Unit materials for the Software Tools unit (COMS10012 and COMSM0085).
Learning in this unit is structured around hands-on exercises in the weekly lab session. To support you in this, we give lectures and provide pre-reading that introduces you to the tools or technologies you’ll be working with in each week’s lab session. You are also able to see the workshop exercises ahead of the session – this is intentional, as it's usually a good idea to look at and attempt exercises ahead of the lab. The schedule below links to each week's content.
- All lectures are delivered on Tuesdays at 16:00 in Priory Road Lecture Theatre.
- All labs are held on Fridays in MVB 2.11:
- 09:00 - 11:00 for COMSM0085 students
- 11:00 - 13:00 for COMS10012 students
- The assessment for TB1 takes place in Week 12 at 14:00 on Friday (2024-12-06). For most students the test will be held in MVB 2.11, but some of you will be in alternative locations as per your timetable.
| Week | Topic | Lecturer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | System administration | Matthew |
| 2 | POSIX fundamentals | Matthew |
| 3 | Regular expressions | Matthew |
| 4 | Git basics | Joseph |
| 5 | Collaborating using Git | Joseph |
| 6 | Reading Week | NA |
| 7 | Build tools | Joseph |
| 8 | Debugging | Joseph |
| 9 | SQL | Joseph |
| 10 | More SQL | Joseph |
| 11 | Programming with SQL | Joseph |
| 12 | 50% assessment: in-class test | NA |
- All lectures are delivered on Tuesdays at 11:00 in 1.11 Tyndall Lecture Theature, Physics Building.
- All labs are held on Fridays in MVB 2.11:
- 11:00 - 13:00 for COMS10012 students
- 15:00 - 17:00 for COMSM0085 students
- The assessment for TB2 takes place during the summer exam period and is timetabled separately.
| Week | Topic | Lecturer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HTTP | Matthew |
| 2 | HTML | Matthew |
| 3 | CSS basics | Matthew |
| 4 | Design with CSS | Matthew |
| 5 | Javascript basics | Matthew |
| 6 | Reading Week | NA |
| 7 | Asynchronous Javascript | Matthew |
| 8 | Web scraping | Matthew |
| 9 | PGP | Joseph |
| 10 | Internet protocols | Joseph |
| 11 | Certificates | Joseph |
Assessment for this unit consists of two components, both of which are 1-hour paper-based multiple-choice tests, covering everything taught in the corresponding TB, and worth 50% of the mark for this unit. The tests are open-book, meaning you can bring unlimited paper-based notes with you (but no electronic assistance).
- The TB1 test will be held in Week 12 (2024-12-06) at 14:00. An entry should already be in your timetable. The test will cover everything taught in TB1.
- The TB2 test will be held in the summer exam period, and will be scheduled closer to the time by the university's exam timetabling department. The test will cover everything taught in TB2.
The following papers and solutions show you examples of the sorts of questions you may be asked in the exam, and what the correct selections are. Be warned that studying only these questions is a great way to end up surprised and underprepared for the real exam.