Our textbook Computer Science is an interdisciplinary approach to the traditional CS1 curriculum with Java. We teach the classic elements of programming, using an "objects-in-the-middle" approach that emphasizes data abstraction. We motivate each concept by examining its impact on specific applications, taken from fields ranging from materials science to genomics to astrophysics to internet commerce. The first half of the book (available separately as Introduction to Programming in Java) is organized around four stages of learning to program:
Chapter 1: Elements of Programming introduces variables; assignment statements; built-in types of data; conditionals and loops; arrays; and input/output, including graphics and sound. Chapter 2: Functions highlights the idea of dividing a program into components that can be independently debugged, maintained, and reused. Chapter 3: Object-Oriented Programming emphasizes the concept of a data type and its implementation, using Java's class mechanism. Chapter 4: Algorithms and Data Structures discusses classical algorithms for sorting and searching, and fundamental data structures, including stacks, queues, and symbol tables.
The second half of the book explores the core ideas of Turing, von Neumann, Shannon, and others that ignited the digital age.
Chapter 5: Theory of Computing surveys the fundamental concepts of universality, computability, and intractability, which raise questions about the role of computation in understanding the natural world. Chapter 6: A Computing Machine describes a simple imaginary machine that has many of the characteristics of real processors at the heart of the computational devices that surround us. Chapter 7: Building a Computer considers the design of a processor, including Boolean logic, combinational circuits, and sequential circuits.
