This document contains details of the submission to Academic Council of the University of Limerick for the award of a Bachelors Degree in Computer Systems. The structure of the programme described in this document represents the culmination of two years ongoing review of the existing B.Sc. programme. The programme design therefore reflects a logical evolution of the existing very successful degree. Some of the main changes have been to extend and modify the content of the final two years, in particular by providing a range of advanced optional topics.

The programme proposed here has been processed through the normal academic channels at Department and Faculty Board level.

The overriding aim of the proposed course is to equip students to be successful computer professionals in the rapidly growing and dynamically changing software industry. The emphasis is on the principles and application of modern software development practices. In particular, it is the intention that students get a firm and lasting foundation that will serve them well, for a lifelong career, even after all the technical specifics have changed beyond recognition. It is felt that lasting relevance can only be given through the proper blend of theory, abstraction, and design together with exposure to a welter of technical skills and knowledge. More specifically, the aims and objectives are:

The B.Sc. in Computer Systems was first established in 1979, as a four year degree course, and was revised in 1985. In the years since then it has been amended to take account of technological advances and the changing industrial and commercial environment. During the past two years the Department of Computer Science & Information Systems has been conducting a thorough review of the programme. The process was accelerated when the University decided to adopt a semester system since it would be futile to semesterize a programme and then have to redesign it within a year or two.

The existing B.Sc. programme is recognised as being very successful. Therefore in the course of revision care was taken not only to ensure that the resulting programme preserved the essential core of the existing course but in addition, to add to it to reflect the changing influences in the industry. For example the force of Object Orientation in all its embodiments, the influences of multimedia information types, and new forms of Human-Computer Interaction must be found in any modern computer science course.

It is recognised that specification, development, testing and support of software consume an increasing amount of national and company resources. As a consequence, there is a growing demand for software professionals who understand, and can apply, the principles of computing so as to produce systems and programs that meet the needs of society in an effective and timely manner. Due to the pervasive spread of software systems, the software professionals of the future will work in a rich diversity of positions and organizations. In recognition of this, it is a strong objective of the revised programme to develop in the student a strong sense of professionalism and a dedication to meeting the needs of their clients whether they be software vendors, purchasers or users. In addition it is intended that students should learn to relate their technological knowledge to the broader industrial and commercial context in which they work. Business, Mathematics and Management topics already in the course have been recast to match more accurately the perceived needs of computing students.

The proposed revised course retains the four year structure. Each year consists of two semesters, the first running from late September through to late January, the second running from mid February to late May. Each semester is made up of thirteen weeks teaching, half a week reading time and one and a half weeks of examinations. No previous knowledge of computing is required on the part of the student. The relevant fundamental concepts are developed in the early years of the course and further developed and consolidated in the succeeding years. The very successful cooperative education element has been retained. Under the revised structure, students spend the fourth semester on industrial placement, which could be either in Ireland or abroad.

While the existing B.Sc. programme in Computer Systems is generally recognised to be of excellent quality, it was felt that important improvements could still be made to the course. Technology moves on, and it is necessary to reflect this movement in the inclusion of new topics plus the upgrading of existing modules. There is perhaps no other area of technology which is more dynamic than that of the computing industry, both hardware and the software. The last few years have seen the emergence of some very definite trends in the general computing field, i.e. Object Orientation, Distributed Systems, Client Server Systems, new forms of Human Computer Interaction, Multimedia, fast packet switching techniques, the convergence of Networking, Telecommunications and Computing, Artificial Intelligence in all its guises, etc. On the hardware side, the impact of RISC processors, parallel processors, bit mapped workstations, high quality fibre or coax based LANs and WANs etc. has to be explicit in any modern Computer Science course.

It should be stressed here that the existing programme, despite not having been revised since 1985, did pay attention to those important influences and trends alluded to above, i.e. the subject matter of individual modules would have changed over the years to reflect the more recent influences. However it was felt that a complete revision would give the opportunity to restructure modules and make explicit the inclusion of those influences.

In addition, it was desired to have some degree of flexibility in the course, especially in the final year where students may take optional topics to suit their interests and abilities. Several advanced topics are available on an optional basis.

Finally, it is intended to submit the programme to the British Computer Society for approval and accreditation. It is desired to gain exemption from part II of the society's examinations, and if successful, this would be the first University in the state to attain such an exemption.

There is a significant and growing shortage of computing graduates in industry and commerce due to the growth of the software industry in Ireland and the pervasive spread of computer systems in general. Graduates from the programme will be even better equipped to work both in the development and applications of computer systems. Past experience has shown that these graduates are very successful in quickly finding relevant employment. Career options include:

Database design & Administration

Software development

Software Engineering

Management Consultancy

Systems Analysis & Design

Research & Development

In second year, the students have an eight month co-operative education placement, either in Ireland or abroad, where they get the opportunity to exercise the knowledge they have learned, increase their awareness of the work place and develop their social and business skills. Prior to undertaking this placement each student will have undertaken a substantial business related project as well as being introduced to the types of software infrastructure likely to be encountered in the software industry.

The third year program provides an in-depth treatment of many of the core topics of computer science as well as introducing some specialist topics such as artificial intelligence, computer graphics, and human computer interaction.

In the final year, students can choose from a number of elective streams as well as taking a number of core modules which round off their understanding of software technology and it's wider organizational

context. Each student must also undertake a substantial individual project which serves to integrate much of the knowledge and specialist technology that has been learned in the previous three years.

In accordance with the University of Limerick policy the general credit structure is 3 credits per module, which involves two hours lectures, and one scheduled tutorial per week per module. However two exceptions are proposed. Firstly it is proposed to give 4 credits each to Computer Science 1 and 2, since it is considered that those are fundamental to the whole programme. Secondly in fourth year, the two modules IT in Business and Professional Issues in Software which deal with commercial and professional issues are to be examined by presentations and essays and for this reason and the nature of the material being covered, it is proposed to allocate 2 credits to each module.

Teaching will mainly be via lectures and tutorials as indicated in the credit structure of modules. Most modules are designed to have associated laboratory sessions.

The main instrument of assessment will be via examinations at the end of each semester. However, project work is intended to be an important secondary instrument of assessment, as will essays and presentations for some special modules.

MS4111 Discrete Mathematics 1 11

CS4111 Computer Science 1 12

CS4211 Computer Organisation 1 13

CS4311 Software Engineering 1 14

AC4801 Business Environment 1 15

MA4402 Computer Mathematics 2 16

CS4112 Computer Science 2 17

CS4212 Computer Organisation 2 18

CS4312 Software Engineering 2 19

MG4608 Business Fundamentals 20

MA4403 Computer Mathematics 3 21

CS4113 Object-Oriented Programming 22

CS4213 Operating Systems 23

CS4313 Software Engineering Project 24

CS4413 System Development 25

Co-op

CS4515 Programming Language Technology 1 26

CS4225 Computer Networks 27

CS4115 Data Structures & Algorithms 28

CS4815 Computer Graphics 29

CS4215 Concurrent Systems 1 30

CS4516 Programming Language Technology 2 26

CS4816 Artificial Intelligence 31

CS4416 Database Systems 32

CS4826 Human/Computer Interaction 33

CS4216 Concurrent Systems 2 34

CS4617 Computer Science Project 1 35

CS4817 Information Technology in Business 36

CS4317 Software Engineering 4 37

CS4417 Systems Analysis 38

CS4847 Computational Linguistics 39

CS4857 Acquisitions of Computing Resources 40

CS4827 Simulation and Operations Research 41

CS4618 Computer Science Project 2 35

CS4818 Professional Issues in Software Engineering 42

CS4318 Software Engineering 5 43

CS4218 Telecoms Network Architectures 44

CS4828 Computer Integrated Manufacturing 45

CS4418 Advanced Databases 46

2nd Year

3rd Year

Options :

Students choose two modules for each semester. Not all combinations of choices may be possible due to staffing and other resource constraints. Additional options may be provided on occasions.

MODULE TITLE Discrete Mathematics 1

MODULE CODE MS4111

CREDITS 3

GRADING TYPE Normal

PREREQUISITE None

To introduce the student to the foundations of mathematics. To develop the reasoning skills required for students who wish to use the computer in an intelligent way.

[Mathematical Logic]: statements, quantifiers, truth tables. Propositional and predicate logic. [Boolean Algebra]. [Sets and functions]. [Number systems] and the Peano axioms Induction, recurrence relations and proof techniques. [Algebraic structures]: semigroups, groups, rings and fields. [Relations], equivalence relations, order relations and operations on relations.

Gersting, JL Mathematical Structures for Computer Science, Freeman (1987)

Grimaldi, RP. Discrete and Combinatorial Mathematics, Addison-Wesley (1994)

Johnsonbaugh, R. Discrete Mathematics. Macmillan (1986)

Piff, M. Discrete Mathematics, CUP (1991)

REASON FOR INCLUDING THIS MODULE Semesterisation

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST OFFERED Autumn 1994 - Semester 1.

MODULE TITLE Computer Science 1

MODULE CODE CS4111

GRADING TYPE M Grade 20%

PREREQUISITE MODULES None

PRIME TEXT

How to Solve it by Computer RG Dromey, Prentice Hall, 1982.

Programming from First Principles R Bornat, Prentice Hall 1987.

General introduction to programming theory and practice

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST OFFERED Autumn 1994 - Semester 1.

MODULE TITLE: Computer Organisation 1

MODULE CODE: CS4211

CREDITS: 3

GRADING TYPE: Normal

PREREQUISITE MODULES: None

To provide students with a sound foundation in computer organisation and architecture.

Introduction to Computer Architecture

The representation of data

Pure binary notation, Binary operations, Negative numbers, Fractions

Hexadecimal and octal notation

Inter-base conversions

The representation of data, ASCII, BCD, EBCDIC

Principles of error detection and prevention

The representation of numbers

Introduction to Boolean algebra

Combinational and Sequential logic circutry

Construction techniques for integrated circuits

The Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Instruction formats, The main control unit, The ALU, Buses

Operation of the CPU, The Fetch- execute cycle.

Primary and secondary memory

Introduction to microprocessors

Architecture of a PC

Main memory

General considerations, Static versus dynamic memory, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM

Serial Access Backing Storage

Magnetic Disks

Floppy Disks

New Memory Technology

input peripherals, keyboards, mouse, scanners, OCR, MICR Barcodes

output peripherals, printers, plotters, COM

Role of operating systems

Principles of Data communications

Introduction to Computer Hardware and Data Communications. P A Goupille, Prentice Hall, 1993

Computer Science, C.S. French, DP Publications

SEMESTER FIRST OFFERED Autumn 94 - Semester 1

MODULE TITLE Software Engineering 1

MODULE CODE CS4311

CREDITS 3

GRADING TYPE M

PREREQUISITE MODULES None

To equip students with a thorough understanding of the desktop environment and some of its most important applications. To give students a thorough grounding in the structures, concepts, commands, and tools of MS-DOS and MS-Windows. To introduce students to the COBOL programming language.

Introduction to the PC hardware and its operating system.

Simple Operating system concepts and commands.

Introduction to GUIs (Windows).

GUI Tools (Program Manager, File Manager, Control Panel).

OLE and DDE.

Word-processing (MSWord) and Spreadsheets (MSEXCEL)

Advanced DOS

Advanced Windows

Introduction to the programming language COBOL.

Data declaration in COBOL Producing formatted output.

COBOL Control structures (IF, EVALUATE, PERFORM)

Introduction to Sequential Files.

Coughlan,Michael. Course Notes and COBOL Course Notes.

Windows Manuals

Application Manuals

COBOL Language Reference Manual.

COBOL User Guide.

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST OFFERED Autumn 94 - Semester 1

MODULE TITLE Business Environment 1

MODULE CODE AC4801

CREDITS 3

GRADING TYPE Normal

PREREQUISITE None

To familiarise the students with:

Sales, debt, shareholders and other investors;

Accounting for Non-Accounting Students, Dyson, John R Pitman Publising, 1991

MODULE TITLE Computer Mathematics 2

MODULE CODE MA4402

PRE-REQUISITE MODULES MS4111 Discrete Mathematics 1

GRADING TYPE Normal

CREDITS 3

To continue the development of the foundations of mathematics. To introduce the students to further mathematical ideas of crucial importance in computer science. Symbolic maths packages will be used to demonstrate many of these

ideas.

[Real-value functions:] a geometrical approach to calculus through the graphs of functions of one or two variables (use will be made of symbolic maths packages).

Convergence of sequences.

[Simple numerical methods.] Iteration of functions.

[Matrices:] addition, multiplication and scalar multiplication. Matrices as linear transformations in computer graphics.

[Graph theory:] basic concepts of vertices, edges, paths, circuits, connectedness and trees. Computer representation of graphs. Graph algorithms. Ideas of computational complexity.

Char, B.W. et al Maple V First Leaves. 1992. A tutorial introduction to

Maple V. Springer-Verlag.

Gersting, J.L. 1987. Mathematical structures for computer science.

Freeman.

Grimaldi, R.P., 1989. Discrete and combinatorial mathematics,

Addison-Wesley.

Johnsonbaugh, R. 1986. Discrete mathematics. Macmillan.

Piff, M. 1991. Discrete mathematics. CUP.

REASON FOR INCLUDING Semesterisation

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST Semester 2: Spring 1994/95

MODULE TITLE Computer Science 2

MODULE CODE CS4112

GRADING TYPE M Grade 80%

PREREQUISITE MODULES CS4111 Computer Science 1

As Computer Science 1.

.

Completes the introduction to programming theory and practice

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST OFFERED Spring 1995 - Semester 2

MODULE TITLE: Computer Organisation 2

MODULE CODE: CS4212

CREDITS: 3

GRADING TYPE: Normal

PREREQUISITE MODULES: CS4211 Computer Organisation 1

Continuation of CS121, Introduction to Assembly Language Programming, more advanced topics.

Introduction to low level programming

Assembly language Programming

Special registers, Addressing modes, Stack operations, 1/0 handling

Assembly language project

Interrupts, the principle of interrupts

Recognition of interrupts, Interrupt processing

Interfacing

Installation and testing of CPU and peripheral components

How to install cards, Allocation of IRQ's, Installation of drivers, Setting DIP switches

Installation of memory including SIMMS and SIPS

The microarchitecture of computer system

Introduction to microprogramming

Advanced Computer Architectures

RISC machines, Parallel Architectures

Introduction to Artificial Neural Networks

Introduction to computer networks

Structured Computer Organization. A.S. Tanenbaum, 1990

An Introduction to Computer Architecture using VAX machine and assembly language. Schechter, Desautels. WCB Publishers.

Programming in Assembly Language on the IBM PC, R M Trapper, West Publishers.

The Complete PC upgrade and Maintenance Guide, Mark Minasi SYBEX

SEMESTER FIRST OFFERED Spring 95 - Semester 2

MODULE TITLE Software Engineering 2

MODULE CODE CS4312

CREDITS 3

GRADING TYPE M

PREREQUISITE MODULES CS4311 Software Engineering 1

To equip students with a comprehensive knowledge of COBOL and of common file processing algorithms. To give students a thorough understanding of program design and the elements of good programming practice. To introduce testing and debugging techniques and practices. To allow students to exercise their design, programming and testing skills by means of a number of scaled programming projects.

Introduction to Design Notations (JSP, Nassi-Shneiderman, Warnier-Orr).

Introduction to Program Design using Diagrammatic Stepwise Refinement.

Sequential file processing algorithms.

SORTing and MERGing.

Tables. SEARCHing Tables.

The COBOL Report Writer.

Introduction to File Organizations, access methods and algorithms using COBOL.

Using direct access files (Indexed and Relative).

COBOL string handling (INSPECT, STRING, UNSTRING, Reference Modification).

CALLing external and contained sub-programs. EXTERNAL and GLOBAL data.

COPYing text from COBOL Libraries.

Screen handling in COBOL.

Debugging Techniques.

Coughlan,Michael. COBOL Course Notes.

COBOL Language Reference Manual.

COBOL User Guide.

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST OFFERED Spring 95 - Semester 2

MODULE TITLE Business Fundamentals

MODULE CODE MG4608

PRE-REQUISITE MODULES

GRADING TYPE Normal

CREDITS

Understanding the business, classification of business by size, sector; the changing role of business in society; business formation and structures; organizational culture; social responsibilities of business; the business environment - micro and macro factors examined; environmental scanning; business audits; managing the changing business: introduction to the functional areas of business, management, marketing, finance, human resource management; communication and information systems in the business; managing people; teamwork; strategy development.

Kuo C. (1992) Business Fundamentals for Engineers, McGraw Hill.

Palmer A and ~I Worthington. (1992) The Business and Marketing Environment, McGraw Hill.

Appleby R. (1987) Modern Business Administration, Pitman Publishing.

Farnham D. (1990) The Corporate Environment, IPM.

Foley E. (1989) Irish Business Management, Gill and Macmillian.

Hooley J and J. Saunders. (1993) Competitive Positioning - the Key To Market Success, Prentice Hall.

To provide non business students, i.e. engineers, scientists, computer students with an overview and understanding of the business they work within and their contribution to the growth and development of the business. To develop students specific knowledge of the various functions of the business, and specifically the role of the technical person in the changing organization.

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST OFFERED: Autumn 1994

MODULE TITLE Computer Mathematics 3

MODULE CODE MA4403

PRE-REQUISITE MODULES MA4402 Computer Mathematics 2

GRADING TYPE Normal

CREDITS 3

To introduce the student to probabilistic ideas through the medium of

information theory.

[Combinatorics:] permutations, combinations and the binomial theorem.

[Probability:] Bayes theorem, conditional probability.

[Introduction to information theory.] Compression algorithms.

[Normal, Poisson and binomial distributions.]

[Hypothesis testing.]

X2 -test

[Elementary queuing theory.]

Hodge, S.E., Seed, M.L. 1977. Statistics and probability. Balckie/Chambers.

Information theory and coding, 1963. McGraw-Hill.

REASON FOR INCLUDING Semesterisation

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST Semester 3: Autumn 1994/95

MODULE TITLE: Object Oriented Programming

MODULE CODE: CS4113

CREDITS: 3

GRADING TYPE: Normal

PREREQUISITE MODULES: CS4112 Computer Science 2

CS4312 Software Engineering 2

To instill into students to foundations that will help them to become effective users of the object-oriented approach to design and implementation. To provide practical experience in the development and in the re-use of object-oriented software.

SYLLABUS:

Background on the development of Object-Oriented programming. Modularity, information hiding, function abstraction, data abstraction and encapsulation. Polymorphism, overloading of functions and operators. Run-time binding and virtual functions. Use of function and class templates.

Inheritance, and its role in abstraction, design and in software re-use. Use of Class Libraries. Container and non-container class libraries. GUI classes. Specialized class libraries. Design and Construction of Classes, including classes with dynamic components. Principles of object-oriented analysis, design and representation.

Programming with C++. Programming with use of Class Libraries, initially by building application that create and use objects from class libraries and later in the course by reusing and modifying classes. The libraries used may include; class libraries for data structure objects,

class libraries for handling GUIs, multimedia class libraries. Implementation of classes, including classes with dynamic components.

Stroustrup, Bjarne, "The C++ Programming Language", 2nd Edition, Addison Wesley, 1991.

Booch, Grady, "Object Oriented Design with Applications", Benjamin Cummings, Menlo Park, 1991.

Winder, Russel, "Developing C++ Software", 2nd Edition, John Wiley , 1993

Lippman, Stanley B., "C++ Primer", 2nd edition, Addison-Welsley.

Documentation set for C++ enviornment and for class libraries.

(Borland C++ document set, for example.)

Meyer, Bertrand, "Object Oriented Software Construction", Prentice-Hall 1988.

To ensure that students are conversant with current and developing practices in software design and construction. Undergraduates and graduates with object-oriented skills and a knowledge of C++ are in demand by employers.

SEMESTER FIRST OFFERED: Autumn 1994 - Semester 3.

MODULE TITLE Operating Systems

MODULE CODE CS4213

CREDITS 3

GRADING TYPE N

PREREQUISITE MODULES CS4111/ÇS4112 Computer Science 1/2

CS4211/CS4212 Computer Organisation 1/2

The aim of this module is to provide students with a clear understanding of the logical structure and facilities provided by a traditional uniprocessor Operating System.

The need for and historical development of operating systems.

The operating system viewed as a set of layered services.

The concept of a process as the scheduable entity.

Process state.

Process dispatching. Interrupt handling.

Memory management:

Physical and virtual memory. Address translation hardware.

Paging and segmentation software.

Device management:

I/O devices and controllers. Device drivers. DMA.

Disk scheduling algorithms.

File management:

Files and directories.

Implementation, reliability and security. Disk space management.

The shell.

Communication management:

LANs and WANs. The ISO model of network software.

Ethernet.

The course will include a study of the Unix operating system.

Students will be expected to demonstrate competance in accessing Unix system calls through project work.

Bacon, J., Concurrrent Systems. Workingham: Addison-Wesley. 1993

Milenkovic, M., Operating Systems Concepts and Design. New York: McGraw Hill, 1992.

General introduction to operating systems.

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST OFFERED Autumn 1994 - Semester 3

MODULE TITLE Software Engineering Project

MODULE CODE CS4313

CREDITS 3

GRADING TYPE Normal

PREREQUISITE MODULES CS4312 Software Engineering 2.

To equip students with the skills necessary to design, code and test large

software systems. To introduce Module design criteria.

To give students experience of working in programmer teams and the confidence to tackle a large software system. To foster co-operative programming and encourage team work. To allow students to exercise the analysis, design and programming skills acquired in previous modules.

The module consists two projects (one minor and one major) and a small number of lectures. The lectures cover such topics as;

The first project continues the COBOL project work. It is a relatively small project done individually.

The second project occupies the last eight weeks of the semester. Students work in teams to produce a complete implementation. The project is initially presented partially specified and the students complete the requirements specification. They then take the project through the design, coding and testing stages. Walkthroughs and design and code inspections are introduced in tutorials. The implementation language is open and will include COBOL, Modula-2, C++, and SQL.

Page-Jones, Meilir. Practical Guide to Structured Systems Design. 2nd Edition. Prentice-Hall 1988.

Constantine, Larry L. Structured Design. Yourdon Press. 1978.

Myers, G.J. Composite/Structured Design. Von Nostrand Reinhold 1978.

Writings of the Revolution - Selected Readings on Software Engineering. Yourdon Press 1982

Classics in Software Engineering. Yourdon Press. 1979

Myers, G.J. The Art of Software Testing. Wiley 1979

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST OFFERED Autumn 94 - Semester 1

MODULE TITLE System Development

MODULE CODE CS4413

CREDITS 3

GRADING TYPE Normal

PREREQUISITE MODULES MS4111 - Discrete Mathematics

The aim of this module is to present an integrated approach to system specification and implementation. The objectives are to introduce formal specification methods, to introduce relational databases and non-procedural programming, and to show how a specification may be transformed by re-specifying it in an implementation language.

Students will gradually be introduced to Information Modelling using Fact Based Analysis. Practical work in the form of a series of graded exercises in Z and SQL will support this step-by-step approach.

Information Modelling - Specification and Implementation, David Edmond, Prentice Hall, 1992

Software Development with Z, J. B. Wordsworth, Addison Wesley, 1992 Ultrix/SQL Reference Manual, Digital, 1990

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST OFFERED Autumn 94 - Semester 3

MODULE TITLE: Programming Language Technology - 1 & 2

MODULE CODE: CS4515/CS4516

CREDITS: 3 + 3

GRADING TYPE: M (20% + 80%)

PREREQUISITE MODULES: CS4113 - Object Oriented Programming

CS4313 - Software Engineering Project

SYLLABUS:

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST OFFERED: Autumn/Spring 95/96 - Semesters 5 & 6

MODULE TITLE Computer Networks

MODULE CODE CS4225

CREDITS 3

GRADING TYPE Normal

PREREQUISITE MODULE CS4213 Operating Systems

AIMS and OBJECTIVES

To highlight the problems related to interconnecting computers

Give an understanding of how the OSI reference model addresses those problems

Understand the fundamentals of TCP/IP based networking.

Halsall, Fred. Data Communication, Computer Networks, & Open Systems. 3rd edition. ISBN 0-201-56506-4, 1992.

Tanenbaum, Andrew. Computer Networks 2nd Edition. 1988 ISBN 0-13-166836-6

Stallings, William. Data & Computer Communications 3rd edition 1991. ISBN:0-02-946478-1.

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST OFFERED Spring 95 - Semester 5

MODULE TITLE: Data Structures and Algorithms

MODULE CODE: CS4115

CREDITS: 3

GRADING TYPE: Normal

PREREQUISITE MODULES: CS4113 Object Oriented Programming

To provide a uniform theoretical treatment of the data structures and algorithms used in systems and applications programming. This course includes a practical component to reinforce learning and to encourage students in the practical use of theoretical material.

SYLLABUS:

Review of the ADTs, internals and usage of simple data structures and associated algorithms, in particular recursive algorithms. Use of class libraries, including container classes. Role of abstraction

Review material will cover: Collections, Bags, Sets, Arrays, Stacks, Queues, Priority Queues, and simple searching and sorting algorithms. Detailed and advanced treatment of the following data structures Binary Trees, including threaded trees, Multiway Trees (excluding B, B+ and B* trees), Linked Lists and Networks. Recursion, and the elimination of recursion from algorithms. Study of the following algorithms: Sorting: Quicksort, Heapsort, Shellsort, Merge Sort and Bin and Radix sorting. Searching: Tree searching, AVL trees and Search Tries. ( B, B+ and B* trees, external searching and hashing is deferred to CS332). String searching and pattern-matching and parsing algorithms such as Knuth-Morris-Pratt, Boyer-Moore and Rabin-Karp and recursion in parsing. Graph algorithms: Graph traversal and Spanning Forests. Depth and breadth first search of graphs. Connectivity. Minimal spanning trees for weighted graphs. Shortest path algorithms.

Networks : Ford-Foulkerson method. Storage Management. Automatic list management, general storage management. Fast Fourier Transform. Dynamic programming, optimal binary search trees. Exhaustive search. Game playing, travelling salesman problem. NP-complete problems.

Additional Topics some or all of which will be covered: Data compression and decompression including run length coding, and Huffman codes. Introduction to Cryptology. Bipartite Graphs and the Stable Marriage problem. Random Number generation. Curve fitting. Splines, least squares method. Parallel algorithms. Perfect shuffles, systolic arrays,

The following topics will be dealt with in practicals/assignments: Practical evaluation of space and time requirements of algorithms. Large integer arithmetic. Polynomial evaluation. Tree searching, game playing, minimax and pruning. Practical use of classes in problem solving. Note: Throughout, an emphasis will be placed abstractions involved in the various data structures and on the space and time performance of algorithms.

PRIME TEXT:

Sedgewick, Robert, "Algorithms in C++", Addison-Wesley.

Wirth, N, "Algorithms+Data Structures = Programs", Prentice Hall.

Tenenbaum, Langsam and Augenstein, "Data Structures Using C", Prentice-Hall.

Knuth, Donald E., "Fundamental Algorithms", vols 1 & 3, Addison-Wesley.

Ammeraal, Leendert, "Programming and Data Structures in C", John Wiley.

Naps and Pothering, "Introduction to Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis", West Publishing Company.

Naps, Thomas L., "Program Design and Data Structures", West Publishing Company.

Borland C++ Programmer's guide

Essential tools-of-the-trade for software developers.

SEMESTER FIRST OFFERED: Autumn 94 - Semester 5.

MODULE TITLE Computer Graphics

MODULE CODE CS4815

CREDITS 3

GRADING TYPE Normal

PREREQUISITE MODULES CS4212 Computer Organisation 2

CS4113 Object Oriented Programming

AIMS and OBJECTIVES

Angel, Edward. Computer Graphics.1990. Addison Wesley ISBN 0-201-13548-5

Foley, Van Dam, Feiner & Hughes. Computer Graphics Principles & Practice (2nd edition) Addison-Wesley 1990. ISBN0-201-12110-7

Hearn & Baker, Computer Graphics, Prentice Hall 1986 ISBN 0-13-165598-1

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST OFFERED Spring 95 - Semester 5

MODULE TITLE Concurrent Systems 1

MODULE CODE CS4215

CREDITS 3

GRADING TYPE M (20%)

PREREQUISITE MODULES CS4213 Operating Systems

The aim of this module is to provide students with an integrated view of modern software systems. The module views concurrency from a systems viewpoint and does not attempt to cover the formal theory of concurrency. In this module we introduce students to the issues and software technologies involved in the design and implementation of concurrent systems.

Requirements for Concurrent/Distributed Systems.

Review of the Process abstraction and the description of a concurrent system as a set of interacting processes.

Processes with separate address space.

Processes which share an address space.

Threads/Lightweight Processes.

Hardware support for concurrency. Multiprocessor systems.

High level language support for concurrency.

Process synchconisation and mutual exclusion.

IPC mechanisms in a system with shared memory:

Event wait and signal, semaphores, eventcounts and sequencers,

monitors.

IPC mechanisms in a system without shared memory:

Unix pipes, asynchronous and synchronous message passing.

Implementation of multi-threaded servers.

Students will be expected to undertake a significant concurrent programming project in a high level language ( SR, Pascal-FC ).

Bacon Jean. Concurrent Systems: An integrated approach to operating systems, database, and distributed systems. Addison Wesley 1993.

ISBN 0-201-41677-8

Burns A. and Davies G. Concurrent Programming. Addison Wesley 1993.

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST OFFERED Autumn 94 - Semester 5

MODULE TITLE: Artificial Intelligence

MODULE CODE: CS4816

CREDITS: 3

GRADING TYPE: Normal

PREREQUISITE MODULES: CS4115 Data Structures and Algorithms

MA4403 Computer Mathematics 3

SEMESTER FIRST OFFERED: Spring 95 - Semester 6

MODULE TITLE Database Systems

MODULE CODE CS4416

CREDITS 3

GRADING TYPE Normal

PREREQUISITE MODULE CS4413 System Development

CS4213 Operating Systems

Elmasri, R and Navathe, S (1989) Fundamentals of Database Systems. Addison-Wesley

Date, C.J. (1990) An Introduction to Database Systems - Volume 1 (5th ed.). Addison-Wesley.

Maier, D. (1988) The Theory of Relational Databases

The design and implementation of effective, effieient and reliable database systems is crucial to the effective use of computers in the modern industrial world.

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST OFFERED Spring 95 - Semester 6

MODULE TITLE Human-Computer Interaction

MODULE CODE CS4826

CREDITS 3

GRADING TYPE N

PREREQUISITE MODULES

The objective of this course is to develop an understanding of the issues involved in the area of human-computer interaction. Issues surrounding how we design "user-friendly" systems become increasingly important as computer controlled systems play a greater role in our everyday lives.

The course will provide anoverview of traditional approaches to the field, as well as exploring

such basic questions as:

How can you design a good interface ?

How can you evaluate an interface?

What exactly is the "interface" anyway?

Who is"the user"?

Is there a difference between user-centered and user-involved design?

The nature of design and use. Analysis of everday objects.

Pioneers in the field of human-computer interaction - Bush, Licklider, Engelbart, Nelson, Kay.

Early work on human factors and "man-machine communication".

How to interact with machines - from command languages to direct manipulation.

Cognitive ergonomics. Issues of the user and usability engineering.

The role of user testing and evaluations.

Scandinavian experiences.

The relation between design practice and disciplinary theory.

Future developments - artifical intelligence, multimedia, virtual reality,

Ubiquitous computing- tabs,pens,tablets badges, and liveboards,

Computer-supported collaborative work.

Human Factors in the systems design process.

Booth, P. (1989) An Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction. New Jersey: Erlbaum.

Baecker, R.M. & Buxton, W. (Eds.) (1987) Readings in Human-Computer Interaction: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Los Altos, CA: Morgan Kaufmann.

Carroll, J. (Ed.) (1991) Psychological Theory at the Human Computer Interface. Cambridge Univ. Press.

Goldberg, A. (ed.) (1989) History of Personal Workstations. ACM Press, 1989.

Greenbaum, J. & Kyng, M. (Eds.) (1991) Design at Work. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Greenberg, S. (Ed.) (1991) Computer-supported Cooperative Work and Groupware. London: Acad.Press.

M. Helander, (Ed.) (1989) Handbook of Human-Computer Interaction Amsterdam: North-Holland.

Norman, D.A. (1988) The Psychology of Everyday Things. New York: Basic Books.

Norman, D.A. & Draper, S.W. (Eds.) User Centered System Design: New

Perspectives on Human-Computer Interaction, pp. 319-337.)

Pylyshyn, Z. & Bannon, L. (Eds.) (1989) Perspectives on the Computer Revolution (2nd rev. ed.) Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

Shneiderman B. (1992). Designing the User Interface: Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley.

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST OFFERED Spring 95 (or earlier) Semester 6

MODULE TITLE Concurrent Systems 2

MODULE CODE CS4216

CREDITS 3

GRADING TYPE M (80%)

PREREQUISITE MODULES DP4215 - Concurrent Systems 1

The aim of this module is to provide students with an integrated view of modern software systems. The module views concurrency from a systems viewpoint and does not attempt to cover the formal theory of concurrency. In this module we concentrate on the issues involved in distributed environments.

Bacon, Jean, Concurrent Systems: An integrated approach to operating systems, database, and distributed systems. Addison Wesley 1993. ISBN 0-201-41677-8

Coulouris, G and Dollimore, J. Distributed Systems: Concepts and design. Addison Wesley 1988. ISBN 0-201-18059-6. Tanenbaum A. Modern Operating Systems. Prentice-Hall 1992. ISBN 0-13-595752-4.

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST OFFERED Spring 95 - Semester 6

MODULE TITLE Computer Systems Project 1/2

MODULE CODE CS4617/CS4618

CREDITS

GRADING TYPE M

PREREQUISITE MODULE

Students undertake a substantial individual project which integrates and applies their previous learning and deepens their knowledge of some particular application or research area relevant to the course.

The project takes two semesters. The activities associated with the project include, but are not restricted to, the following:
Literature review

Requirements analysis

Software Engineering

Advanced programming techniques

Project planning

Report writing

Formal and informal presentation techniques

There is no prime text, but various software manuals, research papers and previous project reports, as well as relevant texbooks, will be used.

MODULE TITLE Information Technology in Business

MODULE CODE CS4817

CREDITS 2

GRADING TYPE Normal

PREREQUISITE MODULES None

To familiarise the students with:

* Management and business opportunities which can be gained by using Information Technology;

* The role of Information Systems in Business.

To provide practice in written and verbal communication.

Strategic planning of Information Technology:

Overview of planning in Business;

Importance of IT planning;

Identifying opportunities for IT;

Developing IT strageties;

Information Systems:

Transaction processing systems;

Management information systems;

Decision Support systems;

Gaining competitive advantage, developing new business through IS/IT;

Improving productivity and performance using IS/IT;

Managing and organising the introduction of technology:

Examples: Communications, EDI, Robotics;

Standardisation;

Case Studies of IS/IT Applications.

I.T. Strategy for Business, Peppard, Joe (editor), Pitman Publishing, 1993

Computers and Society, IMPACT!, Arnold, David O., McGraw-Hill, 1991

Computers and Information Systems, O'Leary, T.J., Williams, Brian K., Benjamin/Cummings, 1989

To give students an insight into how Information Systems and Information Technology can be used in business.

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST OFFERED Autumn, 1994 - Semester 7.

MODULE NAME: Software Engineering 4

MODULE CODE CS4317

CREDITS 3

GRADING TYPE Normal

PREREQUISITE MODULES CS4113 Object-Oriented Programming,

MA4403 Computer Mathematics 3

Loeckx J and K Sieber. The Foundations of Program Verification Wiley-Teubrer 1987.

Allison Lloyd. A practical introduction to denotational semantics. Cambridge University Press 1987.

Peyton-Jones S. The Implementation of Functional Programming Languages. Prentice Hall 1987.

It serves as a base for learning and applying formal reasoning techniques and proof techniques.

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST OFFERED Autumn 94 - Semester 7

MODULE TITLE: Systems Analysis

MODULE CODE: CS4417

CREDITS: 3

GRADING TYPE: Normal

PREREQUISITE MODULE: CS4413 System Development

Pressman. Software Engineering - A Practioners Approach, 3rd ed. 1992, McGraw-Hill

BROOKES C H et al Information Systems Design Prentice Hall l982

JACKSON M, System Design Prentice-Hall 1984

SUTCLIFFE A, JSD Prentice-Hall 1988

SEMESTER FIRST OFFERED: Autumn 94 - Semester 7

MODULE TITLE: Introduction to Computational Linguistics

MODULE IDENTIFICATION: CS4847

PREREQUISITE MODULES: Artificial Intelligence and Prolog

To introduce the student to the fundamental concepts of computational linguistics. Use is made of Irish language structures in applying the concepts.

Introduction to

morphology, phonology, grammar;

lexical analysis and lexicons, parsing, semantics;

machine tgranslation.

Gazdar, G. and Mellish, C. "Natural Language Processing", Addison-Wesley, 1989.

Gal, A., Lapalme, G., Saint-Dizier, P., Somers, H., "Prolog for Natural Language Processing.". Wiley. 1991.

"Gramadach Na Gaelige Agus Litriú Na Gaelige", Oifig An tSoláthair, BÁC 1968.

Beardon, C., Lumsden, D., Holmes, G., "Natural Language and Computational Linguistics an introduction." Ellis Horwood Books Series in Computers and Their Applications, 1991.

Bratko, I., "Prolog - programming for artificial intelligence" Addison Wesley, 1990

Clocksin, W.F., Mellish, C.S., "Programming In Prolog" Springer-Verlag, 1981.

Lloyd, J.W., "Foundations of Logic Programming". Springer-Verlag, 1984.

Thayse, A. (Ed.) "From Natural Language Processing to Logic For Expert Systems" Wiley, 1990.

Thayse, A. (Ed.) "From Standard Logic to Logic Programming", John Wiley and Sons, 1988.

The Christian Brothers, "ANew Irish Grammar", Fallon.

MODULE TITLE Acquisition of Computing Resources

MODULE CODE CS4857

CREDITS

GRADING TYPE Normal

PREREQUISITE MODULES

To familiarize the student with the legal, technical, financial, and commercial aspects associated with the selection and acquisition of computer resources such as: Manpower, Machines, Materials, Software, Services and various common combinations of the above that are on offer or are likely to be on offer in Ireland.

Legislation concerning employment contracts and sale of goods

Methods of Financing - Buy, Lease, Rent;

Hire-Purchaes;

Factors involved in hardware selection;

Factors involved in software sleection

Types of materials and services available

Methods of estimating system performance;

'Life-Cycle' evaluation of computer systems;

Personnel recruitment procedures

Investment appraisal techniques.

Specimen Contracts and Licence Agreements (In Library)

Computer Contracts, Morgan R., Stedman G., 2nd ed., Oyez Loughman, 1984.

MODULE TITLE Simulation and Operations Research

MODULE CODE CS4827

CREDITS 3

GRADING TYPE Normal

PREREQUISITE MODULES MA4403 Computer Mathematics 3

To familiarise the students with some of the current use of simulation, and equip them with the skills to develop simulation models.

Use of simulation models;

Simulation methodology;

Markov chains;

Queueing Theory;

Inventory Theory;

Game Theory;

Generation and testing of random numbers;

Collection and analysis of input data;

Verification and validation of simulation models;

Simulation language programming;

Design of simulation experiments;

Analysis of output data.

Introduction to Stochastic Models in Operations Research, Hillier, F.S., Lieberman G.J., McGrawHill, 1990

Discrete Event System Simulation, Banks, J., Carson, J.S., Prentice-Hall, 1992

To give students an insight into how simulation models can be effectively applied to real-life situations.

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST OFFERED Autumn, 1996 (or earlier) - Semester 7.

MODULE TITLE: Professional Issues in Software Engineering

MODULE CODE: CS4818

CREDITS: 2

GRADING TYPE: Normal

PREREQUISITE MODULES: CS4817 Information Technology in Business

SEMESTER FIRST OFFERED: Spring 95 - Semester 8

MODULE TITLE Software Engineering 5

MODULE CODE CS4318

CREDITS 3

GRADING TYPE N

PREREQUISITE MODULES CS4317 Software Engineering 4

< none at present >

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST OFFERED Spring 1995 - Semester 8

MODULE TITLE Telecom Networks Architectures

MODULE CODE CS4218

CREDITS 3

GRADING TYPE Normal

PREREQUISITE CS4225 Computer Networks, CS4215 Concurrent Systems 1

To set out the structure of current public Telecom networks in terms of Transmission, switching and signalling elements

To highlight the forces which are causing rapid evolution of public Telecom Networks and to describe the technology associated with new directions of evolution.

The requirements to support speech traffic, Digital Switching Principles, PCM Trunks, The PDH, Cross Connects, Provision of leased lines, Signalling CCSS7, management in PDH systems. Properties of transmission systems, echo cancelling, Fibre, Coax and micro-wave systems.

Packet Switching X.25, ISDN principles, LAPD protocol, Frame Relay, Asynchronous Transfer Mode switching and multiplexing. Virtual channels, Virtual Paths, The SDH architecture. User network interfaces for B-ISDN, MANS MAC DQDB, ATM over SDH.

Intelligent Networking principles. Management of Telecom Networks, Operations Centres, TMN architecture Mobile Communications, VLR,HLR, MSCs.

ISDN and Broadband ISDN, William Stallings (2nd edition) Macmillan ISBN 0-02-415475-X (1992)

Transmission Netwroking: SONET and the Digital Synchronous Hierarchy, Sexton & Reid (1992) Artech House, ISBN 0-89006-551-9

ISDN The Integrated Services Digital Network. Peter Bocker, Springer Verlag, ISBN 0-387-17446-X

Telecommunication Networks and Services. van Duren, Kastelein, Schoute, Addison Wesley, 1992, ISBN 0-201-56542-0

MODULE TITLE: Computer Integrated Manufacturing

MODULE CODE: CS4828

CREDITS 3

GRADING TYPE N

To provide a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the role of information systems and information technology in manufacturing.

To explore the manufacturing environment, its concepts, terminology, system requirements and problems. The approach will be to study Computer Integrated Manufacturing from the point of view of the system developer.

Concepts and terminology of materials and manufacturing

Entities and Relationships in manufacturing

The manufacturing database

Data reference models ; CIM-OSA

File integrity and other pre-requisites of mrp

The mechanics of mrp

Transactions in an mrp system

The role of the materials planner

mrp versus Order Point systems

Frequency of mrp processing

Integrated Manufacturing Information Systems: Closed Loop MRP

Demand Management: Forecasting and Master Scheduling

The role of the master scheduler

Capacity Planning: Aggregate level and CRP ; Capacity Control

Priority Control in the work-centre

The OPT approach and the OPT model

Just In Time systems

The KANBAN philosophy

Computer Integrated Manufacturing principles

CAD/CAM and FMS

Automated Storage and Retrieval of materials

Factory networks

OSI and Manufacturing Automation Protocol

Browne, Harhen and Shivnan, Production Management Systems - A CIM Perspective, Addison Wesley

Material Requirements Planning, Joe Orlicky

Development of Computerbased Production Systems, A.K. Kochhar

Manufacturing Information Systems, L. Sartori.

Production and Inventory Management, Fogarty and Hoffman

APICS Dictionary, Cox et al.

SEMESTER FIRST OFFERED Spring 95 - Semester 8

MODULE TITLE Advanced Database Systems

MODULE CODE CS4418

CREDITS 3

GRADING TYPE Normal

PREREQUISITE MODULE CS4416 Database Systems

Gray, P. (1984) Logic, Algebra and Databases. Ellis Horwood

Bell, D. and Grimson, J. (1992) Distributed Database Systems Addison-Wesley.

Ullman, J. (1989) Principles of Database and Knowledge-Base Systems Vols. 1 and 2 Computer Science Press

Su, S. (1988) Database Computers McGraw-Hill

SEMESTER TO BE FIRST OFFERED