CS 178:

1
Course Introduction

• CS 178
• Programming with Multimedia Objects
• Aditya P. Mathur
• Professor of Computer Sciences
• Purdue University, West Lafayette
• August 23, 2004

Last update August 23, 2004
2
Learning Objectives

• What is computing and how it is used in various
  disciplines, e.g. Bio, Chemistry, Math, Physics.

• How to develop and test simple programs in Java
  using graphical user interfaces, images, and
  sounds.

• How to work in small groups.

3
Ideal Clients

• Those who want to acquire programming skills for
  use in their own field of interest.

• Those with none to very little experience with
  programming.

• Non-CS majors who want to use computing to solve
  problems in their own disciplines.

4
Course Organization

• Lectures MW. Recitation F. Labs W, Th, F.

• Quizzes During lectures. 30 quizzes, best 25
  considered. Total 5 points.

• Midterm exams Sept 22 and Oct 25, 7-830pm. EE
  270. Total 30 points.

• Final exam date to be announced. Total 25
  points.

• Laboratory assignments 15 assignments, best 10
  considered. Total 20 points.

5
Exams

• Open book You will be allowed to consult your
  textbook but not any of your notes. Sharing of
  textbooks during the exam is not allowed.

• Duration 90 minutes. Final 2 hours.

6
Course Organization Projects

• 5 projects, best 4 considered. Total 20 points.

• Team work Form groups of 4 each for project
  work. Contact the instructor for any help you
  might need in joining a group.

• All members of a group get the same grade in each
  project assuming that they have made about equal
  contributions.

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Groups Responsibilities

• Collaborate with each other and solve the problem
  assigned on each project.

• Ensure that each member of the group knows what
  is her/his responsibility on each project.

• It is a good idea to select a group leader who
  will delegate tasks in a democratic way to
  members of the team.

• Members of a group get equal grade ONLY IF they
  do equal work.

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Groups Option 1-Applications of Computing

• Each group is requested to make one presentation
  on an exciting application of computing in any of
  the following disciplines earth and atmospheric
  sciences, physics, chemistry, math, statistics,
  and biology (exclude CS).

• Keep the presentation to 3-5 minutes. Consult
  with the instructor before you make the final
  decision to present something. All presentations
  will be at the beginning of a lecture on M or W.

• A group that makes such a presentation is exempt
  from the in-class Quiz during the day on which
  they make the presentation.

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Groups Option 2-Classes and Objects

• Design and present a play that explains the
  concept of Java classes and objects.

• Keep the play to 3-5 minutes. Consult with the
  instructor before you make the final decision to
  present something.

• There will be at most 3 such plays. Groups with
  the best ideas will be selected to present their
  plays.

• Groups that presents such a play are exempted
  from 2 in-class quizzes.

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Groups Awards

• The following awards (cash and/or certificates)
  will be given out after the last project has been
  graded and returned

• Best application presentation.

• Best play.

• Earliest, and correct, project submission.

• Best group attendance.

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What is programming?

• Programming refers to a collection of activities
  concerned with the design, coding, and testing of
  computer programs.

• A computer program is a sequence of instructions
  that convey a procedure for performing one or
  more tasks using data such as images, sound, and
  other forms of data.

• A computer program is written in a programming
  language.

• In CS 178 we will learn how to write computer
  programs using the Java programming language.

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Is programming fun?

• Yes. (And NO for some!)

• It enables you to interact with machines in a
  variety of ways.

• You struggle to instruct a machine to do
  something. When it does what you want it to do,
  there is a sense of achievement and you yell
  Yeah! Yippe!

• Some people, such as myself, start singing when a
  program works correctly!

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Is programming difficult?

• Yes.

• Because it requires accurate and precise
  expression of instructions to a machine.

• Humans err. Computers usually do not correct our
  errors. We have to discover and correct our
  errors through debugging.

• The struggle is to make sure that our
  instructions are correct. This is what makes
  programming difficult.

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Why Java?

• Relatively safe and secure language.

• Has all the elements for programming with
  multimedia objects.

• Allows easy sharing of information across the
  globe.

• Supported on almost all platforms (Windows, OS X,
  Unix, Linux).

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Why not Perl?

• Programming expertise is language neutral (to
  some extent).

• Perl is good for quick and dirty programming.

• Java is good for significant applications that
  need global cooperation amongst researchers and
  have friendly GUIs.

Of course, there is no clear cut answer to the
language question.

• http//www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2003/09/24/java
  _bioinformatics.html

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Java Resource

• In addition to the textbook, visit
• http//java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/

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What is computing?

• Computing refers to the act of calculating
  something using some given information. This
  something may be, for example,

• a number that represents the position, at a time
  instant, of a baseball in flight in a video game.

• a collection of numbers likely high temperature
  over each of the next 7 days.

• an image that shows the structure of a new drug
  formed by combining specially designed molecules.

• sound a new sound computed by combining and
  manipulating various sampled waveforms.

Can you map the above to different disciplines?
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Computing and presentation

• Presentation of whatever is computed is an
  integral part of computing. Presentation could be
  in the form of

• Numbers displayed on the screen or printed.

• Image(s) displayed or printed. This may lead to
  animation.

• Sounds played. This may lead to a computer-based
  orchestra.

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Who computes?

• Humans compute Hey! How much will I be able to
  save for the next party? Financial computation

• Animals compute Does this smell belong to my
  master/friend? Chemical computation

• Computers compute We program the computers and
  they compute. All kinds of computation

Describe What computation goes on in your
favorite video game?
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Applications of Computing Biology

• Computational Biology

• DNA sequencing

• Neural modeling and simulation

• Protein modeling

• Drug design

• Gene banks

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Applications of Computing Biology
The chromosomal locations of several genes
believed to be associated with the human BRCA1
gene implicated in breast cancer, highlighted
using the Map Viewer query "BRCA1" (build
34)...NIH web site.
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DNA

• DNA

deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA molecules carry the
genetic information necessary for the
organization and functioning of most living
cells and control the inheritance
of characteristics. www.nti.org/e_research/e6_glos
sary.html

• Recombinant DNA refers to DNA which has been
  altered by joining genetic material from two
  different sources.
• It usually involves putting a gene from one
  organism into the genome of a different organism,
  generally of a different species.

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Applications of Computing Biology

• DNA sequence

The relative order of base pairs, whether in a
fragment of DNA, a gene, a chromosome, or an
entire genome.

• DNA sequencing

The experimental process of determining the
nucleotide sequence of a region of DNA. This is
done by labeling each nucleotide (A, C, G or T)
with either a radioactive or fluorescent marker
which identifies it. There are several methods
of applying this technology, each with their
advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes, the
sequences may be generated more quickly than they
can be characterised.
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Applications of Computing Chemistry

• Computational Chemistry

• Molecular modeling

• Chemistry education

• MathMol (http//www.nyu.edu/pages/mathmol/chime/)

• Application of Java to Chemistry
  (http//www.ch.ic.ac.uk/java/)

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Applications of Computing Physics

• Computational Physics

• Simulation, visualization and modeling

• Computational Experiments

• http//www.physics.unc.edu/zhaoj/compphys.htm)

• Computational nanotechnology (http//www.zyvex.com
  /nano/)

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Applications of Computing Mathematics

• Computational Mathematics

• Math education

• Black hole simulation (http//www.math.psu.edu/sun
  /Project/blackhole.htm)

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Applications of Computing Miscellaneous

• Segway balancing scooter

• Its called the Segway Human Transporter, but
  the Pentagon is drafting the two-wheeled scooter
  as part of a plan to develop battlefield robots
  that think on their own and communicate with
  troops.

• Automobile design

• Mars exploration..Maestro/Spirit Rover
  (http//java.com/en/about/apps/mars_rover.jsp)

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Why this course for you?

• CS majors Programming is an important skill to
  have for all CS majors.

• Non-CS majors The future of computation is
  bright..in EVERY FIELD. ..from Liberal Arts to
  Science to Engineering Computers are almost
  everywhere. Regardless of your field of study.

So dont miss this wonderful opportunity to
acquire a FUN skill!
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Bye!
Have fun with Java! And DO NOT DROP THIS
COURSE!