“In the first half of the term, this course covers the same functional programming material as CS 1101 at roughly twice the pace. The second half of the term is a preview of selected advanced Computer Science topics, such as the design and implementation of application-specific languages, macros, programming with the HTTP protocol and continuation-passing style. Students will be expected to complete an open-ended individual programming project. Recommended background: Substantial prior programming experience (including functions, recursion, and lists, as would be covered in high-school Advanced Placement Computer Science A courses, but not necessarily AP CS Principles courses). Either CS 1101 or CS 1102 provides sufficient background for further courses in the CS department. Undergraduate credit may not be earned for both this course and CS 1101.”
CS 1101 was my first computer science class at WPI. The class consisted of daily quizzes, and about five projects where we worked in randomly-assigned pairs of two. The course taught me a lot of foundational programming concepts such as recursion, abstraction, and binary trees. The work was challenging and the projects were demanding, but I got a lot out of the course as a whole and it helped prepare me for future college classes.