Computer Science

This module is designed to equip you with the foundational information you need to understand and work in business and technical fields requiring the use of computers and networking technologies. Computing technology has a diversity of applications, so this module is suitable both for computer science students and for those pursuing other study disciplines. On this module, you will acquire useful knowledge of computer systems, computer networks and information systems analysis and design.

By the end of the module, you should be well placed to make use of an extensive range of hardware and software. In addition, you will have gained the knowledge and skills to enable you to analyse existing computer-based information systems and to design and develop web-based applications from informal specifications. 

On successful completion of this module, you should be able to:

 

Module Specific Skills and Knowledge:
1 outline the major components of modern computer architectures, process-based operating systems, and computer networks;
2 describe and contrast types of computer hardware architectures and technologies;
3 define and differentiate between networked computer architectures;
4 explain and qualitatively compare network topologies;
5 deliniate the basic operation and uses of network protocols;
6 design a web program from an informal specification;
7 build a web program using an appropriate range of technologies.
Discipline Specific Skills and Knowledge:
8 interpret an informal requirement specification;
9 systematically analyse information and make appropriate design choices.
Personal and Key Transferable / Employment Skills and Knowledge:
10 express information at various levels of abstraction;
11 use an operating system to manage a computer, and a computer network for basic communication and information search;
12 write a basic technical report incorporating the design, implementation and testing of computer systems.

- computer hardware architectures: Von Neumann architecture, processor architectures (RISC, x86, GPU etc.), nus technologies (PCI, PCIe, AGP etc.), storage technologies (IDE, SATA etc.);
 

- introduction to operating systems: process management, memory management, virtual memory management, file management, file systems networking, network topologies (LAN, WLAN etc.), network protocols (HTTP, FTP, SSL, TCP/IP, POP etc.);

- networked computer architectures: client-server, three-tier architecture, peer to peer;

- web technologies: HTML / XHTML, CSS, XML;

- regular expressions.

Referred students will be re-assessed for a maximum of 40%. For students deferred in the exam only, the uncapped exam mark will be combined with marks from coursework according to the stated percentage weightings. For students deferred in the whole module, the uncapped exam mark will be used.

ELE: College to provide hyperlink to appropriate pages

Additional Reading Resources

A. Silberschatz, P. B. Galvin and G. Gagne, "Operating Systems Concepts (Eighth Edition)", John Wiley, 2009, ISBN 978-0470233993

A. S. Tanenbaum and T. Austin, "Structured Computer Organization (Sixth Edition)", Pearson, 2012 ISBN 978-0273769248

J. F. Kurose and K. W. Ross, "Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach (Six Edition)", Pearson, ISBN 978-0273768968, 2012

L. L. Peterson and B. S. Davie, "Computer Networks: A Systems Approach (Fifth Edition)", Morgan Kaufmann, ISBN 978-0123851383, 2011

Reading list for this module: