Discovering Computer Science

Discovering Computer Science: Interdisciplinary Problems,Principles,and Python Programming is a problem-oriented introduction to computational problem solving and programming in Python,appropriate for a first course for computer science majors,a more targeted disciplinary computing course or,at a slower pace,any introductory computer science course for a general audience. Realizing that an organization around language features only resonates with a narrow audience,this textbook instead connects programming to students’ prior interests using a range of authentic problems from the natural and social sciences and the digital humanities. The presentation begins with an introduction to the problem-solving process,contextualizing programming as an essential component. Then,as the book progresses,each chapter guides students through solutions to increasingly complex problems,using a spiral approach to introduce Python language features. The text also places programming in the context of fundamental computer science principles,such as abstraction,efficiency,testing,and algorithmic techniques,offering glimpses of topics that are traditionally put off until later courses. This book contains 30 well-developed independent projects that encourage students to explore questions across disciplinary boundaries,over 750 homework exercises,and 300 integrated reflection questions engage students in problem solving and active reading. [/erphpdown]