This is a first course in computer programming. Using the Java programming language as a vehicle, it focuses on the fundamental concepts of "object-oriented" programming and on the basic principles of programming style and design.

How complex computer software can be produced at all is something of a mystery. How complex software can be produced in the absence of strict coordination among developers and of the usual economic incentives is even more mysterious. And yet such is the condition of much of open source software, which is flourishing these days. In this course we'll work on clarifying the underpinnings--primarily the technical underpinnings, but also the social ones--of open source software development.