Getting with the program

ARU’s Computer Science course offers a variety of modules that explore networking, programming and design skills - and help you on your way to becoming a professional IT engineer. Here's my favourite so far.

Personally I found the Introduction to Programming module both interesting and challenging which is why it’s what I want to talk about it here.

Introduction to Programming is a level 4 module attended by Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence students during their first year at ARU. Throughout this module, I learnt how to program in C#, which is a programming language developed by Microsoft using MS Visual Studio tool.

The first half of the module focuses on a variety of skills including:

• how the program's logic works
• the correct syntax, as well as the conventions used
• how to properly comment a code
• how to declare a variable
• data selection
• complex structures such as Arrays and Methods
• pseudocode
• program testing.

Later, you proceed to the second part of the module, which introduces the Object-Oriented Programming.

This module ran for an entire year for me and took up four hours per week: two hours of lectures and two hours of lab activity.

The lecture side of this learning approach helped me to understand when and where each topic is fundamental in a given situation to solve a problem.

Meanwhile, during the lab activity I got the chance to practice the exercises studied previously and test what I had learnt. The lecturer is always present during these activities so you can ask questions as you go and feel supported the whole time.

To complete the module you have to pass a 20 multiple-choice question test and an assignment which, for my year, was to design, test and document a petrol station management app!

For me, Introduction to Programming was the most challenging module I have completed so far, due to the complexity of the software assignment as well as the number of working hours required to make an outstanding piece of software.

In my opinion though, this module is both the most rewarding but also essential for those wishing to pursue a career in software development. It allows you to gain the skills and professional attributes required to write a piece of code while working towards a specific client’s requirements. It's fundamental for my future in computing.