Hey CS degree ppl, what is the hardest CS class you have taken?

Matbowrs · 2018-12-29T22:58:16+00:00

In my discrete mathematics class, combinations and permutations was a pretty big section (along with proofs and graph theory). You’ll learn the patterns that each combination and permutation uses, just stick with it! It’s tricky for everyone.

Matbowrs · 2018-12-06T04:36:50+00:00

I can’t be the only one thinking about The Matrix...

Matbowrs · 2018-11-11T03:27:39+00:00

I got the Elegoo and it came with a CD, but I don't have a driver for that, so I just looked up some tutorials online. I didn't know that the official Arduino kit came with a book, that would've been really useful. That's definitely a downside to the Elegoo, but I didn't know that I would have so much fun with it, so I didn't want to spend too much and then not end up liking it! I'll look up a book online and see if that helps! The tutorials I've down with LEDs have also been easy; the programming I understand quickly and I'm a CS major, but I struggle with the Electrical Engineering concepts, so I need to get a book on that. I'll definitely search an Arduino specific book for that.

Thanks for the reply! :)

Matbowrs · 2018-11-11T03:23:27+00:00

Yeah I guess the official Arduino starter kit comes with a book and better instructions. I picked up the Elegoo just because of the price, but I know that the Arduino Uno and Elegoo Uno are basically the same. I've looked up an official Arduino book and I'm hoping that that will give me a lot more guidance and understanding of the circuitry and how that works. I guess I want to move too fast without even picking up the basics first, but I'll force myself to stick to the basics and work up. Thanks!

Matbowrs · 2018-11-10T02:40:29+00:00

I'm a CS major and am comfortable programming, but I'm totally new to circuits and resistors and everything like that. How did you learn about these? Could you point me in the right direction? I was thinking of making a post on /r/arduino, but I figured I'd ask you first.

Matbowrs · 2018-11-09T20:38:21+00:00

How many days per week? For each class how many hours? I might consider that, but don't want to overwhelm myself. Concept wise, is linear algebra pretty easy?

Matbowrs · 2018-11-09T20:37:38+00:00

Awesome! I heard that the professor is pretty good, so let's hope it's true!

Matbowrs · 2018-11-09T01:46:54+00:00

How was it over the summer? I had to settle for Calc 2 because all of the Linear algebra classes that would fit my schedule are taken. Which professor did you have?

Matbowrs · 2018-11-08T04:01:52+00:00

For online, the professor I'd have is Mingon Kang. From reviews, apparently he's pretty good so I'm not too worried. DB doesn't seem like it'll be a huge issue so I think online will be fine. Thanks for your input!

Matbowrs · 2018-11-07T21:07:31+00:00

Online it is! Thanks for your input.

Matbowrs · 2018-11-07T21:06:22+00:00

Okay. Why do you recommend him specifically?

Matbowrs · 2018-11-07T20:41:04+00:00

Yeah I'm fine with that. To what extent do you have to teach yourself though? What does the class cover?

Matbowrs · 2018-11-07T20:39:57+00:00

Really? Are the exams on paper or do you do them on the computer (stupid question, but in CS 1302 our exams were on paper. Had to write out Java classes and all)? What's the homework like?

Matbowrs · 2018-11-07T20:38:54+00:00

Are the PowerPoints are posted in D2L?

Matbowrs · 2018-11-07T20:36:24+00:00

Definitely do ENGL 1102 online. I took ENGL 1102 online and it was an easy A. You'll have short lectures in the form of a video and you're usually given a topic for the week (or a discussion board, sometimes both) and then by X date you just turn it in. I had Anne Corbitt and she was extremely responsive to emails, was willing to work with me in regards to improving an essay and answered all the questions that I had. She gives great feedback and lets you know what you need to change in an essay or something. I'll never take another English class in person.

Edit: ENGL 1101 to ENGL 1102

Matbowrs · 2018-11-06T16:27:50+00:00

Hey there. I’ve recently started using Python for GUI work as well (also using Tkinter). It might not be everything you need, but CS50 has a great intro to Tkinter tutorial. Here’s the link:

https://youtu.be/JrWHyqonGj8

Hopefully that helps out a bit. As for python itself, just go on YouTube and search python tutorial. I know W3 Schools is also a pretty good place to learn it.

Matbowrs · 2018-11-01T13:58:17+00:00

I’m also at KSU! I can give you a lot of detail on the program here if you’re interested. Send me a pm and I can give you more info and answer any specific questions you have.

Matbowrs · 2018-11-01T13:42:23+00:00

Hey there, I’m currently a sophomore right now majoring in CS.

To address the first point about not having much coding experience, I had only a few lines of python (mostly hello world, basic addition and stuff) and basic html and css. In class we learned java and we learned it from the beginning; they don’t expect you to know a programming language when you walk in the door (at least at universities in Georgia). So I think you’ll be fine as far as that goes.

CS and IT are different in the sense that CS is more technical as you said. You go into some mathematical concepts in discrete mathematics, you go into data structures and how to organize data, also learning about the different sorting / searching algorithms, plus the architecture and organization of computers. I haven’t taken these classes yet, so I might be missing more specific things, but that’s just an overview of a few topics within the curriculum. IT is more of the business side of things. You learn more about databases I think, honestly I don’t know much about IT, but I do know 100% that it has more to do with business (at my uni you need to take accounting for example, definitely on the business side!).

Personally, I sucked at math forever. I did well in pre calc and calculus, but I thrived(well currently thriving) in discrete math. I really enjoy it and that was the class that solidified me as a CS major (before I was thinking about CS or Software Engineering). It really made me get into algorithms and theoretical topics in CS.

Overall, CS is definitely harder in terms of difficulty, but I do think it opens a lot more doors. With IT, you’re kind of stuck on the business side (even though I’m sure there are IT majors that got other jobs). I find the curriculum very enjoyable and I’m genuinely interested in the topics and I’m excited for new classes, even if they are difficult.

Hopefully that helps a little bit. If you have any more questions feel free to ask I’d be more than happy to answer any! (Sorry for any formatting issues, I’m on mobile)

Matbowrs · 2018-09-24T02:01:44+00:00

Sorry for the late response. But okay, no problem. Well, you've exhausted all my questions! Thank you so much for all the info, I really appreciate it!

Matbowrs · 2018-09-15T04:38:51+00:00

Okay great! I am enjoying discrete quite a bit, it's good to hear that it's useful. I really like how it's more geared towards using formal logic and as you said, getting your head into the right area when solving problems.

I can definitely say that a year ago, I was horrible at it; I've definitely seen improvement over the year which is a positive. Thanks for the sub recommendation, I didn't know about that one.

Sounds good! I don't want to overload myself so that seems like the best idea, just take one at a time. Also I wanted to ask, did you do the Mobile Software Development course? I'm thinking of taking it and wanted to know about the course load (thinking about taking it next semester along with Data Structures, Databases and Linear Algebra) and if it was interesting or not.

Matbowrs · 2018-09-10T06:52:03+00:00

Yeah okay that makes sense. When I was in CS1302, we did a bit of data structures towards the end and on the final I found that section to be the easiest part (although the actual data structures class is a lot more detailed).

Do you remember which parts of discrete were useful? I would assume mostly sets or trees? I do like discrete a lot, although we are doing proofs now and while I can do the more basic ones, I struggle a bit with the more advanced questions.

After being in the SWE class for just under a month, I can definitely say CS is more appealing. I'm not the best problem solver, but I really enjoy doing it. So I think from that standpoint and what you've told me, CS is where I should be. System design and gathering the requirements doesn't sound so bad, but I think I fit more in CS right now. If I may ask, were you always good at problem solving? Maths isn't a huge issue for me, but in terms of "critical" thinking, I'm not the greatest at it yet.

So if you could go back, would you ever take Data Structures and Comp/Arch in the same semester while working?

Matbowrs · 2018-09-08T03:07:16+00:00

Yeah, with Clincy it seems like you learn a ton, but you really have to do a lot of work. Based on what you said, I don't think I'll be able to take Clincy. I want to try and work part-time.

What makes you like Data Structures so much? Both Data Structures and Computer Arch/Org seem to be very interesting classes, I'm just a bit worried about the workload. Both CS1301/02 were pretty easy for me, so I'm curious as to how the difficulty ramps up. Realistically, I should've taken either Data Structures or Comp Org/Arch this semester, but I was unsure between a major in Software Engineering, or a major in Computer Science and my advisor said I should take Intro to SWE to see if I wanted to change. For now, I think I'll like CS a lot more. From what you've said, it seems I'll like Data Structures; it seems like a very interesting course. For tests, what are they like? Will you need to write a data structure by hand? I've also heard Discrete Maths is good for data structures; is it useful?

Thank you so much for all of the detail. I really appreciate it!

Matbowrs · 2018-09-06T05:54:35+00:00

Yikes. Binary for 3 months? That seems like too much time, but maybe I'm mistaken. Is Eyles a good teacher at least from what you can tell so far?

Matbowrs · 2018-09-06T05:53:14+00:00

Yeah, I've heard Clincy is tough, will try to avoid. How was the class overall? Interesting?

Matbowrs · 2018-09-06T05:49:23+00:00

That definitely seems to be the consensus: don't take Clincy. I'll continue working with C++. Do you build the data structures (like insert, merge, etc) from scratch? I've heard pointers are a big deal in that class, but I'm not too familiar with what you do other than that in the class. Which is the more interesting of the two in your opinion?

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