There is currently a high demand in many industries to recruit future employees who have a working knowledge of the C programming language. As a result the module now uses C in preference to Fortran, although the principles involved are applicable to almost any procedural programming language. It is designed to give students the ability to write simple computer programs in C and to be able to understand such programs written by others. The module is taught as a series of practical workshops in which the student experiences C-programming at first hand using prepared projects and later producing their own. Each class lasts for 2 hours, students are able to work at their own pace.
Assistance is provided by the staff to ensure that everyone progresses at a reasonable rate.
Students are expected to practise their programming skills outside formal class sessions, and each week appropriate homework assignments are set to be completed, handed in and assessed. A student's progress is monitored at each class to ensure that they are making satisfactory progress. At the end of the module students are required to prepare a portfolio of three programs that they consider represent their computing expertise at that time. Assignments Weekly homework assignments to be completed before the next class. Produce a portfolio of three programs at the end of the module.