BASIC COMPUTER SCIENCE

The course will provide a brief introduction to general computer science concepts, like the digital representation of data and its elaboration. However, the main focus of the course will be on the concept of algorithm and computational thinking, which will be given through a basic introduction of the Python programming language. The study of a programming language will provide an interesting analogy with natural languages in terms of lexicon, syntax and semantics. The applications and the exercises will mostly focus on the analysis and processing of written texts.

The student will develop a basic knowledge of the Python programming language. More generally, the course will provide an introduction to the notion of algorithm and its applications to text processing

Basic knowledge of the use of computers

1) Basic notions of computer science
2) Algorithms
3) Imperative programming
4) Types and data structures
5) Applications to text processing

Allen Downey - Think Python. How to Think Like a Computer Scientist (Green Tea Press)

Written exam with open questions and simple programming exercises

Lecture supported by interactive laboratories

Italian

written