This two-part course introduces the basic mathematical and programming principles that underlie much of Computer Science. Understanding these principles is crucial to the process of creating efficient and well-structured solutions for computational problems. To get hands-on experience working with these concepts, we will use the Python programming language. The main focus of the class will be weekly mini-projects that build upon the mathematical and programming principles that are taught in the class. To keep the class fun and engaging, many of the projects will involve working with strategy-based games.
This course is part of the Fundamentals of Computing Specialization
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Fundamentals of Computing SpecializationRice UniversityAbout this Course
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Course 4 of 7 in the
Approx. 16 hours to complete
English
Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Italian, Vietnamese, German, Russian, English, Spanish, Romanian
Skills you will gain
- Recursion
- Algorithms
- Python Programming
- Tree (Data Structure)
Flexible deadlines
Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.
Shareable Certificate
Earn a Certificate upon completion
100% online
Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.
Course 4 of 7 in the
Approx. 16 hours to complete
English
Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Italian, Vietnamese, German, Russian, English, Spanish, Romanian
Offered by
Rice University
Rice University is consistently ranked among the top 20 universities in the U.S. and the top 100 in the world. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy.
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
5 hours to complete
Searching and Data Structures
This week, we will explain the importance of searching. We will also explore various data structures and learn about inheritance.
5 hours to complete
11 videos (Total 104 min), 6 readings, 3 quizzes
4 hours to complete
Recursion
This week, we will explain the importance of recursion.
4 hours to complete
7 videos (Total 79 min), 5 readings, 2 quizzes
3 hours to complete
Trees
This week, we will explain the importance of trees. We will also explore how to set up game trees so that we can efficiently search them.
3 hours to complete
6 videos (Total 51 min), 6 readings, 2 quizzes
3 hours to complete
Modeling, Assertions, and Invariants
This week, we will explain the importance of modeling. We will also explore how to use assertions and invariants to ensure that our models are always consistent and correct.
3 hours to complete
7 videos (Total 71 min), 4 readings, 2 quizzes
Reviews
- 5 stars84.41%
- 4 stars11.61%
- 3 stars2.83%
- 2 stars0.28%
- 1 star0.84%
TOP REVIEWS FROM PRINCIPLES OF COMPUTING (PART 2)
by RLJun 29, 2020
Interesting, but challenging course. Some weeks might take longer than a week, but don't give up. If you pull through, you have accomplished quite a lot.
by RRJul 1, 2017
Must have course to build foundation on computational thinking.
by AFDec 7, 2017
Another fantastic course from the team at Rice University. The coursework is interesting and challenging, and I really feel I have learned a lot.
by DPApr 29, 2017
Very challenging projects and a very interesting way to learn about data structures. Lecturers are really great
About the Fundamentals of Computing Specialization
This Specialization covers much of the material that first-year Computer Science students take at Rice University, brought to you by the world-class Faculty who teach our master's and PhD programs. Students learn sophisticated programming skills in Python from the ground up and apply these skills in building more than 20 fun projects. The Specialization concludes with a Capstone exam that allows the students to demonstrate the range of knowledge that they have acquired in the Specialization.
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