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Computer Studies w/o Excessive Coding?
Peterus7 asks: "I'm a student at the University of Washington, and I was planning on majoring in Computer Science or Informatics until I took Computer science, and I'm realizing that it's simply beyond me. I grew up with computers, and naturally I want to study a field that involves a lot of interaction between people and technology (mainly computers), but the Intro to Java class I'm taking now is driving me over the edge. Any suggestions for a technologically intensive field that doesn't require ungodly amounts of coding, or perhaps any general methods for surviving computer science courses for new students?"
This sounds familier to me. I did a Computer Science degree in UCC (big Uni in Cork Ireland) and you would not believe the amount of people in my class who only realised what Computer Science was once they were in the course. A lot of them just wanted to 'do stuff with computers' and did not want to actually learn how to code, or build hardware etc. I guess the best example was when a class mate said to me - 'This class is stupid, we haven't even been thought how to use Windows or Excel'. I responded with: 'No, here we are meant to learn how to write the next Windows (O/S) or Excel (Applications). I finished the course in 1999 and got my Degree - and went into a job where no coding was required (Network Security). However I still find every Theory class useful. Example, I was on the Cisco Advanced Routing Course and the instructor was covering OSPF (a dynamic routing Protocol). He was of the opinion that no one could know what SPF was, but I knew this from my algoriths course in 3rd year. My advice to the poster is to understand what computer science is. If they want to do something with Systems and People, then a course like the BIS (Business Information Systems) course at UCC is useful. But if you really want to know the maths and theory of computers - I recommend Computer Science. Thanks Jay
You could always try the EE route. Usually you need a few courses in intro. programming and maybe have to write some matlab code someday.
Yes. If you go for ECE you'll be writing MATLAB code, but if the programming in CS is too tough for this guy, then EE definitely will. There are probably another three calculus classes to take before he can do ECE, and if programming Java is too tough for him, Calculus definitely will be. Nevertheless, the CE route (which still requires all that Calculus and probably still more coding than he seems willing to do) is more like what he wants, it seems. CE will be more about digital design of computers, but he needs classes like introductory java to be able to follow the examples in algorithms and data structures classes.
Sorry, but you should learn something else. Really, if you don't take the time to learn programming (hey, be thankful it's Java and not LISP ;-) you should do something else.
No, he shouldn't be "thankful". Quite to the contrary. LISP is an interactive, dynamically typed language, which makes it great for introductory CS teaching. So are Python, Basic, Logo, Ruby, and many others.
Java is a statically typed, compiled language with enormous libraries and messy, complicated development environments. That makes it a poor choice for an introductory course.
I think it's extremely important to at least understand the basics of "how is software built". And learning a programming language is actually a lot easier than learning a real language, and you can learn both if just sit down and practice, gawddamnit !
For someone who already knows programming, that's true. But these students are supposed to learn programming.
Your argument actually supports what I'm saying: you should teach students programming in a language that is well-suited to the task of teaching and that doesn't burden beginners with irrelevant and complex features. You should also teach in a language that doesn't narrow the view students get of CS; sadly, Java is a one paradigm language, and a very limited paradigm at that. Once they have learned programming in a teaching language, as you say yourself, learning another programming language is easy.
I'm taking a degree in Baking, but I don't like kneading dough. Can anyone suggest a university where I can get by the minimum amount of getting flour on my paws?
Hugs n Kisses
-Junis
General Methods
Find buddies.
I'm not kidding. People to study with equals much faster learning. When I started uni (too long ago) I was doing a Comp Sci/Electronic Engineering double, and the workload was insane. Pretty quickly, everyone worked out pretty quickly that the only way to cope with the insane workloads was to work together.
I don't mean cheating either. It's just that it's like having a tutor, all the time. That should be your first port of call, and if you still can't do it, (not having at go at you) you should really look at a change of careers.
Hope that helped.