CSC104 WEEK #6 TUTORIAL ASSIGNMENT

OK, DR. RACKET LET'S GO!

This week's tutorial assignment is as complex as ever... However, it is also very interesting as well as engaging. I feel myself grasping many elements of Dr. Racket individually, however, when this singular elements are compounded I begin to feel a bit overwhelmed. 

This weeks tutorial focused on all the functions to do with Operations like "strings" as well as conditionals and decision makers. Although, everything is confusing to me with Dr. Racket, the operations part of the tutorial seems somewhat more simple as it is broken down into more basic elements.

The conditionals section was more complex, however the textbook was very helpful. I feel all in all I have a decent understanding of operations and conditionals in Dr. Racket. I will have to review on my own further to enhance my understanding.

CSC104 Week #5 Algorithms

In week five we covered algorithms and how they can be applied within Dr. Racket. The key concepts behind algorithms is for them to be simple, feasible and deterministic. It is important that an algorithm can be followed without outside knowledge.

The PBJ algorithm was a good metaphor for discussing a step by step process to complete a task. We learned that there are key factors to think about:

- which operations are built in?
- what if conditions change.
- repeated operations
- does sequence matter?

We also applied algorithms to Dr. Racket, with list functions as well as manipulating colour. This was very interesting to me as colour values is an element of Photoshop. It was interesting to see the computer programming behind colour manipulation within digital imaging.

This week I feel I related to and was able to comprehend the most.

CSC104 Week #4 Multiplying & Adding Binary Numbers

Week four focused on multiplication and addition of binary numbers. We focused in class on adding non-negative integers. During the class I found it very hard to understand and felt like I was falling behind in the lesson. However, when I refreshed myself once again with binary and used outside resources and tutorial videos I began to fully understand multiplying and adding binary numbers. YouTube video were especially helpful in this regard.

The key here is to understand that there can only be two variables, "1" and "0"... as well as the fact that it is basic mathematics. The specific rules within multiplying and adding, such as carrying 1's and shifting. Also, know how to convert from binary to decimal is an easy way to ensure your answers are correct.

CSC104 Week #3 TUTORIAL ASSIGNMENT

DR. RACKET AGAIN!

Picturing programs and tick-handlers were the focal point once again of this weeks tutorial lesson. In class we made a basic stop watch using Dr. Racket. This lesson was good because it began reveal to us real applications for Dr. Racket as a programming tool. The class demonstration was somewhat confusing. After I attempted on my own and watched the tutorial videos as well as the alternate text and video resources, I began to pick up on how programs like the stop watch are constructed in Dr. Racket.

What I learned at the end of the tutorial assignment is that by using definitions and functions within Dr. Racket cohesively you are able to build upon and construct somewhat complex functions. The key really is to understand the language Dr. Racket uses as well as creatively using its functions.

CSC 104 Week #2 TUTORIAL ASSIGNMENT

The Dr. Racket tutorial for this week was very straight forward. Once I had picked up on the actual interface for using Dr. Racket the lesson came to me very quickly. Defining identifiers for values was very straight forward as it is the most basic element of Dr. Racket. Defining functions was a little tricky, but the tutorial videos made it straight forward and easy.

CSC 104 Week #3

In week three we continued with the evolution of computing hardware with the concept of "convergence" and the comparison between digital and binary computing systems. We also covered the contrast between magnetic rings and transistors. Simple operators such as, Boolean logic has become a large corner stone of the course and we learned that it used two values, "true" and "false", which can be combined. 

Boolean logic, was an easy concept to understand as it can only have combinations of two variables. Important factors of Boolean logic are the logic systems of "and GATE", "or GATE" and "not GATE", which are basic decision systems for Boolean logic variable. These were all rather simple to comprehend. A more challenging part of this section was Boolean Arithmetic, which is a bite wise operator. This, I felt gave me the most trouble. I didn't find too much information helpful within the course, however there were many sources on various programming websites that were helpful.

Binary to Decimal in BASE 10 also gave me some trouble. I had previous covered this in another course, so I knew the basics. What we covered in class was confusing, but after researching and refreshing myself on the basic elements of converting from binary to decimal I was able to overcome the challenge.

CSC104 Week #2

In the initial part of the course we explored the history of hardware that represents information. We learned that initial hardware used gears, pins and electricity. This was applied with the punch card system for keeping track of information. We then moved on to "programmable" and "electronic" hardware such as Zuse Z1. By the end of the first week we understood the basic evolution and inner workings of computing hardware.

This was generally straight forward and easy to understand as it was presented to us in a very chronological order. We were able to compare past computing technology with modern computers as well as see how elements of computing transformed.