Questions about AP Computer Science?

Question

Although my school has maybe 12 AP classes, they lack any of the ones I'd like to learn material on(Computer Science, Psychology, and others). What programming languages do I need to learn for AP Computer Science, and how would you suggest I go about learning those free? (Torrents are an option)

Answer 1

AP Computer Science uses Java. You should be able to find a basic summary of the AP curriculum on the College Board's web site. Program flow control (if/else, while, for, etc.), object-oriented design, and basic data structures and algorithms, are the main topics.

The AP CS curriculum also includes their "GridWorld case study." You can download the code and documentation from the College Board web site. The web site still has the 2008 test version, so make sure to check back for the latest version later in the school year.

O'Reilly's books are pretty good learning resources, but they aren't free. David Eck has posted his textbook online (see link below). If you aren't sure what's wrong with some code you write, it's good to have someone you can ask about it (maybe find an Internet forum for programming).

You should also go to Sun's web site to download the Java SDK, and you may want to use an Integrated Development Environment, such as Eclipse.

Good luck!