Introduction to programming

• Programs, source code and program execution
• Identifiers, variables, values, types, assignment
• Expressions, statements
• Conditional structures and loops
• Functions, parameters, calls, results, execution, variable scoping
• Specifications and tests
• Modules
• Data structures, lists, strings and their operations
• References and nested data structures
• Nestsed lists, tuples, matrices, dictionnaries
• Dichotomic search algorithms
• File handling, input/output
• Exception handling
• Object-oriented programming and garbage collection
• Classes, objects, constructors, methods
• References to an object, self-references and self-calls
• Class, instance and local variables, scope and visibility
• Class composition, inheritance and encapsulation
• Polymorphism, super calls and dynamic binding
• Object equality
• Linked data structures

The chosen teaching method relies on active student participation, through a mixture of :

A programming assignment is due each week.
A mid-term evaluation will be organised halfway throughout the quadrimester.
The end-of-term exam aims to assess both the understanding of the course material and the capacity to apply it to write simple but correct Python programs.
The final course mark takes into account the mid-term evaluation and assignments during the quadrimester, in addition to the mark of the end-term exam.
The assignments and mid-term evaluation cannot be retaken for the June or September sessions.
If the mark for the mid-term evaluation is higher than that for the end-term exam, it will count for 1/3 and the mark of the end-term exam for 2/3.
If the mark for the mid-term evaluation is lower than that for the end-term exam, only the mark for the exam will be used to calculate the final course mark.
A bonus of 1 point will be granted to students who have participated in and regularly submitted their programming assignments during the quadrimester.
In case of plagiarism detection confirmed by a plagiarism detection tool the course teachers reserve the right to invite the student to pass an oral interrogation.