Additional information technology

Duration

16h Th, 16h Pr, 30h AUTR

Number of credits

Lecturer

Pierre Geurts

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

This course is the second programming course in the bachelor's degree program in civil engineering. It consists of a theoretical part and a practical part. During the theoretical part, the focus is on the acquisition of algorithmic concepts useful for all engineers and in particular on an introduction to algorithmics and simple but common data structures, presented in a way to make students aware of the analysis and correct planning of a program. In the practical part, the students will have to carry out homework and programming projects putting into practice the concepts seen in the theoretical part. Regular feedback will be offered. Emphasis will be placed on evaluating the performance of the programs and on the structure of the code developed by the students.
The courses will consist of the following chapters:

• Reminder of C
• Construction of iterative and recursive algorithms
• Program design and organization
• Algorithmic complexity
• Sort and search
• Data structures (lists, stacks, queues, hash table, trees ...)
• Programming paradigms and languages

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

At the end of the course, the students will have reinforced their knowledge of a programming language (C). They will be able to write programs to solve medium-sized realistic engineering problems. They will master the basics of algorithmics and will have a knowledge of the most common data structures, which they can use concretely in their programs. They will also have acquired a general knowledge of the main programming paradigms.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

The following course is a prerequisite:

• INFO2009: Introduction to computer science (http://progcours.ulg.ac.be/cocoon/cours/INFO2009-2.html)

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

The weekly theoretical classes of 2 hours will be complemented by weekly tutorials of 2 hours also, supervised by teaching assistants and student-instructors, and by the accomplishment of homework and projects. These assignments and projects will aim to put into practice the theoretical notions seen in class. The assignments will consist of more targeted programming exercises, while the projects will need to analyze a problem, determine the best algorithm to solve it and implement the solution in C language. Participation in the theoretical course and rehearsals is highly recommended. The completion of homework and projects is mandatory.

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Face-to-face, in the first semester, fully remotely in 2020-2021. See Ecampus for all information.

Organisational adjustments related to the current health context

The course is organised entirely online in 2020-2021.
The written exam is canceled and replaced by a facultative mini-project (see assessment methods and criteria).

Recommended or required readings

Several reference books will be recommended to the students, but not mandatory. Slides, problems and solutions and other materials will be available on the course webpage.

Assessment methods and criteria

Below you will find information on the evaluation methods planned for in-person and remote exams as well as those planned for hybrid sessions. Depending on how the health crisis evolves, the chosen method will be communicated to you no later than one month before the start of the exam session.

Course evaluation will be based on participation to the practicals (5%), homeworks (10%), projects (60%) and a written exam (25%). The homework and projects will be rated on the basis of their accuracy, the good use of the language and, where appropriate, the quality of the answers in the report. The written exam will be open book and may include questions on the theoretical course, the rehearsal exercises but also the homework and projects. Students who have not realised the homeworks and projects within the prescribed time or in the prescribed form will not be allowed to take the written exam.
In the second session, projects and assignments not completed during the year, as well as any assignment or project with a score of less than 10, must be repeated (possibly on the basis of adapted statements). For students who did not complete all projects and assignments during the year, the second session weighting will be 50% for projects and 50% for the written exam. For students who had done homework and projects during the year, the weighting applied will be either the first session weighting or 50% for projects, 50% for the written exam, whichever is more favourable to them.
Given the importance of the practical activity in this course, there is no postponement of grades for assignments and projects from one year to the next.
Adaptation in 2020-2021:
Given the health situation, there will be no written exam in 2020-2021. The course evaluation will be based solely on the work of the semester according to the weighting initially planned: the practical exercises (5/75 in total), the homework (10/75) and the projects (30/75 each). In order not to harm the students who could have taken advantage of the written exam to make up for a failure in projects, an optional complementary mini-project will be offered. The statement of this additional project will be given on 22/01/2021, with a deadline of 19/02/2021. If it is carried out, this mini-project will contribute to the student's final score up to 25%. Students who have not completed the assignment or projects during the semester will not have access to this additional project and will be noted absent for the course.
In the second session, the projects and homework not delivered during the year, as well as any homework or project sanctioned with a grade lower than 10, must be redone (possibly on the basis of adapted statements). The practical exercises should not be repeated. If they had been made, they will be taken into consideration in the student's score if it is favorable to him. The relative weighting of homework and projects will be the same as in the first session. As in the first session, an additional mini-project will be proposed which will count for 25% of the total score. This additional project will be optional for students who had completed all of the projects and homework during the year and compulsory for others.
 

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

All information on the course (organization, schedule, slides, practicals and projects) will be accessible via Ecampus.
At the start of the year, this information will also be reproduced on this web page (intended for students who do not have access yet to Ecampus):
https://people.montefiore.uliege.be/geurts/ci.html

Contacts

• Instructor: Pierre Geurts - Tel: 04/366.48.15 - e-mail: p.geurts@uliege.be, Office: 1.134, B28 (Montefiore) 
• Teaching Assistant: Nicolas Vecoven - e-mail: nvecoven@uliege.be, Pascal Leroy - e-mail: pleroy@uliege.be
• Preferred contact modes: e-mail or personal contact after the lectures or by appointment.

Items online