Software Development [DAT.B31UB]

Lecture with integrated exercises

This course is part of the Master’s curriculum Data Science implemented jointly by TU Graz and the University of Graz. It is intended as a practical introduction to software development practices, workflows and tools commonly used in industry and academia alike.

Registration • Moodle Course (W25/26)

Resources

Exercise Problems
A collection of exercise problems to supplement the lecture material. Uploading solutions and presenting them in class is part of the course requirements. Updated weekly* for the first half of the semester.
Project Guidelines
Guidelines and requirements for the course project, including submission deadlines and evaluation criteria. Relevant in the second half of the semester.
Motivation and Administrative Information
Some motivation explaining in how far the contents of this course are relevant in real-world scenarios, as well as administrative information regarding the course structure.
Chapter 1: Highway to Shell
Some fundamentals on using the command line / terminal ("shell"), in particular in the form of bash.
Chapter 2: Version Control and Git
Introduction to version control concepts and practical usage of Git (mainly from the command line).
Chapter 3: Unpacking Python, Part I
Python Tooling essentials (uv, ...), virtual environments, packaging, dependency management. And Jupyter notebooks.
Chapter 4: Unpacking Python, Part II
Documentation via sphinx, profiling and debugging.
Chapter 5: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (Code)
A bit on code quality and various best practices. Testing and CI/CD.
Chapter 6: ... but it works on my machine!
Reproducible software environments (conda et al.) and container technologies (Docker/Podman and Apptainer aka. Singularity).
Chapter 7: Writing Software in Teams
Collaboration workflows. Code reviews (like a human). And a bit about agile software development.
Chapter 8: Licenses and FAIR Software Practices
An overview of popular software licenses and their implications. F(indable), A(ccessible), I(nteroperable), R(eusable) principles for software development and data management.
(Bonus) Chapter 9: Agentic Coding and You
Introduction to LLMs and agentic coding workflows. Covers how agent harnesses work (tools, context windows, memory), a survey of providers and pricing models, and hands-on demos. Includes personal takeaways and reflections on the ethical and societal implications.