This is a foundational (Level 1) Information Systems (IS) course that introduces students to application programming. The course provides a first step towards learning the principles of object-oriented programming through the Java programming language. Programming refers to the development of software, which is also called a program. Essentially, software contains the instructions that tell computerised devices what to do. In lectures, students will be introduced to the theoretical component of the course, learning fundamental programming concepts. During weekly workshop tutorials, students will engage in the practical component of the course, learning how to write code using the NetBeans Integrated Development Environment.

The topics that are covered in INFS1609 introduce students to the fundamentals of Java programming. This begins with an overview of data types and methods before introducing students to small problem-solving exercises that require the use of conditional statements, loops and arrays (including multi-dimensional arrays and array lists). Students are then introduced to the topics of modular programming, testing and debugging (using JUNIT). Finally, having gained a general understanding of these concepts, students further explore the principles of object-oriented programming, including objects, classes, abstraction, polymorphism, inheritance and encapsulation.