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We look at the essential thinking skills students need to learn in the introductory computer science course based on object-oriented programming. We create a framework for such a course based on the elementary programming and design patterns. Some of these patterns are known in the pattern community, others enrich the collection. Our goal is to help students focus on mastering reasoning and design skills before the language idiosynchracies muddy the water.

This paper introduces a new approach to the T-coloring problem for complete graphs. The problem arises from Hale's formulation of the channel assignment problem for potentially interfering communication nets. The motivating result of this paper is that the T-span of Kn, denoted sp-(Kn), is asymptotically independent of n. More precisely, each T-set has a rate, rt (T), and n/spT (K,) converges to rt (T). We introduce a finite algorithm for computing the rate of T. This is accomplished by associating to a given set T an infinite sequence of integers with the property that the first n integers of this sequence T-color K, in an asymptotically optimal way. Lastly, we compute rt (T) or bounds on its value for some interesting special cases of sets T.

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What is the core of Computing? This paper defines the discipline of computing as centered around the notion of modeling, especially those models that are automatable and automatically manipulable. We argue that this central idea crucially connects models with languages and machines rather than focusing on and around computational artifacts, and that it admits a very broad set of fields while still distinguishing the discipline from mathematics, engineering and science. The resulting computational curriculum focuses on modeling, scales and limits, simulation, abstraction, and automation as key components of a computationalist mindset.