COMS W3134

2 midterms (not bad but a lot of the coding problems are almost always extremely difficult - write down code from class in your extra space on your 1 page cheat sheet), final project (allocate enough time for this), PSETS (took me 1-2 hours each) and Theoretical HW (he gave extra credit for turning stuff in early which was really helpful).

4-5 programs with provided tutorials, extensions are likely. They are not easy but definitely not impossible. Very fair midterm and final with great review sessions beforehand.

Heavy, very heavy. Five assignments(theory and programming) that take about 10-12 hrs each assignment. Midterm which is long, and final which is more reasonable.

6 time-consuming, although not overly difficult (sometimes the extra credit is fairly challenging). Midterm and Final are simple enough since it's open book/open notes.

Weekly HW assignments (half written, half programming), a midterm, and a final

So light that I can hardly believe it actually counts as a class. In fact, I was in advanced programming at the same time, and because I spent so much time programming in C for that class, I barely remembered how to program in Java by the time the final programming assignment came around.

This class is really hard. There's a reason it has a reputation for making CS majors become non-CS majors. Dr. B is a really really chill guy, but his lectures are kind of boring and the room they had us in put me to sleep every time (the room we were in was really warm and cosy and also we kept on having wifi problems what really sucked). Second half of the semester, I stopped attending and straight up watched all the lectures in 2x speed a week before the midterm (he was actually way more engaging at 2x speed)! Also, be careful with the second "midterm" because it's the last day of class and studying for the DSA midterm and immediately jumping into final season burnt me out so bad. I honestly wish there was more theoretical HW assignments or spread out more bc those were so helpful in getting me to understand the content.

Ted was absolutely great! After taking Intro to Java, I thought I was doomed for Data Structures, but this class was surprisingly pleasant. For every assignment, he always gave us a tutorial that guids us through the whole assignment, and in it are explanations and examples that helps you complete about 75% of the work. Then the last 25% is the actual homework. This was really helpful. The book is not so helpful, but his lectures are quite important but fun to attend. He learns names of students and explains things not in some comp sci jargon but in easily understood everyday words. Ted cracks jokes often so it's not uncommon to have the whole class burst out laughing. The review sessions are really awesome since he gives great examples and lively demonstrations to make sure everyone understands the material. He's really reasonable with homework also, so we actually got extensions for all the assignments. In the end, there was even extra credit opportunities which really helped my grade. If you can, take data structures with him!!!!

Elson is a phd student but is a good professor overall. Not a class for computer science majors, but this class is a lot of work. Elson does his best to make it manageable, he knows that most of the class struggles with the programming sections, so he gives you late days and tries to help with the homework. Overall, a hard class that takes a lot of time, but if you are good at computer science, this should be no sweat. If not, then watch out.

Janek is the best computer science teacher you could have. I mean this literally - he TEACHES very well. He is able to explain concepts very fundamentally and easily. He breaks down complex ideas ver well and provides very easy to follow examples and analogies. He grades slightly on the stricter side, but is pretty soft in office hours. ---Very Highly Recommend---