Unit information: Overview of Software Tools in 2021/22

Unit name	Overview of Software Tools
Unit code	COMSM0085
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Alex Kavvos
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	COMSM1201 Programming in C COMSM1302 Overview of Computer Architecture
Co-requisites	COMSM1401 Software Engineering and Group Project
School/department	School of Computer Science
Faculty	Faculty of Engineering

Description including Unit Aims

This unit will acquaint students with a collection of tools and frameworks that are used when undertaking large software development projects. It will support their group project work in COMSM1401 Software Engineering and Group Project, where they work in groups to create software that solves a problem for a real client, as well as preparing them for software development roles in their future career.

In particular, the unit will focus on the following areas:

• Effective software development workflow and associated tools, for example the command line, version control, build and dependency management systems.
• Development tools, for example editors and integrated development environments, compilers and linkers, debuggers and profilers.
• Effective development techniques, for example unit and integration testing, static analysis, continuous integration and deployment.
• Relational databases and the SQL language.
• The web: principles, protocols and languages (HTTP, REST; HTML, CSS), architecture of web applications.
• The cloud: what it is, how to use it, overview and features of one or more cloud providers.

This unit builds on and complements the unit COMSM1201 Programming in C taken in the previous teaching block and aligns with the teaching of object-oriented programming in unit Object-Oriented Programming with Java.

Intended Learning Outcomes

After successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

• Use professional software development tools and workflows.
• Automate the process of building and testing software.
• Improve the quality of your own software through methods including debugging and testing.
• Develop web-based, data-driven applications.
• Apply principles and practices of database design.
• Employ relevant database technologies.
• Identify and compare the features of cloud computing systems.

Teaching Information

Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions, including lectures, practical activities supported by drop-in sessions and self-directed exercises.

Assessment Information

100% coursework

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. COMSM0085).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.