This course has an assignment that is due by 11:55 pm Central Standard Time on Wednesday night of the first week of class.  Failure to complete this assignment will result in your removal from the course for non-participation.

This course is an introductory course in Computer Science. All the major topics of computer science are surveyed: History of Computers and Computing, Data Representation, Data Manipulation, Operating Systems, Networking, Algorithms, Programming Languages, Application Development, Data Structures, and Databases. The purposed of this course is to give the student a good grounding in Computer Science in preparation for higher level courses. Prerequisite: None. 3 Hours.

At the completion of this course, students will have a grounding in the basics of computer science and be prepared for higher level work and study in the field.  Successful completion of this course will enable the student to:

• Understand and articulate the ways data are stored in computer systems.
• Understand and articulate the Fetch/Decode/Execute cycle of modern computer systems.
• Understand and articulate Operating System concepts.
• Understand and articulate Computer Networking basic fundamentals.
• Understand and develop basic algorithms to solve problems, and implement those algorithms in software.
• Be aware of various programming languages and their implementations.
• Understand and articulate the essentials of the traditional software development life cycle and some alternate approaches.
• Understand and articulate the essential issues in database design and implementation.
• Understand and design basic data structures.
• Develop an appreciation of the ethical issues and social impacts of computing and computer science.