A Gentle Introduction to Computer Programming

A gentle introduction to computer programming using a fun, popular, and powerful programming language such as Ruby or Python. Designed to teach computer programming to non-programmers, this course is also valuable to programmers. Students learn fundamental and universal programming concepts, as well as problem-solving and critical-thinking skills valuable for other courses and in life. Extensive programming assignments. Topics include: variables and assignment, basic data types, strings, arrays, conditional and iterative control structures, control flow, modularization, objects, methods, parameters, testing, and debugging. Master of Ruby or Python also provides a foundation for learning Web programming frameworks Rails or Django.