INTERDISCIPLINARY LABORATORY A

Degree course: 
Corso di First cycle degree in COMPUTER SCIENCE
Academic year when starting the degree: 
2021/2022
Year: 
1
Academic year in which the course will be held: 
2021/2022
Course type: 
Compulsory subjects, characteristic of the class
Seat of the course: 
Como - Università degli Studi dell'Insubria
Credits: 
3
Period: 
Second semester
Standard lectures hours: 
8
Requirements: 

No prerequisites. For a better development, the knowledge acquired in the teachings of "Programming", "Computer architectures", "Algorithms and data structures" are required.

The final exam consists in the realization of a software application, to be carried out in a team (1 to 4 students). The team will send their work at the end of the first year of the course and the teacher will express an approval / non-approval rating for the work done. Approval is a necessary condition to be able to undertake the activities of the second part of the teaching (Laboratory B). The purpose of the development activity is to verify the student's ability to understand the proposed problems and, in the light of the knowledge acquired, design and implement the application in order to meet the specific requirements. The aim of the teacher's evaluation is to verify the validity of the design and implementation choices made.

Assessment: 
Giudizio Finale

The primary objective of the INTERDISCIPLINARY LABORATORY A and B is the development and implementation of skills and knowledge regarding the development of software applications, acquired during the first and second year of the course. Specifically, LABORATORY A will be delivered during the first year of the course, while LABORATORY B during the second year of the course, in order to incrementally acquire all the tools and methodologies necessary for the development of a real software application.

LABORATORY A: The main objective is the development of skills concerning software applications, resulting from the application of the theoretical knowledge acquired during the first year of the course, in the teachings: "Programming", “Computer architectures” and “Algorithms and data structures”. At the end of the first part of the teaching, the student will have experienced, through the development of a real software application, the design of algorithms aimed at the efficient resolution of complex problems, based on data structures suitable for supporting the computational load of the problem faced.

The acquisition of the different knowledge and skills expected will develop in a parallel way throughout the course of the 1st and 2nd year. During the first part of the teaching, a real software project will be presented and the main steps and methodologies for its development will be discussed, which must then be addressed independently by the students (individually or in teams).

The slides of the lessons in PDF format and any material necessary for carrying out the project are made available on the University e-learning platform.
There are no specific texts or materials. Students can refer to
texts and materials of the courses of "Programming", "Computer architecture", "Algorithms and data structures "and the documentation provided ad hoc on the University e-learning site.

The presentation of the project has the purpose of exposing the requirements of the programs that the students will have to carry out. The presentation takes place interactively, at least partially simulating the interaction with the "stakeholder" or user of the application. In this sense, the student is not passively the subject of the presentation, but is involved to take an active part and exercise his knowledge to identify and explore the salient and critical points of the requirements. The first part of the teaching is divided into lectures (8 hours), plus design and software development activities carried out by the student as a self-employed person. One lesson (2 hours) is dedicated to the presentation of the software application specifications that students will have to implement as an exam project.