CSE 101
Teams ↗Recordings ↗C Tutor ↗
FALL 2026 · GEBZE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

Introduction to Computer
Engineering and
Career Planning

Understand the machine. Learn to program. Build something real.

Prof. Dr. Mehmet Göktürk/8 ECTS/Tuesdays · 13:30–16:30 · Z23

TEAMS Join code: z6l4tbu

FIRST MEETING
22SEP · TUESDAY

Welcome to CSE101

Course introduction, gates and binary foundations. No simulator is needed for Week 1.

View week 1
FALL 2026

Course notices

BEFORE WE BEGIN
SEP
22

Guidelines on AI Use and How To use AI Properly in CSE101

Read the course AI-use guidelines, then follow the programming setup guide and Codex tutorial. Includes a downloadable Word version.

FALL
2026

A new semester, one connected learning journey.

Tuesday's lecture, Wednesday's recitation, and Friday's lab work together. Follow the weekly schedule for preparation and course materials.

The weekly sequence is provisional. Slide PDFs and illustrated companion readings are available for all Weeks 1–14, with explanations, worked examples and practice. Submission times will be announced in the relevant briefs.

Weekly schedule

Lecture slides and readings are available for all 14 weeks. Recitation and lab requirements follow their published briefs.

Calendar & dates ↗
All times: Europe/Istanbul
WEEK 01

Computer foundations and data representation

22 Sep – 25 Sep
LECTURE
Computer foundations and data representationTheory: Computer engineering; transistors, logic gates and memory; binary and hexadecimal; character and signal representation; numeric limits and storage.Practice: Interpret representations through worked examples, including signed arithmetic, overflow and floating point. Introduce the Arduino kit and its role in the course.13:30–16:30 · Z23

Read Week 1 → · Slides (PDF · 76 pages) ↓

RECITATION
Guided conversion/gate practice; identify gaps and explain the weekly workflow.16:30 tentative · One hour, with time for questions
LAB
OrientationIntroduction only; no regular lab
WEEK 02

Computer architecture

29 Sep – 2 Oct
LECTURE
Computer architectureTheory: CPU, registers and memory; stored programs and the instruction cycle; I/O, buses, DMA and communication.Practice: Decode and trace VizMachine instructions; distinguish values from addresses; examine branches, byte copying and bit masks.13:30–16:30 · Z23

Read Week 2 → · Slides (PDF · 63 pages) ↓

RECITATION
More signed-number examples and a short trace; terminal setup help.16:30 tentative · One hour, with time for questions
LAB
Lab 01: Terminal & number representationAttend your assigned two-hour section · Handout in preparation
WEEK 03

Algorithms, decisions and loops

6 Oct – 9 Oct
LECTURE
Algorithms, decisions and loopsTheory: Problem formulation, flowcharts and pseudocode; sequence, selection and repetition; correctness and termination, with a first look at efficiency.Practice: Trace display output, decisions and loops in VizMachine; connect algorithm descriptions to readable assembly and a short C preview.13:30–16:30 · Z23

Read Week 3 → · Slides (PDF · 62 pages) ↓

RECITATION
Traces with changed inputs; distinguish an address from its contents.16:30 tentative · One hour, with time for questions
LAB
Lab 02: Assembly: arithmetic & tracingAttend your assigned two-hour section · Handout in preparation
WEEK 04

Operating systems and processes

13 Oct – 16 Oct
LECTURE
Operating systems and processesTheory: Processes and cores; scheduling, context switching and interrupts; concurrency and parallelism; OS services, startup and protection.Practice: Use the mechanic-shop analogy and saved execution state to explain CPU sharing and process resumption.13:30–16:30 · Z23

Read Week 4 → · Slides (PDF · 32 pages) ↓

RECITATION
Branch and loop tracing; test cases that expose a wrong branch.16:30 tentative · One hour, with time for questions
LAB
Lab 03: Assembly: branches & loopsAttend your assigned two-hour section · Handout in preparation
WEEK 05

Programming languages and introduction to C

20 Oct – 23 Oct
LECTURE
Programming languages and introduction to CTheory: Language abstraction and paradigms; syntax and meaning; compilation, interpretation, bytecode, linking and portability.Practice: Read and test C variables, types, expressions and formatted output; compare integer and floating-point division and trace a supplied loop.13:30–16:30 · Z23

Read Week 5 → · Slides (PDF · 91 pages) ↓

RECITATION
Compile/run and revisit fixed-width numbers using C values.16:30 tentative · One hour, with time for questions
LAB
Lab 04: C: numeric expressionsAttend your assigned two-hour section · Handout in preparation
WEEK 06

Physical computing, sensing and control

27 Oct – 30 Oct
LECTURE
Physical computing, sensing and controlTheory: Sensors and actuators; sampling and quantization; noise, calibration, feedback, hysteresis, timing and embedded-system tradeoffs.Practice: Trace C conditions and loops and explain an Arduino onboard-LED sketch. Button input and additional state examples are optional extensions.13:30–16:30 · Z23

Read Week 6 → · Slides (PDF · 69 pages) ↓

RECITATION
28 Oct afternoon holiday: no assumed recitation. Provide a short worked example and arrange support before the holiday.Republic Day holiday · replacement arrangement pending
LAB
Lab 05: Arduino: buttons & LEDsAttend your assigned two-hour section · Handout in preparation
29 October is a holiday. The prelab deadline adjustment will be announced.
WEEK 07

Software engineering, functions and arrays

3 Nov – 6 Nov
LECTURE
Software engineering, functions and arraysTheory: Requirements, decomposition, interfaces, testing, validation and maintenance; designing software around observable behavior.Practice: Use functions, parameters and return values; traverse a one-dimensional array and check its bounds. Higher-dimensional diagrams provide context for Week 8.13:30–16:30 · Z23

Read Week 7 → · Slides (PDF · 75 pages) ↓

RECITATION
Trace arguments/returns, then array elements; revisit conditions/loops.16:30 tentative · One hour, with time for questions
LAB
Lab 06: Functions & one-dimensional arraysAttend your assigned two-hour section · Handout in preparation
WEEK 08

Algorithm efficiency and multidimensional arrays

10 Nov – 13 Nov
LECTURE
Algorithm efficiency and multidimensional arraysTheory: Compare linear and binary search, insertion sort, correctness and termination; explain growth in work and time/memory tradeoffs.Practice: Revisit one-dimensional traversal, then trace rows, columns, nested loops and boundary checks in a two-dimensional array.13:30–16:30 · Z23

Read Week 8 → · Slides (PDF · 67 pages) ↓

RECITATION
Draw the table first, then trace two indices. Repeat function and loop questions.16:30 tentative · One hour, with time for questions
LAB
Lab 07: Multidimensional arraysAttend your assigned two-hour section · Handout in preparation
WEEK 09

Computer networks, pointers and strings

17 Nov – 20 Nov
LECTURE
Computer networks, pointers and stringsTheory: Circuit and packet switching; network organization, addressing, routing, protocol layers and transport services.Practice: Trace C addresses and pointer arguments; distinguish array capacity from string length and process a bounded text buffer safely.13:30–16:30 · Z23

Read Week 9 → · Slides (PDF · 75 pages) ↓

RECITATION
Revisit array bounds and 2D indices; explain address/content and string termination.16:30 tentative · One hour, with time for questions
LAB
Lab 08: Pointers & text processingAttend your assigned two-hour section · Handout in preparation
WEEK 10

The Internet, the Web and file processing

24 Nov – 27 Nov
LECTURE
The Internet, the Web and file processingTheory: ARPANET and Internet development; clients and servers, URLs, DNS, HTTP, browser resources and caching.Practice: Read, process and write text files in C; check opening, conversion, end-of-file and output failures using supplied or recorded readings.13:30–16:30 · Z23

Read Week 10 → · Slides (PDF · 100 pages) ↓

RECITATION
Trace file operations and test missing or empty input and expected output.16:30 tentative · One hour, with time for questions
LAB
Lab 09: Text-file processingAttend your assigned two-hour section · Handout in preparation
WEEK 11

Databases and records in C

1 Dec – 4 Dec
LECTURE
Databases and records in CTheory: Database systems, relations, keys and queries; consistency, transactions, indexes and access to shared information.Practice: Use C structs and record arrays; search, update, save and reload records. Compare unions and binary storage briefly, and revisit sorted search from Week 8.13:30–16:30 · Z23

Read Week 11 → · Slides (PDF · 93 pages) ↓

RECITATION
Access fields, trace a bounded record search and verify saved data.16:30 tentative · One hour, with time for questions
LAB
Lab 10: Records & persistenceAttend your assigned two-hour section · Handout in preparation
WEEK 12

Artificial intelligence and data structures

8 Dec – 11 Dec
LECTURE
Artificial intelligence and data structuresTheory: AI history, symbolic search, expert systems, machine learning, neural networks and generative models; evaluation and limitations.Practice: Trace linked lists and their pointer operations; compare stacks, queues and tree representations. Guided implementation remains focused on the supplied singly linked list.13:30–16:30 · Z23

Read Week 12 → · Slides (PDF · 99 pages) ↓

RECITATION
Draw node links and diagnose a familiar pointer defect. Keep search and tree comparisons short; no graph lab preparation.16:30 tentative · One hour, with time for questions
LAB
Lab 11: Linked lists & debuggingAttend your assigned two-hour section · Handout in preparation
WEEK 13

Security, privacy and system integration

15 Dec – 18 Dec
LECTURE
Security, privacy and system integrationTheory: Security objectives and threats; encryption, hashes, authentication, signatures, certificates, TLS and privacy.Practice: Follow a C/Arduino data path from acquisition through validation and computation to PC logging; reason about failed and rejected inputs.13:30–16:30 · Z23

Read Week 13 → · Slides (PDF · 67 pages) ↓

RECITATION
Revisit loops, functions and records through a familiar integration failure.16:30 tentative · One hour, with time for questions
LAB
Lab 12: C/Arduino integrationAttend your assigned two-hour section · Handout in preparation
WEEK 14

Course synthesis and review

22 Dec – 25 Dec
LECTURE
Course synthesis and reviewTheory: Connect representation, architecture, operating systems, algorithms, software design, data organization, networks, AI and security.Practice: Explain short C traces and diagnose an Arduino-to-PC data path; use questions and existing quiz activities to consolidate earlier learning.13:30–16:30 · Z23

Read Week 14 → · Slides (PDF · 38 pages) ↓

RECITATION
Final questions and targeted support.16:30 tentative · One hour, with time for questions
LAB
Selective makeupFor eligible students only

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