Prerequisites

The formal prerequisites in the Iowa State catalog were successful completion of Com S 321, Com S 330, and Com S 361. (Later, a course in Theory of Computing, Com S 331, was added as another prerequisite).

Computer Organization and Machine Level Programming

Com S 321 is an introductory course in computer architecture. The knowledge you need from Com S 321 includes an understanding of how data is represented in a computer, and assembly language programming. We will tap this knowledge in Com S 342 and expand on it to paint a more vivid picture of what happens in various programming languages at run time.

Discrete Computational Structures

Com S 330 is a course in discrete computational structures, which is discrete mathematics relevant to computer science. The skills taught in Com S 330 relevant to Com S 342 include the ability to:

• describe the domains and ranges of functions and (binary) relations,
• solve simple algebraic, numerical, or combinatorial problems, and
• translate English statements into the first-order predicate calculus and vice versa.

File Organization and Processing

Com S 361 is a course in file organization and processing. From Com S 361 you should have an appreciation for the problems of writing and maintaining medium-sized programs. You should also know how to design, modularize, and document a medium-sized program. you should be thoroughly familiar with imperative programming techniques (assignment, looping, etc. as in C++, C, or Pascal).