CS130 - First class: 1/17/2011

1. On prediction
2. intro
3. Administrivia
   1. first day quiz
   2. pretest
   3. drop/add
4. Problem solving
   1. What you do when you are stuck
   2. The first problem solving technique
5. Computing
   1. Is information processing: input, output, processing
   2. Hardware: The structure of a digital computer
   3. Files and directories
      1. A file is information stored on disk
      2. A file has a name (usually including and extension which, typically, tells what sort of a file it is) and some number of bytes of information
      3. Directories are used to organize files
      4. A directory is a special kind of file that has a list of files it contains (they may be ordinary files or directories)
      5. The "root" of each disk (physical or virtual) is a directory that all files on the disk are in (directly or indirectly)
      6. To explore the directory structure on a Mac box, you use the Finder (demo)
      7. Different applications (application is short for "application program", as distinguished from "system program", and long for App), can interpret and display the contents of a file differently. Extensions are often used (by the operating system) to select which application to use to open a file.
   4. Software: the programs that run on the hardware
      1. Operating systems/system programs
      2. Application programs
         1. Distributed with the system -- examples:
         2. Downloaded from the web
         3. Written by individuals