Software and Programming II

• Credit value: 15 credits at Level 5
• Module convenor and tutor: Paul Nulty
• Prerequisite: Software and Programming I
• Assessment: problem-solving worksheets (50%) and a two-hour examination (50%)

This module is a continuation of the studies presented in Software and Programming I, focusing on the use of object-oriented methods for problem solving. Object-oriented programming languages require a different approach to software design from the traditional functional decomposition approach of procedural languages. Object-oriented systems are described in terms of independent objects and their interrelationships. Such systems can provide considerable potential for reusability, extensibility, and robustness, assisting in the process of programming-in-the-large.

Indicative module content

• Review of basic Java programming and the materials covered in Software and Programming I
• Extended control structures: the switch statement, loops with break and continue
• Basics of enumeration types
• Arrays and ArrayLists; the enhanced for loop; two-dimensional arrays
• Inheritance and polymorphism; overriding instance methods; the access modifier protected and the default access modifier; the type Object; abstract classes; interfaces and multiple inheritance; the instanceof operator and casting non-primitive types; parametric and ad-hoc polymorphism
• Input and output
• Test-driven development
• Exceptions and exception handling with try and catch; program correctness: throwing an exception; RuntimeExceptions and the throws clause; user-defined exception classes
• Basics of Java Collections
• Foundations of object-oriented analysis and design in Java: discovering classes, relationships between classes

By the end of this module, you will be able to demonstrate:

• an understanding of object-oriented programming concepts and their role in program design and implementation, viz. encapsulation, polymorphism, inheritance and message passing
• elementary use of Java Collections
• the ability to write object-oriented programs using an object-oriented programming language
• exception handling for debugging and to promote program robustness
• use of appropriate basic data structures such as arrays, linked lists
• an elementary understanding of software testing and the ability to write simple unit tests
• the ability to decompose a problem into appropriate objects and activities and to understand how to then embody these concepts in the construction of a program incorporating appropriate classes, data members and methods
• the ability to manage time so as to design and implement a piece of software to a prescribed deadline.