Programming Development: Concepts and Techniques - CIS52

Professor: Priscilla Grocer

Office: K-112

COURSE DESCRIPTION: During this course, the student will learn to analyze difficult programming problems and develop solutions for them. The course will deal with sophisticated concepts of logic, program development, programming style, data structures and the use of programming tools. The students will have the opportunity to analyze complex business programming concepts and develop and work on individual business programming projects.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: The objective of this course is to make students truly proficient programmers and to give them an in-depth course in analyzing problems and developing solutions. (COBOL will be the major vehicle although the student may elect to do many of the programs in another language.) The student will learn to develop and write programs to accomplish programming goals and will be ready for an entry level programming job. At the completion of this course, the following objectives should have been accomplished:

• the student will be able to analyze problems and code programs using advanced programming techniques
• the student should learn techniques for design and writing a well structured program
• the student will learn to work effectively with user presentation screens and menus and to design effective code for interacting with the user
• the student will learn advanced data manipulation concepts
• the student will learn effective file design and data structure concepts and how to program with a variety of file structures
• the student will learn to work effectively with multiple files
• the student will learn to program using subprograms
• the student will learn additional elements of the COBOL language
• the student will work with other peoples programs, analyzing, maintaining and evaluating them
• the student will learn the concepts of object oriented programming and will learn to write object oriented programs using COBOL

TEXTS: The course will rely heavily on instructor notes. For additional reference students are encouraged to purchase an advanced COBOL text. Suggestions will be posted.

The student will be required to purchase a text on object-oriented COBOL or find appropriate information on the Web.

COURSE OUTLINE:

1. Data manipulation
2. Review of VSAM file usage
   1. Updates
   2. Retrievals
3. Working with multiple files
   1. Sequential
   2. Random
4. Screen concepts
   1. Review
   2. Variety of approaches
   3. Code to develop user friendly interactive programs
5. Sorting and Searching
   1. External
   2. Internal
6. Subprograms
   1. Concepts
   2. Practical application
7. Advanced problem solving
   1. Techniques
   2. Analyzing samples
   3. Writing and evaluating code
8. Advanced language concepts
   1. 85 standards and beyond
   2. looking at 2000 standards
   3. additional instructions
   4. looking ahead
9. Object oriented COBOL
   1. Concepts of object oriented programming
   2. Onject oriented COBOL program
   3. Analyzing samples
   4. Writing code
10. Files
    1. Sequential, indexed and introduction of relative
    2. Design and organization - data structures
    3. Processing with multiple files

REQUIREMENTS:

Exams: There will a final examination covering the work of the semester. Any quizzes will be announced and will only be given if the instructor feels they are necessary. Quizzes will count as 1 or 2 homework assignments depending on the depth of the quiz. All exams and quizzes are open notes and open book unless otherwise announced.

Homework: The student will be required to submit homework assignments two class periods from the day of the assignment unless otherwise noted. Assignments will consist mainly of program segements for the student to code, flowcharting assignments, analysis of programs and logic questions.

Programs: The student will be required to write complete programs and to take standard programs and modify them. All programs should be passed in with rough coding, the programming logic flowchart (or another logic tool if it has been approved by the instructor) and the program with the output attached. Some of the programming assignments will require that the student use COBOL, other assignments can be done using the students choice of language. There will be approximately three to four major and approximately twelve minor programming projects.

Grading:

Homework, programs and quizzes	80%
Class participation, responsibility about work, keeping up to date, quality of work, adding extras that are above and beyond, showing initiative, figuring out problems etc.	10%
Final	10%

Evaluation: Assignments and programs are graded using either number grades or letter grades based on the following (A=90-100, B=80-89, C=70-79, D=60-69, F=below 60). The students grade for the course will use the same scale and will be based on the percentages explained in the grading section. Plus and minus grades will be given.