Professional Diploma in

Computer
Science
Starter Pack
 Samuel is currently employed as a Computer Science educator at
Shaw Academy in Cape Town, South Africa.

Samuel graduated with an Honours Degree in Computer Science

from BUSE. He has vast experience in tutoring, particularly as a
lecturer at Kwekwe Polytechnic college, where he taught various
computing courses in the electrical engineering department. He has
also been a manpower upskilling trainer at Higher Life foundation,
a division of Zimbabwe’s largest telecommunications network,
Econet Wireless Ltd and has also worked in software development
and system administration.

Introduction to Samuel is a technology enthusiast with a specialisation in hardware

Computer Science programming. He has a passion for teaching students about the
fascinating and dynamic world of computer science, training their
Starter Pack minds to think analytically, and to be prepared for the fourth
industrial revolution. He has several hobby projects such as a home
media centre, arduino-controlled plant watering, and 3D design
and printing but his prized one is his current/recently built AI driven
Meet your educator security camera!

Samuel Masuka
 Module 1

Lesson 1: Enter Computer Science

Lesson 2: Processes, Procedures, Computers
Lesson 3: Measuring Computing Power
Lesson 4: Language Construction
Lesson 5: Programming Languages
Lesson 6: Problem Definition
Lesson 7: Formulating Pseudocode
Lesson 8: Algorithms

Module 2
Introduction to
Lesson 1: C Language
Computer Science Lesson 2: Environment Setup
Lesson 3: Program Structure
Course Outline Lesson 4: C Syntax
Lesson 5: Data Types
In the Introduction to Computer Science Lesson 6: Variables and Constants
course you can expect the following: Lesson 7: Program Flow
Lesson 8: Operators
Each module consists of:
8 lessons Module 3
8 post lesson quizzes
4 practice assignments Lesson 1: Decision Making
1 module assignment Lesson 2: Loops and Functions
Lesson 3: Storage Classes
As an extra, you are able to purchase the Lesson 4: Arrays
toolkit: Lesson 5: Pointers
Webinar slides
Lesson 6: Type Casting
Summary notes
Lesson 7: Pre-Processors and Header Files
Bonus lessons
Lesson 8: Libraries

Module 4

Lesson 1: Variable Arguments

Lesson 2: Memory Management
Lesson 3: Command Line Arguments
Lesson 4: File Input and Output
Lesson 5: Error Handling
Lesson 6: Debugging
Lesson 7: Applications of C
Lesson 8: Course Summary and Wrapping Up
 Tips for this course:

1. Stay up to Date

Always try to stay up to date with technological trends by reading

articles and popular technology news websites. This will reinforce
your learning of modern and trending technologies.
Introduction to
2. Software Documentation
Computer Science
When working through the technical and practical content, review
the documentation of the software we will be using.

3. Documentation

Always add comments to your code as you go along. This will help
you to understand what is going on and will help you track back if
ever something doesn’t quite work.

4. IDE

For the programming part of this course, you will need an IDE
(short for Integrated Development Environment). For this course
we will be using codeblocks. You can download the software at
codeblocks.org – the software is compatible for both Windows and
Mac systems.

5. Mobile Code Editor

If you do not have access to a laptop or PC, consider downloading

a mobile app code editor tool. Check out CppDroid for Android
devices.
 6. File Extensions

It is important to follow best practices when naming the files

associated with your website. For example, header files must have
an extension of .h appended at the end. Similarly, C source code
files must have the keyword .c appended at the end.

7. Requirement Analysis

Introduction to For personal projects, it is always best to gather and process the

Computer Science requirements of your app before you start development. These
requirements will drive which features and functionality you will
incorporate into your web design.

8. Code Readability

When writing code in any language, you typically would like to

ensure that you indent your code where necessary, it improves the
readability of your code.

9. Stack Overflow

Stack Overflow is your go-to platform if you’re writing code and

for some reason it does not work as you expect it to. This happens
more often than you know, even to the best developers out
there. Stack Overflow allows you to share your code with other
developers and enables you to find solutions to issues like the
ones you may be experiencing.

10. Reputable Sources

To improve your understanding of the theoretical concepts, always

try to read up on reputable technology news platforms or peer-
reviewed journal articles and books.