Computer Science & Software Development Foundations Bootcamp Certificate

Checkpoint 1: Implement one small program in C or equivalent low-level style and explain compilation, types, control flow and one correctness/style improvement.
Checkpoint 2: Compare two search/sort or data-processing approaches on the same inputs; record time-complexity reasoning and empirical behavior.
Checkpoint 3: Build and manipulate a non-trivial data structure; explain memory ownership, failure cases and why the structure fits the problem.
Checkpoint 4: Reimplement part of the workflow in Python; compare abstraction, productivity, readability and performance tradeoffs against the lower-level version.
Checkpoint 5: Persist/query data with SQL using constraints and indexes where appropriate; demonstrate one injection-safe parameterized query.
Checkpoint 6: Expose the project through a simple web interface or Flask API, then debug a failure and document the root cause, fix and regression check.

Day 1: Frame a useful project and acceptance criteria; choose core data structures, persistence needs and an interface; create the repo and baseline.
Day 2: Implement the computational core and at least one algorithmic operation; add representative normal, boundary and invalid cases.
Day 3: Add data structures and persistence; reason about memory/data representation, schema constraints and complexity.
Day 4: Build a Python layer or service around the core workflow; refactor for clarity and add repeatable test/debug cases.
Day 5: Add SQL-backed persistence and safe query handling; validate integrity, edge cases and one performance/index decision.
Day 6: Add a lightweight web/API interface, run a failure-injection/debugging exercise and complete a security/basic robustness pass.
Day 7: Publish repo, README, architecture map, complexity notes, data model, test/debug evidence, demo video and a short engineering retrospective.