Introduction to Computer Science

Advice

This page contains general tips and information which are intended to help students through the course.

Participation

Probably the most important contributor to your success in the course is your degree of participation: you must be active in your own education. This process is simple; it does not require excruciating effort. Here are some steps you can take to make sure you are engaged in the course.

Programming Style

There is an art to programming. Many different programs can solve the same task. For any interesting program, there is no unique right answer (but there are a great many wrong ones). Good programming style helps your grade, but it can do much more: well-written programs are easier to read, debug, and improve. Here are some tips for developing programs in good style.

This is only an introduction to good programming style, but it’s a start. Andrew Danner has several more suggestions for beginners’ coding style.

This might seem like a lot, but it’s a matter of developing good habits. After you practice the same conventions for a while, they become second nature. As always, please ask if you have any questions!