CS106A: Programming Methodology

Course Overview

University: Stanford
Instructor: Mehran Sahami
Status: Not Started
Progress: 0/28 lectures

Your first step into programming. This course teaches Python fundamentals, object-oriented programming, and algorithmic thinking—the foundation for everything that follows.

Resources

📺 Stanford CS106A Playlist
🌐 Course Website
📚 Course Reader (PDF)

Key Topics

• Python fundamentals
• Variables, control flow, functions
• Object-oriented programming (OOP)
• Data structures (lists, dictionaries, sets)
• File I/O
• Algorithmic problem-solving
• Debugging techniques

Why This Matters

This is where it all begins. CS106A teaches you not just Python syntax, but how to think like a programmer. You'll learn to break down complex problems into manageable pieces and express solutions clearly in code.

Learning Goals

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• Write clean, well-structured Python programs
• Apply object-oriented programming principles
• Debug and test your code effectively
• Solve algorithmic problems systematically
• Read and understand existing code

Study Plan

Estimated Time: 5-7 hours/week for 10-12 weeks

• Lectures: ~3 hours/week
• Problem Sets: ~3-4 hours/week
• Reading: ~1 hour/week

Daily Notes

Week 1

• [ ] Lecture 1: Introduction
• [ ] Lecture 2: Variables & Control Flow
• [ ] Problem Set 1

Week 2

• [ ] Lecture 3: Functions
• [ ] Lecture 4: Strings
• [ ] Problem Set 2

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Projects & Assignments

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Key Takeaways

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