Computing Sciences Courses

The Department of Mathematics and Computing Sciences offers a

Bachelor of Information Systems degree

and the Business Administration Department offers a

BBA with a major in Information Systems degree.

The general requirements for these degrees may be found in the appropriate sections (4 and 5) of the Calendar. Students graduating with a Bachelor of Information Systems degree normally work in the information systems field or in computer applications.

All candidates are encouraged to consider their academic goals at an early stage of their studies and to consult the chair or other members of the Mathematics and Computing Sciences Department regarding their studies.

Major, advanced major and honours students must meet the general requirements of the faculty in which they are registered. (See sections 4 and 5). All major, advanced major and honours students are strongly encouraged to attend the departmental seminars.

Departmental Regulations: Some pairs of courses are equivalent, and others are restricted for credit to only one faculty. The following pairs are considered to be so similar that a student is not allowed to receive credit in both: Math 110/120; Math 201/231; Math 200/251,261; CSci 125 and 156/ CSci 160, CSci 235/CSci 130. Because of similarities in course content, credit for only one of CSci 125 or 130 will be granted.

Information Systems

The normal sequence for the Bachelor of Information Systems degree is shown below; see 4.7 for a full list of requirements.

Year 1 CSCI 130, ECON 100, 18 credits of electives

Year 2 CSCI 160, MATH 201, 205, BSAD 221, 222, 231, 261, 6 credits of electives

Year 3 CSCI 255, 215, 315, 316, BSAD 321, 341, 361, 381, 6 credits of electives

Year 4 CSCI 365, 375, 415, 335, 465, 475, 6 credits of BSAD electives, 6 credits of open electives

An introductory programming course using FORTRAN 77, for the solution of scientific and engineering problems. Special emphasis on well-structured programs. Three credits plus two-hour laboratory.

130 Computing and Business Applications

An introduction to computer hardware, software and systems analysis. Fundamentals of programming using BASIC. Overview of micro-computers, spreadsheets, database management systems, and other software packages. Applications studied will be oriented towards problems arising in business. (Acceptable for credit in Arts only. ) Six credits and two-hour laboratory.

133 Computers in Physical Education

An introduction to microcomputers and software for microcomputers. An overview of microcomputer components, word processing, spreadsheets, databases and presentation graphics with emphasis towards their use in physical education. Use will be made of various sports-related packages (scheduling, sports statistics, health packages). Restricted to physical education students. Three credits and lab projects.

156 Advanced Programming and Elementary Data Structures

Advanced programming techniques dealing with files and algorithm development using MODULA-2. Physical characteristics of bulk storage devices. Introduction of elementary data structures including lists, stacks and queues. Prerequisite: CSCI 130 or 125. Three credits plus two-hour laboratory.

160 Computers, Programming and Data Structures

An introduction to computers, algorithms and programming using MODULA-2. Description of secondary storage devices and files. Introduction of linear data structures, lists, stacks, and queues with applications. Six credits plus two-hour laboratory.

215 File Processing with COBOL

Introduction to COBOL with emphasis on file handling. Development of well-structured algorithms for file manipulation, stressing sorting and report generation. Prerequisite: CSCI 156 or 160. Three credits plus two-hour laboratory.

235 Microcomputers in Science

Introduction to hardware, operating systems and utilities of micro-computers. Typical micro-computers applications: Word processing, Spreadsheets, and data base management systems. Examples and applications are taken from the various sciences. (Enrollment limited to science students only.) Three credits plus two-hour laboratory.

255 Advanced Data Structures

Data structures and algorithms for binary, B-trees, and AVL-trees, sorting, merging and graphs. Hashing and multikey file organizations. Prerequisite: CSCI 156 or 160. Three credits plus two-hour laboratory.

256 Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis

Analysis and design techniques are applied to non-numeric algorithms for data structures. Algorithmic analysis is utilized for the selection of methods to manipulate data. Prerequisite: CSCI 255. Three credits plus two-hour laboratory.

265 Computer Systems and Assembler

An introduction to the structure of a computer system, number systems and machine language by means of an assembler language. Prerequisite: CSCI 156 or 160. Three credits plus two-hour laboratory.

315Information Systems Concepts

An introductory course in information systems dealing with organizational and technological foundations of information systems. Topics include the role of information systems in organizations, management and decision making; information systems hardware and software; telecommunications and networking. Prerequisite: CSCI 130 or equivalent, or a programming course. Three credits.

316 Information Systems Applications

This course will include an overview of file management and database management systems and the role of a DBMS in an information system. The current microcomputer DBMS software on the market will be reviewed and compared. A DBMS project is an important part of this course. The course will also include an overview of expert systems. Prerequisite: CSCI 315. Three credits.

335 Operations Research

Selected topics from linear programming, transportation and assignment models, networks, scheduling, inventory models, decision making, queuing theory, forecasting and simulation. Packaged software and spreadsheets will be used. Prerequisite: MATH 110 or 205, MATH 201 or 231, CSCI 130 or a programming course. Three credits.

365 Computer Organization

Basic computer architecture and instruction sets. In-depth study of central processing unit, memory and input/output organization. Microprogramming and interfacing. Prerequisite : CSCI 156 or 160. Three credits plus two-hour laboratory.

375 Operating Systems

Overview of operating systems functions. File systems. CPU scheduling, memory management, and virtual memory. UNIX and C will be introduced and used throughout the course. Prerequisite: CSCI 365. Three credits plus two-hour laboratory.

383 Object-Oriented Programming and Design

In depth study of the object-oriented programming paradigm. Objects, messages, classes, inheritance, polymorphisms, encapsulation. Pure and hybrid languages. Object-oriented problem solving. Concepts will be practised with C++ and Smalltalk. Prerequisite: CSCI 255. Three credits, plus two-hours laboratory. May be offered 1995-96.

385 Organization of Programming Languages

Structure of language definitions. Control structures. Data types and data flow. Compilers versus interpreters; introduction to lexical analysis and parsing. Prerequisite: CSCI 255; CSCI 265 is recommended. Three credits plus two-hour laboratory.

415 System Design and Implementation

A continuation of CSCI 316, which includes basic design tools and objectives; hardware/software selection and evaluation, design and engineering of software, data base development, system implementation, post-implementation analyses. Long-range planning. A system development project is a major part of the course. Prerequisite: CSCI 156 or 160; and 316. Restricted to students in advanced major and honours programs only. Three credits.

465 Data Communication Systems and Networks

Communication systems; environments and components. Common carrier services. Network control, design and management. Distributed and local networks. Corequisite: CSCI 365. Three credits plus two-hour laboratory.

475 Database Management Systems

Database concepts, hierarchical, network and relational models. Database design for the relational model; SQL. Introduction to 4GL concepts. Prerequisite: CSCI 255. Three credits plus two-hour laboratory.

485 Software Design

Techniques for the design and management of large software projects, including structured programming, debugging, and testing methodologies. Examples of large systems will be given and a programming project will be done. Prerequisite: CSCI 375, 255. Three credits plus two-hour laboratory. May be offered 1996-97 and alternate years.

An introduction to the core concepts of artificial intelligence including state space, and heuristic search techniques, knowledge representation, natural language processing, and expert systems. LISP and PROLOG will be used to solve problems. Prerequisite: CSCI 255. Three credits, plus two-hour laboratory. May be offered in 1996-97 and alternate years.

491 Senior Seminar

All senior advanced major and honours candidates are involved in practising skills of presentation and writing. The honours thesis and research papers required of majors constitute part of this course. No credit.

493 Senior Thesis (Honours)

Three credits.