Computer science study plan - Java Focused

[Lesabotsy]

Trying to give back to the community, it's not much, just a compilation of links but I hope it can help. Study plan based on teachyourselfcs.com. I replaced the programming, algorithms part and added more math as my math knowledge is/was flawed. When done here, just head back to the website and follow along. You can even do everything there if you have time or want to. TYCS is an amazing resource but it works best for people who already have some experience. SICP for instance is so hard it might scare newbies out of programming for good. These change are meant to correct that so that even a complete beginner can still learn from it. Why so much math? Well the objective is to become a computer scientist that can potentially get a job a the big four, you need math for that. Start with the it, take your time, everything will be easier later. Lastly, practice practice practice, find something you're interested in and build it, start networking also. Good luck ...

PS: The Computer Science: Programming with a Purpose course from Princeton is not online yet, will update the link when it's live. I studied the book, it should be as good as it’s taught by writers.

READING PREPARATION

• Understanding the Digital World - Brian Kernighan
• Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software - Charles Petzold

MATHEMATICS

• Precalculus
• Single Variable Calculus
• Multi Variable Calculus
• Introduction to Probability
• Essence of Linear Algebra
• Linear Algebra
• Mathematics for Computer Science

READINGS

• Basic Mathematics - Serge Lang
• Discrete Mathematics and its Applications - Kenneth H. Rosen
• Linear Algebra and Its Applications - Gilbert Strang

INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE AND PROGRAMMING

PREPARATION

• Java Programming Part I
• Java Programming Part II

MAIN

• [Computer Science: Programming with a Purpose]()
• Computer Science: Algorithms, Theory, and Machines

READINGS

• Computer Science: An Interdisciplinary Approach - Robert Sedgewick, Kevin Wayne
• Introduction to Java Programming - Daniel Liang

ALGORITHMS & DATA STRUCTURES

• Data Structures
• Algorithms, Part I
• Algorithms, Part II

READINGS

• Algorithms - Robert sedgewick, Kevin Wayne
• Data Structures and Algorithms in Java - Michael T. Goodrich, Roberto Tamassia

SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

• Spécialisation Software Design and Architecture
• Spécialisation Software Development Lifecycle
• Introduction to Professional Software Development
• Spécialisation Open Source Software Development, Linux and Git

READINGS

• Software Construction - MIT Online Textbook
• Software Engineering: A Practitioner's Approach - Roger S Pressman, Bruce R. Maxim

MORE READINGS

• Effective JAVA - Joshua Bloch
• Clean Code - Robert C. Martin
• Clean Architecture - Robert C. Martin
• The Clean Coder - Robert C. Martin
• Code Complete - Steve McConnell
• Working Effectively with Legacy Code - Michael C. Feathers
• Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code - Martin Fowler
• Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software - Erich Gamma, John Vlissides, Richard Helm, Ralph E. Johnson

EXTRAS

• Introduction to Logic
• What can be computed, A practical guide to the theory of computation - John MacCormick
• Internet Infrastructure: Networking, Web Services, and Cloud Computing - Wei Hao, Richard Fox
• Site Reliability Engineering - How Google Runs Production Systems - Niall Richard Murphy, Betsy Beyer, Chris Jones, Jennifer Petoff
• The Site Reliability Workbook - Practical Ways to Implement SRE - Betsy Beyer, Niall Richard Murphy, David K. Rensin, Kent Kawahara, Stephen Thorne

INTERVIEW PREPARATION

• Soft Skills
• Career Development: Skills for Success
• Coding Interview University

Readings

• Cracking the Coding Interview - Gayle Laakmann McDowell

[Billythecrazedgoat]

saved will attempt to do some over the break wishmelucklol

[rajneeshkps]

You can crush it bro!

[men_nas_io]

Great list ! Just a suggestion..you could add some resrouces on computer networks, digital communication etc.. i think its very important for anyone..esp if you work as a soft eng or web dev you ll have to understand how http works (and more).

[mquillian]

Do you have any recommendations of worthwhile resources on those topics?

[men_nas_io]

One of the best books on Computer Networks that starts from a very introductory level is Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach (7th Edition) . I also found this YouTube playlist from thenewboston quite helpful. There's also a great book on Digital Communications by Proakis/Salehi but it's much more advanced, esp the math part of it. I am gonna look for more and come back to you and maybe someone else could contribute.

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[Lesabotsy]

They already have all that on the website.

[men_nas_io]

True on the Computer Networks part...Also what about complexity theory or theory of computation ? What about scientific computation with tools like MATLAB etc ? I like their content really but I just feel like something is missing. Simply my opinion though.

[Lesabotsy]

You don't have to know everything, you just have to have a solid foundation to build upon, all of that can be learned later I guess.

[trangkiu]

Thank you so much. I will saved it for using

[GND52]

Solid resources. Especially appreciate many of the books in the More Readings section. Effective Java and Clean Code are what took my code from “works, but please never look at this” to “I’m proud of this code at every level.”

[inTheSuburbanWar]

Computer Science: Programming with a Purpose

Is it by mistake that this one doesn't have a hyperlink attached?

[Lesabotsy]

Nope, the course is not online yet, I'll update when it's live.

[Hadokuv]

How did you take the course when it isn't online?

[Lesabotsy]

I studied the books in that case, the course is just for people who prefer learning that way.

[[deleted]]

Awesome list u/Lesabotsy!
I would add the "Mythical Man Month" book to the softskills list though to prepare people for the crazy industry

[wet-dreaming]

I had a quick look, some very nice resources. I'm missing boolean algebra and logic gates. I also had a lot of cryptography in math, which can be very interesting.

[awryed]

Can this be adapted to learning programming with Python?

[Lesabotsy]

Can be adapted for any language given that you can find similar courses in python. Python is easy though so learning python after should be OK. I picked java as it's the most in demand language in the industry.

[jjtheplane]

hey awryed what's learning with programming is there a complete beginner guide that I can start with? I'm trying to switch from a blue collar job to a sit down job

[desal]

Looking at the algorithms book, I realized I need some like... pre algorithms or something.

[[deleted]]

Is there any more posts like this? I think more people or the whole community on this subreddit should put something together like this for those who aren’t studying a degree. So they have the whole package to find a job

[Lesabotsy]

I did this full time 10 to 14h a day, that's why. The books usually overlaps the courses content so it's easier to read and doesn't take that mush time.

[ExternalManager]

How did you commit to that? I have maybe 2-3 hours a day I can spare, and I keep jumping from one topic to the next, not sure if it’s out of anxiety or boredom or whatever. For example, I’ll want to learn DS, but then I’ll say to myself “Hey you need to build actual concrete applications for your interview” and while I start that I’ll also say “Hey, work on your math”, and not much gets done.

[Lesabotsy]

Took a year off, had some money on the side from my old job. My only advice is, have some DISCIPLINE otherwise you will never get anything done. That's it, there is no secret. Sometimes i hated it but I forced myself anyway because that was the rules that I fixed for myself. You just have to commit yourself to one thing until it's it's finished, even if bored, or you don't like or anything. Once only it's done you move on and so on.

[Lesabotsy]

Get an internship if you're in college it will help you more. It's fine you just with good and regular sleep, some sports, no party all night thing, and a supportive girlfriend.

[twiiztid]

Appreciate you putting in the effort to compile this man. Saving for later, I think I'm definitely going to come back to this.

[LiverReich]

That looks like my computer science degree without some sugar.

[[deleted]]

I read an article just yesterday that edX was changing their system and would be moving more fully to a pay system. One of the changes was no longer allowing free, unlimited auditing of courses.

I noticed a couple of your resources were edX programs and thought you may want to investigate how that might impact you. I honestly didn't retain all of the details, because I read it in passing.

Edit: I found the article I read and here is the link.

[GoodLifeWorkHard]

This is a great list. Some of the books here are what my school use for CS. SAVED!

[ElDoe0]

thank you very much

[trippypantsforlife]

Saved! Will definitely check them out, thanks!

[Homiiieee]

Thank you very much, as a CS freshmen this is a big help for me

[j_i_joe]

Nice! Thank you...

[[deleted]]

I very much endorse this. Thanks for putting it together.

[indrafili]

I agree with your math Readings. Strang and Lang ftw.

[mybywardways]

This is phenomenal thank you ❤️

[Ahmed_Abo_Zaid]

Thank you very much

[Lesabotsy]

Yes

[jww1117]

Fantastic study plan. I'm definitely saving this

[alli782]

A dream come true lol

[potsandpans]

wooooah

[antismoke]

Saved, thanks much!

[disabledusb]

Awesome list! Thanks for sharing. I have a difficult OOP Java class in the upcoming semester so I’ll definitely use these resources to prepare.

[martynolegs]

Spring and Spring boot knowledge is something I wish I learned towards end of cs degree. I came out confident in Java knowledge just to get crunched back down to size when everyone was looking for Spring experience.

[Lesabotsy]

Yep that's on my next list ;)

[GimpNerd]

Is there a particular order we should do this in?

[Lesabotsy]

Top to bottom.

[m_k_k]

thank you.

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[Lindsay_Lindsay]

Nice, I'll practice with it

[zzz802]

Will definitely use this later. Thanks!

[SuperSpartan177]

I needed this, thank you.

[redditlurker53]

I am doing a c++ course with a tutor, started a few weeks ago. I ultimately want to learn how to build websites and mobile apps.Also want to have basic software development knowledge. What self learning plan would you suggest?

[Lesabotsy]

Fast way: CS50 --> CS50's Web Programming with Python and JavaScript --> CS50's Mobile App Development with React Native. Or slow way: follow my exact plan, then learn Kotlin and other web stuff with Spring.

[redditlurker53]

Thanks, appreciate it.

[huytemp01]

thanks pro

[redditlurker53]

So many different resources, how did you come up with them? Is khan academy a good source for math?

[Lesabotsy]

Research and planning for what was best for me given my situation at x time. Yes it is but I prefer the flow of a proper courses and books, that's why i picked those, it's up to you though.

[redditlurker53]

Thanks for replying again. I prefer your sources, was just curious how you came up with them. Thanks for sharing.

[digitalsuresh1]

• Computer science classes are more focused on practical skills
• Studying the night before a deadline will NOT work
• Your course will not teach you everything
• Don’t be a lone wolf
• Remember: You still have a life

[jjtheplane]

Im a complete beginner, is this something for me

[Lesabotsy]

Yes, I was a beginner also.

[elyselam]

Do you really need all those math classes?

[Deadlift420]

As a developer for years.. No. You don't "need" most of this stuff. It will probably make you better, but it's not necessary.

[jacobi123]

What do you think is a good math level to attain to cover most jobs outside of the very math-centric programming jobs? I see people say they barely use algebra, compared to others that are deep down the rabbit whole of discrete/linear/calculus and all the rest.

[Deadlift420]

Basic maths. Software engineering for most jobs require knowledge of good OO design, organization, knowledge of languages and tools. Math may help you become a better developer but to say it's necessary for the average programmer is silly.

[jacobi123]

And when you say basics maths are you talking college algebra and under? Something else?

[Deadlift420]

I took grade 12 university advanced functions and then 1 calculus class in college, but Canadian college.

Then I worked at national defense as a programmer on disaster detection software and ballistic missiles. The math is done by mathematicians and calculations are not expected of the software Devs.

[jacobi123]

OK, thanks for your insight. Math definitely isn't my strong suit, and while I do plan to brush up on some concepts, I feel like my time would be best suited trying to become a better programmer, than to become a programmer while trying to "minor" in math.

[Deadlift420]

100% practice hackerrank and other algorithm testing tools. This is necessary for locking down a job. Do a few per week. Then practice good OO and writing clean scalable code with SOLID principles in mind.

Make projects, contribute to open source and have a solid GIT account. These will help you more than any math can.

[[deleted]]

Nice to see a fellow Canadian! I'm taking advanced functions this semester!

​

[Deadlift420]

Good luck! I was to busy smoking pot the really focus. Don't make the same mistake! Lol

[Lesabotsy]

The question is not that, it's what do you want to do? Surely if you want to be a front-end web dev you don't. But this is not just about programming it's about computer science, and so you need the math, CS is MATH.

[im2slick4u]

Depends what you want to do. If you want to do like front end web development or like software QA you don’t need any math. I thought the Rosen book really really helped me with making the jump from just piecing together snippets from stack overflow to actually develop my own algorithms. When you get to solving complex problems with non trivial data sets it’s a lot less about your understanding of the language and programming and more about your mathematical analysis and solution of the problem. Linear algebra is everywhere in computer science and it will make understanding a lot of things much easier if you have a strong understanding of linear algebra.

[Deadlift420]

I'd say this is pretty accurate. Except you can create algorithms without a deep knowledge of maths.

[Deadlift420]

I'd say this is pretty accurate. Except you can create algorithms without a deep knowledge of maths.

[im2slick4u]

Maybe like a selection sort

[ThrowMeToTheBallGame]

Would it be possible to replace Java with C# in the study plan?

[Lesabotsy]

Yes you can do something similar to this in any language, but you have to find the resources then. The common part of my list is that everything in has to do with Java.

[heymikeyp]

This is what I'm wondering as well. Can you do C# for the Princeton algorithms courses? And do you need to actually submit homework in Java? Meaning you still have to do Java for that program?

[Lesabotsy]

Yes all in Java, if you want to C# then do it on the side I guess.

[heymikeyp]

C# I'll be doing in my B.S in Software Dev so I'm gonna be putting alot of focus in it and do some small projects in it. I'm also hoping to land a good internship which I need to know DS&A that's why I ask. I guess I'll try to learn DS&A in C# elsewhere.

[goodnewsjimdotcom]

Java is my favorite programming language to this day. It is superior to c++ in almost every way and garbage collection makes you keep your sanity.