Courses

NOTE: This site is an archive of 2012–2013 programs and policies at Boston University Metropolitan College. If you are looking for current information about Metropolitan College and its programs, please go to our official website: www.bu.edu/met.

• MET CS 342: Data Structures with Java
  This course covers data structures using the Java Programming Language. Topics include data abstraction, encapsulation, information hiding, and the use of recursion, creation and manipulation of various data structures: lists, queues, tables, trees, heaps, and graphs, and searching and sorting algorithms. Laboratory course.
• MET CS 382: Information Systems for Management
  Computer-based management information systems. Management's role in development and use of computer systems. Planning for a comprehensive information system; role in decision making, case studies.
• MET CS 401: Introduction to Web Application Development
  This course focuses on building core competencies in web design and development. It begins with a complete immersion into HTML essentially XHTML and Dynamic HTML (DHTML). Students are exposed to Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), as well as Dynamic CSS. The fundamentals of JavaScript language including object-oriented JavaScript is covered comprehensively. AJAX with XML and JSON are covered, as they are the primary means to transfer data from client and server. Open source libraries such as Prototype, jQuery and Mootools might optionally be covered, as they assist in building cross-browser web applications rapidly and efficiently. The PHP language will be presented and covered; however, students can use other server-side languages; such as ASP.NET, Java (JEE) or Ruby on Rails (RoR) for their projects. The course will focus on MySQL as a relational database system with the final project. Students may use other databases with instructor approval. Students will work with either IIS 6 (or better) or Apache 2, using any conventional operating system when working on their term projects and class laboratories.
• MET CS 425: Introduction to Business Data Communications and Networks
  Basic concepts of data communications and computer networks; hardware, software, and reference models; TCP/IP protocol suit. Overview of voice communication, CAN, network development life cycle, security, management IT Economic: Total Cost Ownership, Return on investment and IT Project Portfolio Management.
• MET CS 469: Introduction to Database Design and Implementation for Business
  Database concepts, relational and entity-relationship (ER) data models, normalization, object-relational modeling, database lifecycle, the Structured Query Language (SQL). Preview of advanced database concepts, including transaction management, performance tuning, distributed databases, and data warehousing. Meets with CS 669, with undergraduate-level exercises, quizzes, and final and an optional term project. (Lab class)
• MET CS 472: Computer Architecture
  Computer organization with emphasis on processors, memory, and input/output. Includes pipelining, ALUs, caches, virtual memory, parallelism, measuring performance, and basic operating systems concepts. Discussion of assembly language instruction sets and programming as well as internal representation of instructions. Prerequisite: MET CS231 or CS232
• MET CS 495: Directed Study
  Independent study on special projects under faculty guidance.
• MET CS 496: Directed Study
  Independent study on special projects under faculty guidance.
• MET CS 503: Windows .NET Application Programming with C#
  In-depth exploration of the C# programming language and Visual Studio.NET for development, debugging, and deployment of applications. Programming in C# encompassing the following topics: Device I/O handling, .NET Framework application development classes such as window forms, splitters, views, controls, dialogs, resources, such as menus, tool bars, bitmaps, and status bars. Custom controls, visual inheritance, SDI, MDI, and extending the Visual Studio.NET interface. File I/O for reading and storing binary and textual information. Data services for manipulating SQL-databases using ADO.NET. Graphics Services (GDI+) for 2D-vector graphics, imaging, and text rendering, including the new features of gradients, anti-aliasing, double buffering techniques, zooming, off-screen image processing and rendering. Communication services: TCP and UDP sockets, broadcast, unicast, and multicast sockets. Utilizing idle time processing, timers, and threading for building responsive GUI applications. Laboratory Course
• MET CS 504: Green Information Technology
  This course empowers students to reduce the energy use, waste, and other environmental impacts of IT systems while reducing life cycle costs, thereby improving competitive advantage. Students learn how to measure computer power usage, minimize power usage, procure sustainable hardware, design green data centers, recycle computer equipment, configure computers to minimize power, use virtualization to reduce the number of servers, and other green technologies. Students also learn how to make green IT an integral part of organizational culture and planning, to foster long-term sustainable information technology. The course is executed through a combination of lectures, guest lectures, field trips, assignments, labs, case studies, and a term project.
• MET CS 520: Information Structures
  This course covers the concepts of object-oriented approach to software design and development using the Java programming language. It includes a detailed discussion of programming concepts starting with the fundamentals of data types, control structures methods, classes, applets, arrays and strings, and proceeding to advanced topics such as inheritance and polymorphism, interfaces, creating user interfaces, exceptions, and streams. Upon completion of this course the students will be able to apply software engineering criteria to design and implement Java applications that are secure, robust, and scalable.
• MET CS 532: Computer Graphics
  This course is primarily the study of design of graphic algorithms. At the end of the course you can expect to be able to write programs to model, transform and display 3-dimensional objects on a 2-dimensional display. The course starts with a brief survey of graphics devices and graphics software. 2-d primitives such as lines and curves in 2-d space are studied and a number of algorithms to draw them on a rectangular surface are introduced, followed by a study of polygons, scan conversion and other fill methods. Attributes of the primitives are studied as well as filtering and aliasing. Geometric transformations in 2 dimensions are introduced in homogeneous coordinates, followed by the viewing pipeline, which includes clipping of lines, polygons and text. Hierarchical graphics modeling is briefly studied. The graphics user interface is introduced and various input functions and interaction modes are examined. 3-d graphics is introduced through object representations through polygonal methods, spline techniques, and octrees. This is followed by 3-d transformations and the 3-d viewing pipeline. The course ends with a study of algorithms to detect the visible surfaces of a 3-d object in both the object space and the image space. Laboratory Course
• MET CS 535: Computer Networks
  Overview of data communication and computer networks, including network hardware and software, as well as reference models, example networks, data communication services and network standardization. The OSI and the Internet (TCP/IP) network models are discussed. The course covers each network layer in details, starting from the Physical layer to towards the Application layer, and includes an overview of network security topics. Other topics covered include encoding digital and analog signals, transmission media, protocols. circuit, packet, message, switching techniques, internetworking devices, topologies. LANs/WANs, Ethernet, IP, TCP, UDP, and Web applications. Labs on network analysis.
• MET CS 546: Quantitative Methods for Information Systems
  The goal of this course is to provide Computer Information Systems students with the mathematical fundamentals required for successful quantitative analysis of problems in the field of business computing. The first part of the course introduces the mathematical prerequisites for understanding probability and statistics. Topics include combinatorial mathematics, functions, and the fundamentals of differentiation and integration. The second part of the course concentrates on the study of elementary probability theory, discrete and continuous distributions. 4 cr
• MET CS 561: Financial Informatics
  This course presents financial algorithms used in applications of computer science in financial decision analysis, risk management, data mining and market analysis, and other modern business processes. The course covers theoretical background on probabilistic methods used for financial decision making and their application in number of fields such as financial modeling, venture capital decision making, operational risk measurement and investment science. Number of financial applications and algorithms are being presented for portfolio risk analysis, modeling real options, venture capital decision making, etc. The course concludes with algorithms for financial risk assessment and presents the security concepts and challenges of financial information systems.
• MET CS 565: Advanced Java Programming
  Comprehensive coverage of object-oriented programming with cooperating classes. Implementation of polymorphism with inheritance and interfaces and in Java library containers. Programming with exceptions, stream input/output and graphical AWT and Swing components. Threads, sockets, datagrams and database connectivity are also covered in this course. Laboratory course.
• MET CS 566: Analysis of Algorithms
  Discusses basic methods for designing and analyzing efficient algorithms emphasizing methods used in practice. Topics include sorting, searching, dynamic programming, greedy algorithms, advanced data structures, graph algorithms (shortest path, spanning trees, tree traversals), matrix operations, string matching, NP completeness.
• MET CS 570: Biomedical Sciences and Health IT
  This course provides students with a graduate introduction to the American healthcare system and the roles played by IT in that system. The course explores the structure and functions of healthcare information systems, medical terminology, human anatomy and physiology, disease processes, diagnostic modalities, and treatments associated with common disease processes. IT case studies trace the workflows and show how information systems are used in diagnosing and treating diseases.
• MET CS 575: Operating Systems
  Overview of operating system characteristics, design objectives, and structures. Topics include concurrent processes, coordination of asynchronous events, file systems, resource sharing, memory management, security, scheduling and deadlock problems.
• MET CS 579: Database Management
  This course provides a theoretical yet modern presentation of database topics ranging from Data and Object Modeling, relational algebra and normalization to advanced topics such as how to develop Web-based database applications. Other topics covered - relational data model, SQL and manipulating relational data; applications programming for relational databases; physical characteristics of databases; achieving performance and reliability with database systems; object-oriented database systems.

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