Examinable Topics

I will attempt to cover all the following topics on the final exam, though not all topics will be given equal weight. For example, the single most important skill is the ability to devise solution procedures for problems in terms of sequence, selection (if) and iteration (for and while).

• Base skill: IPO programming: Using Python to calculate values of formulas, e.g. wind-chill, unit conversions.
• Core skill: Combining if, while, for to express algorithmic procedures.
• Technique: Packaging quantities using / and %; pulling apart numbers using % and /.
• Technique: Formatting output using format strings.
• Technique: Knowing when to use input and when to use raw_input.
• Technique: Input validation using while.
• Technique: Using counters in programs.
• Technique: Using flag variables, i.e. Boolean variables that record state, e.g. while not done:, if game_lost:.
• Core skill: Defining functions. Knowing how to do it, and knowing when to do it.
• Approach: Using randomness to simulate events, e.g. four daughters, hockey series.
• Data representation: Representing things using lists, e.g. playing cards.
• Data representation: Creating and interpreting heterogeneous data structures (lists of lists, lists of dictionaries, dictionaries of lists, etc.), e.g. the cave system for Hunt the Wumpus.
• Technique: Processing strings using string operations, as in the password checking program.
• Technique: Processing lists, e.g. CD shuffle, is_straight().
• Technique: Using vs changing lists, i.e. how to change a list in place, and how to avoid changing a list.
• Technique: Converting lists to strings and vice versa.
• Data representation: Using and processing dictionaries, e.g. for counting.
• Data representation: File processing, e.g. the temperature data file.
• Approach: Parameterizing code for generality. (And on a minor note, using 'constants').
• OOD: object types → classes → attributes & methods (tell, ask)
• OOP concepts: Abstraction, Inheritance, Polymorphism.
• OOP: Defining (base) classes, reverse engineering them when necessary.
• OOP: Modifying a class via inheritance. Using inheritance to avoid code duplication.
• UML: Creating class diagrams from code, and code from class diagrams.
• Software development:
  • By hand → Pseudocode → Python
  • Documentation
  • Divide and conquer
  • Design first; code second
  • Incremental development
  • Testing frameworks, including doctest strings.
• Problem domains: Playing cards, Tic-Tac-Toe, Hangman, Hunt the Wumpus.