Introduction

The course provides an introduction to Software Engineering - which is to say the skill of developing software or programs for digital computers.

The vast majority of modern technological products - from dishwashers to communications satellites, CD players to industrial robots - include at least one, and often many more, embedded microprocessors. A microprocessor is the central processing component of a general purpose computer, implemented as a single integrated circuit (IC). The specific behaviours or functionalities of the completed product are then realised by providing these microprocessors with appropriate sequences of instructions, or software. Software is thus a crucial foundation for virtually all modern technological products - and software development is an essential and pervasive skill for every engineering discipline. This is reflected in the design of the engineering programmes in DCU, where Software Engineering takes a prominent role all stages - beginning with this very important introductory course.

The objective of the course is that, on completion, you should be able to design, code, test and debug small, but complete, programs. The course introduces a modern high level procedural language (ANSI C), supported on a general purpose computing platform (ISA hardware, running MS-DOS and MS-Windows).

The course is preparatory in nature, providing necessary foundations for a variety of courses in subsequent stages of the relevant programs.