~ "Certificate in Programming (Beginners) Pascal and C" Course ~
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Welcome

Welcome to the home page for the course in Computer Programming (Beginners) Pascal & C as held at Northampton College.

The site is constantly being update to keep it up to date with the College Course, so check back regularly to see the latest changes.

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Course Outline

General Information

This section describes on a point-by-point basis the key information about the course, including its location, timing, cost, facilitator (tutor), materials, contact details etc.

Course Title

 Certificate in Programming (Beginners) PASCAL and C

Day of Week

 Wednesday

Time

 6.00pm - 9.00pm (3 Hours per session, 1 session per week)

Number of Weeks

 30 weeks  (Total 90 Hours)

Sessions

 Start Date Session Code
  19th September 2001 1913

Tuition Fees

£195.00 (UK Sterling)
Administration Fee -£1.25
C&G Registration Fee - £5.60
Examination Fee - £21.05

AOS (Area of Study) Code

QC02   (for Internal College Use Only)

Funded by

Local Education Authority (LSC)

Qualification

You will gain 2 (two) modules in the City and Guilds 9531 in Introductory Computer Programming.

Examinations

You will be expected to complete 2 (two) practical assessments lasting 3 (three) hours each. These will take place during normal session times.

Location

Northampton College (Booth Lane Site),
Main Campus
Booth Lane
Northampton NN3 3RF

Other Courses

You can, either after or instead of this course, take the Certificate in Programming Visual Basic levels 1 and 2

Web Links

Web Site URL: http://www.northamptoncollege.ac.uk 
Click here to see details of this course on the Northampton College web site.

Course Tutor Details

Simon Huggins
Voicemail: 07050 618 298
Fax: 07050 618 297

More information can be gained from Jonathan Halliday on (01604) 734273

Course Materials

You should bring a floppy disk to store your work.

Software used is Turbo Pascal (DOS and Windows version available) for the Pascal element of the course. Click here to download a copy of this for personal use. C++ Builder is used for the C element of the course. Click here to download a copy for personal use.

A guide to Turbo Pascal is handed to all students towards the beginning of the course.

Handouts detailing specific topics and associated examples and exercises are given each week.

Who the course if for, and what you need to know

It is essential before you book the course that you understand whether it covers the information you require, and is pitched at the correct level for you.

Peruse the section below to get an idea of the sorts of topics that are covered - this should give you a general overview.

The course is designed for beginners to programming. It is useful to have a familiarity with using a PC.

The course teaches practical design techniques and programming in an Integrated Development Environment, and how to write programs, compile and debug them.

The course is split into two halves.

The first part deals with basic programming principles using the Pascal programming languages. This is followed by a practical assessment session.

The second part explores and expands these principles using the C programming language, which is used widely in the Software Development industry for many different applications. This is again followed by a practical assessment session.

Week-by-week Course Schedule

The draft course schedule is planned to be roughly as follows. This is subject to change during the course according to needs of students, progression of the course, or any unforeseen circumstances.

Pascal Schedule follows:-

Click here if you wish to see a Microsoft Word document version of this information.

COURSE: CITY AND GUILDS 9531

LECTURER: SIMON HUGGINS  

SUBJECT:                      Certificate in Programming (Beginner) PASCAL and C (Pascal Element)

Wk No

Aims / Objectives

Theories / Texts / Materials

Teaching Approaches / Methods

Assignments / Assessment

1
(19/09)

Intro to programming languages; Intro to Turbo Pascal; Using WriteLn,Real Nos & Integers; Positioning Results

Handouts

Lecture + Classwork

 

2
(26/09)

Assignment statements & variables; Real variables

Handouts

Lecture + Classwork

 

3
(03/10)

Simple Loops using repeat; introduction to conditions

Handouts

Lecture + Classwork

 

4
(10/10)

The readln statement; Indefinite loops; breaking out of loops; Forming totals in programs; Reals & Integers

Handouts

Lecture + Classwork

 

5
(17/10)

While statements; Comparison of repeat & while

Handouts

Lecture + Classwork

 

October 24 – Break for Study Week

6
(31/10)

IF statements and decisions

Handouts

Lecture + Classwork

Exercise to create a calculator

7
(07/11)

Text, Character and String Variables; String Length; Alphabetic Sequencing

Handouts

Lecture + Classwork

 

8
(14/11)

The for statement

Handouts

Lecture + Classwork

 

9
(21/11)

Reading and Writing text files

Handouts

Lecture + Classwork

 

10 (28/11)

Test Techniques; Error handling and debugging; Records – more on databases.

Handouts

Lecture + Classwork

 

11
(05/12)

Documentation; The development life-cycle

Handouts

Lecture + Classwork

 

Wk No

Aims / Objectives

Theories / Texts / Materials

Teaching Approaches / Methods

Assignments / Assessment

12
(12/12)

Procedures and functions; documentation and planning; JSP & flowcharting

Handouts

Lecture + Classwork

 

13
(17/12)

Working through a problem from requirements, specification, design, implementation, testing and documentation

Handouts

Classwork

Practice examination

Break for Christmas – No sessions on 26th December 2001 nor 2nd January 2002

14
(09/01)

Review of work done so far. Look at practice exam from before Christmas.

Handouts

Lecture + Classwork

Practice exam to try out / research at home

15
(16/01)

Practice Examination – OK to ask for help

Handouts

Classwork

 

16
(23/01)

Examination – No help from tutor can be given; exam conditions

Handouts

Examination

 

17
(30/01)

Round-up of course, a look at the examinations, and a look forward to the coming C course

Handouts

Lecture + Classwork

 

C Schedule Follows :-

Click here if you wish to see a Microsoft Word document version of this information.

Schedule for C Programming Course [C&G 9531 PROGBEGIN]

Session Date

Details of session (Provisional)

6th February 2002

Introduction to C. Brief History of C. The C++ Builder Environment. Your first C program: Typing it in, saving it, compiling, running, and debugging it.Overview of what we will be covering.

13th February 2002

Study Review Week – NO SESSION

20th February 2002

Structure of a C program. Libraries and Includes. Variables, Constants, and Types. Functions and Prototypes. Arithmetic Operators and Precedence. Comments. The C Preprocessor.

27th February 2002

Looping - for, while, do-while. Break and continue.Branching - IF and Switch/Case statements. Question-Mark/colon operator.

6th March 2002

Functions. Passing parameters. Returning values and exiting a function. Local variables and scope. Static variables.

13th March 2002

Strings and arrays. Printf and Scanf. Introduction to pointers. Other String Handling Functions

20th March 2002

Commonly used functions - Random numbers, Mathematical functions, Conversion. Casting.
Assignment using what learned so far will be handed out in form of "mock" exam

27th March 2002

Easter Break – NO SESSION

3rd April 2002

Easter Break – NO SESSION

10th April 2002

Look at "mock" exam. Structures and Unions.

17th April 2002

File Handling and printing.  

24th April 2002

Recap on documentation, JSP, and testing techniques. Exercises to apply this to C programs.

1st May 2002

Sample exam given out to do during the session and over following week.

8th May 2002

May Day Bank Holiday – NO SESSION

15th May 2002

Go through exam from before holiday. Try another sample examination.
Overview of what else is available in C and C++ (i.e. where to go from here).

22nd May 2002

Mock exam. Questions and help can be asked of the tutor.

29th May 2002

Final exam. Do not bring any notes. Bring paper and a disk labeled with your name and date. Bring pens!
Remember the key things to hand in for your exam: -

Ψ      Specification – Function and Limitations

Ψ      Screen Layout

Ψ      JSP Diagram / Flowchart (if preferred).

Ψ      Printout

Ψ      Test Plan & Results

Ψ      Program – Clear Displays / Messages, Indentation, Comments, and top comment showing name & date.

A good web site to look on for a tutorial on how to use C can be found at http://www.cs.cf.ac.uk/Dave/C/CE.html

The C Programming Language by Kernighan and Ritchie is the classic text describing the C programming language in detail. The authors are the original designers of the language, so it can be a bit high-browed at time!

 If you look on http://www.amazon.co.uk, drill down the subjects as follows: Books > Computers & Internet > Programming > Languages & Tools > Languages > C & C++ > Introductory C  -- You’ll see a variety of relevant books – for example : -

Ψ       Absolute beginner’s guide to C (Greg Perry) – SAMS publisher – ISBN 0672305100 - £13.80 [432 pages]

Ψ       Teach Yourself C (Herbert Schildt) – Osborne McGraw-Hill – ISBN 0078823110 - £23.99 [640 pages]

Ψ       Teach Yourself C in 21 days (Peter Aitken) – SAMS – ISBN 0672317664 - £17.59 [889 pages]

Ψ       Learning to program in C (N. Kantaris) – Bernard Babani – ISBN 0859342034 - £5.59 [128 pages]

Ψ       C for dummies – 2 vol bundle (Dan Gookin) – Hungry Minds – ISBN 1568849397 - £25.07 [800 pages]

Ψ      The C Programming Language (Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M Ritchie) – Prentice-Hall – ISBN 0131103628 - £31.95 [414 pages]

Ψ      Borland C++ (Herbert Schildt) – Osborne McGraw-Hill – ISBN 0078822300 - £31.99 [1008 pages]

Ψ      Teach yourself C++ (Richard Riley) – Teach Yourself – ISBN 0340775289 - £7.19 [192 pages]

If you have any further questions, please leave your name and evening contact number on either my voicemail or fax number given above.

Enrolment

To enroll on this course, you may wish to attend one of the enrolment sessions held at Booth Lane College in Northampton on one of the following dates, within the times indicated :-

Enrolment Session Date

Enrolment Session Start / Finish Times

Monday 3rd September 2001

6.00pm to 8.00pm

Tuesday 4th September 2001

3.00pm to 8.00pm

Wednesday 5th September 2001

6.00pm to 8.00pm

Thursday 6th September 2001

6.00pm to 8.00pm

Otherwise, you can drop in to the enrolment office at Booth Lane any time between Monday 2nd July to Thursday 30th August 2001 between 9.30am-3.30pm Monday-Friday.
The office is located in Mobile 4 at the Booth Lane site, and the telephone number to contact them is (01604) 734070 or (01604) 734071.

Note that postal enrolment is not available for this course. Telephone enrolment is only available if you are satisfied that you have all the information you require in order to determine the suitability of the course for your needs, as a response to the information from this web site and any further information you request at the time of making the telephone enrolment. Note that it is not possible to enrol by telephone if you are requesting a reduction in fees.
When paying by telephone, you can pay using all major debit cards, with the exception of American Express for payment. Simply have your card to hand and give detail(s) of the course - e.g. Title [Computer Programming (Beginners) Pascal and C], Session Code (1913 for the course starting 19th September 2001), and Cost (£195). If you are asked for the AOS code, it is QC02.

Reduction in tuition Fees

Some people are entitled to a reduction in tuition fees for this course - see table below, and choose the highest percentage associate with the benefit that you are receiving:-

You will need to enrol in person if you are claiming any reduction in tuition fees.

Are you:- LEA Reduction %
In receipt of income based Jobseeker's Allowance? 100%
In receipt of contribution based Jobseeker's Allowance? 30%
In receipt of Income Support? 100%
In receipt of Housing Benefit? 100%
In receipt of Council Tax Benefit 100%
An unwaged dependant of those above N/A
An Asylum Seeker in receipt of the equivalent to a means-tested benefit 100%
In receipt of Working Families Tax Credit 100%
In receipt of Disabled Persons Tax Credit 100%
On a Government Training Scheme for Jobseekers 100%
A Community Voluntary Service Volunteer 100%
A Student aged 16-17 on "Choices" programme 100%
In receipt of Incapacity Benefit 30%
In receipt of Invalid Care Allowance 30%
In receipt of Severe Disablement Allowance 30%
In receipt of Widows or Bereavement Benefits 30%
60+ and not in full-time employment 30%

(c) Copyright 2001-2 Simon Huggins.   All Rights Reserved.
If you have any issues or questions regarding the content of this web site, please contact the author by clicking here.
Alternatively, you can leave a voice message on 00 44 (0)7050-618-297 or fax on 00 44 (0)7050-618-298
This Page was last updated: 09 February 2004 14:03