THE COURSE, ADVISING THEM TO VISIT WEBSITES OR USE SOME TRADITIONAL AND ONLINE RESOURCES OF PARTICULAR INTEREST.
DURING THE COURSE IT WILL BE MADE EXTENSIVE USE OF EXAMPLES, TUTORIALS AND EXERCISES TO BE PERFORMED AT HOME BY THE STUDENTS, WITH THE CORRECTION TO THE NEXT LESSON.
Prerequisites
NO PREREQUISITES ARE REQUIRED, ALTHOUGH IT IS RECOMMENDED THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE BASIC TECHNIQUES FOR THE USE OF A COMPUTER.
Contents
FUNDAMENTALS OF HARDWARE ARCHITECTURE OF A COMPUTER: THE PROCESSOR, MAIN MEMORY, INPUT / OUTPUT DEVICES, MASS STORAGE DEVICES AND INTERFACES, I / O ADVANCED TECHNIQUES (SCANNING OF IMAGES AND TEXTS, VOICE INPUT, ASSISTIVE TOOLS FOR THE DISABLED) , NOTES ON: BACKUP / RECOVERY, STORAGE HIERARCHY, CLOUD COMPUTING AND STREAMING.
BINARY REPRESENTATION OF TEXT AND NUMBERS, CONVERSIONS FROM DECIMAL BASE TO BINARY BASE, AND VICE VERSA, BASIC MATHEMATICAL OPERATIONS IN BINARY.
ANALOG / DIGITAL AND DIGITIZATION OF ANALOG DATA, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO MULTIMEDIA DATA, SUCH AS PICTURES, SOUNDS AND VIDEO. THE MAIN AUDIO / VIDEO FORMATS AND THE MAIN COMPRESSION TECHNIQUES. NOTES ON SOME ANIMATION TECHNIQUES AND NOTES ON SOME VISUALIZATIONS (SHADING, ANTI-ALIASING, MORPHING).
BASIC CONCEPTS ON SOFTWARE (HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL, OLE TECHNOLOGY, ISSUES RELATED TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND FREE SOFTWARE USE). BASIC CONCEPTS OF OPERATING SYSTEMS (BASIC FUNCTIONALITY, CATEGORIES AND MULTIPROGRAMMING SYSTEMS, FILE SYSTEMS, UTILITIES).
BASIC CONCEPTS OF LOCAL AND GEOGRAPHIC NETWORKS
INTRODUCTION TO RELATIONAL DATABASES (INFORMATION SYSTEMS, INFORMATION AND DATA, RELATIONAL MODEL, INTEGRITY CONSTRAINTS AND KEYS. QBE AND BASIC QUERIES IN SQL).
Teaching Methods
LECTURES AND GUIDED EXERCISES. FREE EXERCISES WITH TRACES PROVIDED BY THE TEACHER THAT WILL BE DISCUSSED IN THE CLASSROOM.
Verification of learning
THE FINAL EXAM TAKES PLACE AT THE COMPUTER LAB.
IT INCLUDES:
• VERIFICATION OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE THEORETICAL ARGUMENTS
• PRACTICAL USE OF A DBMS.
EACH PART HAS A MINIMUM THRESHOLD, BELOW WHICH THE COMPLETE EXAMINATION IS NOT PASSED.
Texts
CURTIN, FOLEY, SEN, MORIN "INFORMATICA DI BASE – V EDIZIONE“ - MC GRAW HILL, 2012
ATZENI, CERI, PARABOSCHI, TORLONE, - “BASI DI DATI - MODELLI E LINGUAGGI DI INTERROGAZIONE 3/ED” (CAP. 1, 2, 4.2 E 4.3) MCGRAW HILL, 2009.
More Information
SLIDES OF THE COURSE AND ADDITIONAL TEACHING MATERIALS (TUTORIALS, EXAMS, ...), THEY CAN BE DOWNLOADED FROM THE TEACHER'S SITE (HTTP://WWW.UNISA.IT/DOCENTI/POSTIGLIONEA/INDEX )
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