Lecture 1 - Introduction to Programming Environment

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Objectives

• To provide an overview of Programming Environment: its objectives, topics, assessment etc.
• To introduce students to the Computer Networks used by computing students at La Trobe Bendigo

Contents

• Subject Outline
  • Introduction
    • Aims
    • Objectives
    • Content
  • Teaching Staff and Contacts
    • Subject Coordinator, Lecturer and Tutors
    • Queries/Problems
  • Lectures & Tutorials
  • Assessment
  • Books and Subject Web Pages
• Introduction
• Computer Networks
• La Trobe University Bendigo's (LTUB's) Networks
  • The PC Network
  • The Unix Network
  • Diagram of the La Trobe Bendigo's Networks
• Tutorial Allocation
• Key Points
• What's Next

Subject Outline

Refer to the Subject Outline

1. Introduction

Aims (revisited)

• To introduce students to analysing, designing, constructing and documenting solutions to programming problems
• To familiarize students with commonly used operating systems and tools used in program development

No programming background is assumed

2. Computer Networks

Computer networks consist of multiple computers connected together. The networks may be located on a single site or multiple sites. Computers may be connected by wire, fibre optics, microwave, satellite, ...

Networks allow for computing resources to be shared, such as files, disks, printers, tape; and for communication between computers such as email or the WWW. This saves time and money, making efficient use of resources, improving efficiency by centralising administration, and allowing access to resources not available locally.

Computer networks requires hardware (e.g. servers, communications equipment and workstations) and software (e.g. networking software).

Two types of computers usually exist on a network: Servers and Workstations.

Servers

• Contains programs and data files
• Large disks
• Fast and powerful
• Backup facilities e.g. tape, disk

Workstations

• Client computer where users work
• Usually doesn't store data files on the client computer
• May 'boot' and load software from the server and/or have software on the client computer

3. La Trobe University Bendigo's (LTUB's) Networks

There are two main networks that will be used by computing students at Bendigo: the PC Network, UNIX Network (this includes PCs and Macs).

PC Network

• Servers running Windows Server 2003
• Workstations (Client) PCs running Microsoft Windows XP Professional
• Similar to networks at many Secondary Schools
• Mainly used for word processing, web browsing, spreadsheets, etc

UNIX Network

• UNIX Servers: Apple XServes
• A variety of UNIX workstations are used: mainly PCs and Apple Macintoshes
• The servers and workstations use variants of the UNIX operating system
• Mainly used for software development and web browsing

Network Problems

• Contact DSSG for problems with the PC network, PCs or PC applications.
• Contact Howard if you have problems with UNIX or Macintoshs in the Business building (Don't see him about problems with the Windows PC network)

Other Labs

• There are also networks of Macintoshes (Macs) in Education and Arts
• There are a number of PC labs located around the Campus. You can access your PC accounts from these.

More Information

Information on Computing Services available at La Trobe Bendigo (such as dial-in, email, printing, passwords, support) can be found at:

• http://www.latrobe.edu.au/sits/

Diagram of the La Trobe Bendigo's Networks

Tutorial Allocation

• It is important that you sign up for a tutorial group as soon as possible. If you need to change groups, please let me know.
• Students normally belong to one tutorial group, this consists of a tutorial class in a normal class room and a laboratory class in a computing lab.

What's Next

• In the next lecture we will look at how computer programmers need to think and view the world in order to be successful.

Key Points

• Attending lectures and tutorials is essential for success
• Carefully read the Subject Outline
• Some tutorials are assessable
• Check when assessable work is due
• Plagiarism is cheating. Working closely with someone else is cheating. This is taken very seriously by the University
• Computer networks allow resources to be shared.
• The PC network and the UNIX network will be used in this subject
• Networks have two types of computers: Servers and Workstations
• Servers are fast and store data centrally
• Workstations are PCs or UNIX workstations or Macs... that can do processing locally, but usually store data on the server
• For the first two-thirds of the semester we will be using the PC Network, then later in the semester we will use the UNIX network. Both networks are used in later subjects

Written by Tim Whitfort.