Some advice to future students of this course:
  -Codelab: Do as much as possible. Personally I finished the entire 12 weeks of Codelab within first 2 weeks of class. This allotted me a solid base understanding of Java that was invaluable for the remainder of the semester.
  -Programs: He gives MORE than enough time to complete them. Start them AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. If you get done early, it just means you can slack off for awhile, but if you catch a big problem in your program, you will still have time to correct it.
  -Labs: Although you can work together on latter labs, I would suggest doing as much as you can by yourself, even though you only turn in one copy. The labs are highly symmetric with the test labs, so if you have inadequacies anywhere in your coding you will be in trouble.
  -Tests: For ****'s sake you can bring in NOTES and the BOOK. SO DO SO! Print off previous semester's tests. Make sure you know the questions of each printed out test very well, however, because slight nuances in question phrasing will trip you up from test-to-test. And for the labs, not only are they simple, but most of the time he has went over the exact style of code in class previous to the test, so you can go DOWNLOAD his previous code and simply edit it to suit your current problem.
  -Lab quizzes: Personally, these were the only downfall of this course. Questions with errors, uneven difficulty from student to student, etc. They just detracted from the lab experience. I would have rather that first 10 minutes of lab had been given so that we could have had a firmer grasp on the short programs we had to write.
  -Class curve: It's huge, yet people always fail.

Sorry about double post, haha.

Do the codelab, it can help at times. Look over what you covered that week or the week before to be ready for lab quizzes. START THE PROGRAMS EARLY AND DON'T THINK YOU CAN DO THEM ALL ON THE LAST NIGHT. I learned that one the hard way. Look over old exams a lot for midterms and the final since most of the stuff is on the old exams. Don't be afraid to talk to the professor or the TAs outside of class. I highly recommend going to lectures because even if you know what he is talking about he can really help you understand it more and he give exam hints for almost all the exams.

START EARLY! I cant stress this enough...last minute do-er this is not your course..if you procrastinate you will not do well in this class!
Also seek help and make friends with your fellow CS students because they can be a great help to you and you can be a great help to them ! A student explaining to another student are sometime clearer then the professor explanation. Last but not least HAVE FUN! This class can be very fun if and only if you are working hard to succeed !

System.out.print("This class ROCKS!");

His office hours are very helpful and he makes things very clear over there.

i would really recommend reading the textbook before hand so that his lectures makes perfect sense to you. its a hard class u really need to spend a lot of time for it.

challenging class. but u will learn a lot.

Upon first entering CS 107 I was severely intimidated, I had no solid foundation of programming and I was two weeks late into the class. To put it simply this class beat me up, each program took me somewhere between 30 to 35 hours, that is including the first one as I had no book yet and only attended one class. I also got destroyed by the tests, placing among the lowest in them. But I will say this after each program was completed I felt such a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction that I would honestly do it all over again. Thankfully my hardwork paid off and soley through my completion of all five programs did I pass this class. The labs and quizes are difficult but not essential for an A. As I look back upon it though, I feel as if getting an A in this class was never out of reach. My post analysis of the situation tells me that the best way through this class, is to get an intimate understanding of the concepts, I was merely doing each program with low knowledge and lots of guess work. If one were to truly understand the concepts I do not see the programs taking more than a few hours to be honest. And the tests would have been a breeze. My best advice is to go to lectures, read the book, and actually think about the concept, this is one class where the knowledge is heavily built upon itself, DO NOT FALL BEHIND!!!!!!! This is 100% not a class to which you can cram for. Prof Reed is awesome, and always available for help. Trust me, I am horrible at this stuff, but anyone can succeed in this class if they so wish and believe.

Edited by author 05-07-2009 11:35 PM
CS 107 students from Spring 2009,

Please pass on any advice you might have to future students. Just click on the orange "Post a New Message" button and off you go. Anonymous posts are welcome, and you don't even need to register or anything.

- DFR

this class is challenging, but professor Dale reed made it easy by using code lab!!, and try to get involve with the TA, make friends and discuss how do you approach problems, in every program is given!, you can only do it harder if you don't do much! the more you do the easier it gets!!!Good luck, by the way i am proof of the success of this class i got an A!!

cs 107 is NOT supposed to be very difficult but the way Dale Reed teaches it, he makes it EXTREMELY harder than anyone else who tries to teach it. for proof, assuming he hasn't changed anything, he has everyone take in-lab portions of exams that are worth half of test grades. even worse is that those in-lab portions are pass/fail. he is a good teacher and a good man, just his teaching methods are very very very flawed. i can say this because i have taken his cs 102 class in the past, which is computer science equivalent. in my opinion, if you do choose to take 107 with Dale Reed, do two things: one, find a mad programmer so he/she can help you on all 5 programs AND do well on the in-lab portions.

This class is not hard, just show up and listen. Try to write the programs yourself, and if not at least try to understand them. Before the in-lab tests look over the programming assignments from previous years and see if you could do them. Before the in class tests study the tests from previous years, and there is always will be some questions about the stuff you did during lecture and lab. Let the force be with you...

This class is a tough class and like the people saying below me u need to work hard to pass with a decent grade. I never had experience in java or C++. I found out that program 1 and 2 are easy but starting program 3 it will get extremely hard. U need to be ready to take the challange because programs will take at least 20 hours of work yes beleive it. Its a hard class and yes dont ever copy codes from each other the professor is brilliant he can find out and u will pay for it because u will get automatic F.

First of all, this is a tough class without ever studying Java or C++ in your previous years. For those who have experience, you might have it easier, but not always. Coming from a person who has experience in Java, this class was still tough. There were things that I have never been taught. This class will seem easy at the beginning; the first two programs will be simple. BUT, when it comes to program three, four, and five, IT'S CRUNCH TIME. It's going to get stressful and hard. My advice is, start early so you can find what you are having problems with and then get help. Also, use what you learn in lab to help you solve some of your problems.

Furthermore, work hard and do your homework. Do your reading in your text to help you do better with quizzes. Also, do your code lab online home work. Not only do both of these help with your programs and tests, but they are a big part of your grade especially when you have a border line grade.

As long as you do your work and start ahead of time, you will do fine. Also, try attending lecture everyday, you will find out that the information in class is very helpful for tests and programs.

Friends CS 107 is not an easy class. You really need to work hard on this course. Programs done in this course are hard and time consuming so start early, don't wait for the last minute. if you do you will pay for it. If you do all your programs and do all the works like codelabs, qizes and lab assignment, and do fine in exams . You will get a good grade in this class.
***Important advice*** while doing programs do not copy codes from others or give your code to others because you will be penalised for it. Study hard you will succeed.

Edited by author 12-12-2008 11:37 AM
Fall '08 CS 107 students,

Please add your advice to future students here. If it is relevent, comment on strategies for doing programs, what you liked/disliked most about the class, etc. Is there anything you did well or should have done differently that you can pass on to the next group of students? Note that anonymous posts are perfectly fine, but please do respect that privilege.

(Note that messages 50-91 below were deleted. These were the messages that served as "Blackboard" for us at the beginning of the semester before our regular Blackboard account was created. The messages before that are advice to students from the 2004 CS107 class.)

- DFR

Advice for future CS107 students:

Get started on the programs early; don’t wait till the last minute. The first program probably won’t take more than a couple of hours (obviously it differs from person to person and what Prof. Reed asks you guys to do.) But the next 4 programs would take quiet some time, in the range of 10 to 50 hours each (once again – it differs from person to person.) If you do all parts of the programs right, the way Prof. Reed wants you to do – style, method, etc,.......you would be pretty well covered for the exams. The programs are the most important part of this class. If you screw up the programs or think u can just ‘get by’ not doing them..........trust me it’s gonna come back to haunt U. There are not too many short cuts in programming.........so when you see a shortcut........know that U R GETTING’ TRAPPED!

Personally, I concentrated on the programs more than anything else......and the exams pretty much took care of themselves, both in class n’ the lab exams. I walked away with a pretty good ‘A’.........so you get the idea?

What else??
Yeah.......do the programs right!

One more thing: TIME MANAGEMENT.

If you don’t manage your time, you’re doomed to have a bad GPA at the end of the semester. Doing bad in this class is bad for you (everyone would agree on that), but doing good while ignoring your other classes is very very bad for you. This goes for not only CS107 but all other challenging courses where you get so involved that you start slacking off on the other courses.........so manage your time well, FROM DAY ONE!

Suggestions for Prof. Reed:

Please loosen up on the lab part of the exams. :)
Take off a week’s time from Java. C++ at the end gets a little too much too handle with different projects, labs, exam etc.,
Please assign the C++ portion of codeLabs.........We (most) students are too lazy!! ;)

if you dont need this class you should get the hell out. if you can take cs 108 take that instead it is much easier. If you have no programming experience expect to be spending multiple hours a day to read the book just to see that you need to read it again and agian because you have no clue what it is saying. ooh yah this class in no way is an introduction. also to keep up with this class you will mostly likly fall behind in ALL your others. Personally i only got through the class because i had about seven friends in the class and we helped each other out all the time. BY the way if you have never done this stuff the average program takes anywere from 20 - 35 hours and you do have 5 of them but the first one only take about 1-1.5 after that good luck. Oh yah GET OUT NOW IF YOU CAN

Ok, the advice I can give on how to do as well as you can?
-TEAMWORK. If you all stick together the chances of you all figuring out a problem are much higher than if you were doing it alone.(and i dont think it's considered cheating, as long as u dont copy each others code)
-Remember, programming is about efficiency, so using inefficient methods(working alone) won't give out efficient programs.
-Study the sample exams, they help a lot. trust me.
-Avoid infinite loops, they are a pain to reset.
-Avoid copying and pasting other ppls codes, they have a program that checks for that. trust me.
-Avoid self-pity, all the programs ARE doable
-All the computer equipment have direct disurption alarm systems on them, don't try to steal em, they have a better response time than the Police. trust me. T-R-U-S-T--M-E-.


Probably the biggest problem you will come up against is errors, so here are a few heads ups for BlueJ (don't worry if you dont know some of the things, u will soon).
-"NullPointerException" = means that your array or object is empty
-You get a window that says "BlueJ Configuration... something something" = you're trying to compile a program thats currently running, so right-click on the candycane looking thing and terminate the program.
-"missing '}'" or "missing '{'" = just keep putting {'s or }'s until the problem goes away.
-"Fatalerror 1768" = move and log in to another computer

And if you need further help, remember, if u say that ur currently taking CS 107 in ANY of the labs and people go "ooooo i feel bad for you", then those are the people who have taken it already, so ask them and they'll feel so bad that they'll help u.

Again, the curve _was_ at 71% for an A. A memory leak in my program on the final failed my lab half. I still beat the curve on the final. It helped that between tests, a lot of material was repeated. It hurted that the tests were more about error-free coding than about general understanding. You have to realize that in a real programming environment, you are on a computer--the full language specification will be readily available to you. Ultimately, what programming comes down to _is_ perfect coding. Unless you're a prodigy or an academic, you will come in as a code debugger. It's not fun, it's not easy, and it's definitely not glamorous, but at least you can go home and eat a few times a day under your own roof. If you're ready for that sacrifice, then Reed will prepare you.

Well, the class is pretty well structured so you learn a lot but it moves fast (like any college class) and the assignments aren't exactly something to put off for that all-nighter (many people did... and didn't do so well). It's not exactly easy to nab an A in either though, the TA's tend to just randomly take points off for silly things on assignments (10 points off for leaving the original author above my own!?), and the tests (while somewhat repetative) can be tricky. My suggestion, as with any remotely difficult class, put your best in to it and hope that the curve bends in your favor :-)

well, this class is not that hard if you pay attention in your class and spend little bit of your time skimming through the material that you have gone through the class. whatever the example codes are posted on web just look through and try to understand what the code is trying to do then compile on your software to make sure that the output you get is the same as after the codes are compiled..

the assingment programs will be surely lengthy but dont worry..
ultimately :: UNIVERSE IS MADE OF SMALL PARTICLES !!!

Anyone that bitches about this class being too hard shouldn't be in the engineering department. Chances are anyone that complained about the class will be LAS soon enough.

If I were to say it's an easy class, I would be lying. But remember everything is doable. It just needs time and effort, but it's really worth it because you'll end up with a valuable knowledge of programming, though it's supposed to be an "intro" class. If you were to take with other classes, make sure you know how to organize your time, in order to be able to complete your assignments. Don't leave them for the last minute! No, not in this class!
I strongly recommend attending all the lectures and listening carefully-maybe for some hint; this does help a lot!
Well, for all of you who have decided to take this class, Good Luck!

Edited by author 05-11-2004 11:03 PM
Here's the reality: Programming is self-taught. It comes down to whether or not you have: 1. Patience, 2. Time, 3. Purpose.
Alright, so the "intro" class is a little tough. True, it moves fast. This is college. You're on your own in terms of how much you really want to learn. Programming doesn't just "click" for newbies all the time, so you have to keep your priorities straight. Be patient. Difficult concepts will come to those who are willing to learn. Either make sure your other classes aren't time-consuming or learn time-management, cuz you really need to focus in this class. If you have questions, ask TAs, ask the professor. You're paying their salary afterall.
And finally, even if you realize you despise programming, endure. Just stick with it. Besides, if it's a required course, and you're not a CS major to begin with, all you have is this one class (maybe another, depending on your major), and that's it. Over with.

Drop this class now. =D

Get out while you can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In regards to "The Z" I totally disagree. I have never learned as much in a class as I have in this one. I didnt have any programming experience before entering the class, and now feel that I have a great head start toward learning programming. Professor Reed made the lectures funny, interesting, and fun to go to. My T.A. Mark was very helpful and knew what he was talking about. It also helped that he could speak english unlike alot of other T.A.s I have had. Just don't slack off and ask questions early and you'll be fine. Also dont forget to start programs early or you'll be pulling all nighters. Good luck.

good luck dont get happy with getting 100 point in the first program might plan to drop the class after the second one. think again do u really need this class if it just the perrequites then drop this class n take in the some where else.

Ok...this class is absolutly worthless...If you dont know how to do any programing believe me this class will not teach you to do it...Instead it just tests you on stuff that you should already know. Yea i know its an INTRO class. Basically you cant pass the exams unless you have experience in programing and a lot of it. You would think that tests shouldnt be meant to trick you in an intro class..apparently reed disagrees. Dont bother asking for help form either Reed or the TA's. Although i have to say that my TA (william) was not that bad. Its a great class to show how retarded the whole UIC system is. Just like the other post when a 71% is an A you got a lot to worry about. When you start programs early you just get depressed and stressed for the next two weeks that you work on it. By the way, you learn half the stuff that you needed for the programs after they are due. All i have to say is that unless this class is a major necessity you shouldnt take it and in fact even if it is a requirement screw it...change your major. Personally i changed my major just because of this one class that has made me hate computers...Have Fun!

Our curve was something like a 71% for an A.

Think about how hard that must be.

think again r u sure u want be in this class

Edited by author 02-13-2004 02:34 AM
its about 2 30am, i spent over 20 hrs working on program 2 and im stuck! went to see TA but TA did not help at all...did not advise on any code, just told me to think about algorithm. well just program 2 and im about to pull my hair out...tough.

Anyone knows how to do String-MaxMin section?

do anyone knows how to do Logic_Operators in the codeLab

You should check Blackboard from now on for program hints and answers to questions.

Thanks Annon for the advice. Also, cs101 has been on my mind, but every time that I'm ready to drop 107, I figure out what I'm doing wrong. All is good so far

Edited by author 01-24-2004 10:42 PM
Documentation header is the stuff at the beginning of your main class that contains information about the program that is not actual code. Because it's not actual code, it is enclosed as a comment in between /* and */. An example is at http://logos.cs.uic.edu/107/syllabus/index.htm immediately under the grading chart. On a side note, if you don't know about programming at all and this class seems overwhelming, you may want to try and get into cs101. Not absolutely necessary, but something to consider.

Turnin is covered at the bottom of this page: http://logos.cs.uic.edu/107/assignments/Prog1SmartQuiz.html . It's fairly straightforward, just login remotely, then upload your project folder and then submit it with the console command as outlined on the bottom of that page.

Some of your specific style-related questions are better directed to your TA's http://logos.cs.uic.edu/107/assignments/Prog1SmartQuiz.html . I don't know anything about tutor availability, but reading the book helps. Reread it if you have to. There's additional references here http://logos.cs.uic.edu/Examples%20And%20Notes/index.htm

If all else fails, I'm sure you can find someone willing to help you out a little. Also, some other questions are actually answered earlier on in the thread.

Good luck, I know we all will need it. (Though good effort goes a long way on its own.)

The instructions for the smart quiz sy to include your TA's name and your lab day in the documentation header of the program. I am new to computer programming and don't know what a documentation header is. Can anyone help. Thanx in advance.

Ive finished most of the first program, but am a little confused on how to make the program loop after the users chooses to continue. Can someone please help. Thanks

Question regarding 'turnin.'

How do one use the turnin command using SSH, logging in remotely?

TIA!

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to write an if statement in the Densa Quiz for the yes or no input in the first question?

I am confused on how to turn in the program also. How do you do it??

in the program if you type in "i give up" is the window supposed to close by itself??

how do you turn in the program

I am just about ready to start the first program. The only problem is that I have no idea of where to go to work on it in the computer. Do I go to BlueJ or somewhere else. I also don't know how we're suppose to submit it to Prof. Reed. Please help and thanx in advance!!

the answer for Input is:

BufferedReader Stdin = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(System.in));
String t;
t = Stdin.readLine();
datum = Integer.parseInt(t);

Here's a hint for 1/21 codelab: Use a arbitrary string name and then convert it to int.

I have no idea what to do in the code lab problems either! Anyone have any suggestions?

Can anyone tell me what the code lab problem that is due for 1/21 asking for? are we suppose to us JOption Pane or Buffered Reader or what??? Or am i just way off.....

Edited by author 01-20-2004 12:12 PM
I am totally lost and dont know where or how to start, i dont know if it is just me ,but i think that the class is going so fast.I think i also need a tutor.

do anybody know a tutor for cs

Thanks Ben and Annon, that was very helpfull :)

I think I have some clue at least how to get started with the prgram due next monday.
Just start out a new Bluj program and use /**...... */ for the header at the top. Catch is that you also need to have some of this sameinfo print to a terminal window when you run the program,so use System.out.println command to do this.

After this you can print to the terminal the instructions for the quiz and go on fro there.
Also if you want to write some codes at home and you have a zip disk to put it on you can download bluj from bluej.org for free and also download the latest Java sdk from java.com. Then folow the instructions and you are all set to use bluej at home or laptop.
Hope this helps

You need to download an FTP program with SSH, the Java SDK from Sun, and BlueJ. You can probably use Google to find all three. You then program in BlueJ and use the FTP program with your CS account and password to submit it via the turnin command.

I dont know how to start doing the programm he assigned because we didnt go this far with the lab or the reading, and does anyone know how can i work on the program from home?!!

u mean type casting? its when u change the type of a number to another type. like "int ratsTotal=4;" ratsTotal is 4, but if u type in (double)ratsTotal it changes 4 into 4.0 for Ex20072 u gotta change both variables into double before as divide them

what is "casting" and what is the proper way to use parenthesis in it. Ex20072

i dont know i hace the same problem

I'm totally lost in CodeLab. How do I go to the next problem once I've completed one?

O.K., now that we've got the advice from previous students over with, from now on we will use this bulletin board for your questions (and hopefully some answers), until the regular UIC Blackboard site is set up.

Note that if you are too embarassed to ask a question, you can post it anonymously.

I agree with what my peers have said so far. I would to like add something to the mindset in coming to this course. Future Students, you should expect this class to be difficult from day one. I think many of us this time were laid back in the beginning of the course because of our expectations. If one is active from Day One, he or she will have more time to adjust to new ideas of the course. This does not mean that one will learn concepts any quicker.

Remember, Prof. Reed will be there to support anyone on every step of the way, but you have to be active! Ask many questions inclass and after class on current learning. Even Prof. Reed will constantly encourage this. Also, ask questions on the concepts that are going to be learned. You might not understand them fully before you apply them, but atleast you will start some process in your brain.
Truly, this is a journey. A journey filled with agony, discovery, and accomplishment!

Good Luck Future Students and Be Optimistic!

This was one of the hardest classes I have ever taken. Reed may say that he teaches this class for people who have never touched a computer, but there is no way anyone who had not had previous experience with computers would have passed this class. My advice to anyone who wants to take it is to make sure you have a very, very easy class load the semester you take this class. Not only are the programs very long and time consuming, it is very difficult to get help when you're stuck with something. On a personal note, I had to work so hard to stay afloat in this class that my grades for my other classes suffered drastically.

I think the class was overall a good class. Definately challenging to the new programmer like myself, but doable. I don't think any of the programs were necessarily impossible, but I do think the time restrictions were a bit tight (which is seemingly inevitable considering 5 programs in one semester).
   In terms if the blackboard discussion boards: Useful. Could be more useful if those who knew what they were doing would have posted more!
    Seriously people, if you know the answer to someone's question, it's the NICE thing to do! That's all.

I feel that the class should have focused more on programming concepts and less on the unimportant specifics of Java and C. Specifically, the process of breaking down a problem into manageable pieces should have been studied.

People learn different ways - some people are visual, some mathematical, and others are verbal. I feel that the class was taught in a mostly verbal manner. To facilitate the visual learners, flow charts and diagrams of data structures would have been very helpful. For the mathematical learners, programming design recipes would have been invaluable.

I would have also liked to see good flowcharts for each of the example programs. The flowcharts shouldn't just show the classes, but they should trace the computer's execution point as it steps through the program, and show where the data is transferred between classes.

One thing that really annoyed me about the latter portion of the class was the apparent confusion on the part of the prof and TAs about C and C++. Programs were to be written in C++, yet many example files had .c filenames. The Traffic in C++ project page showed the turnin command, listing only one file:

turnin -c cs107 -p program5 prog5.cpp

This implies that the entire program should be contained in a single file. I understand that BlueJ shielded everyone from the logistics of managing a multi-file project. Nevertheless, a project like program5 is really too big to write in one file. The examples provided (tictactoe) were apparently C++ programs, yet they were not object oriented.

I was offended by the lack of error checking in the example programs. Everyone who has used a modern personal computer for a significant amount of time is familiar with the frustrations of computer glitches and crashes. These problems persist today because of the lack of integrity of the programs that run our computers. Programs don't have to crash when they are fed incorrect data. I feel that a properly written program will gracefully handle any exceptional condition. A segmentation fault is NOT graceful.

I feel that learning to write correct programs is more important than learning to write incorrect programs. I feel that this class did not teach proper programming because it did not make error handling and code correctness part of the process of writing a program.

My lofty ideals for an Intro to Computer Programming class are probably out of reach for a class taught with Java. I would like to take an Intro to Computer Programming class that was taught with Scheme, using this textbook: http://htdp.org/

-Mike_L

Taking CS107 should be put off as long as possible by anyone who is not a CS or EECS major (like me and all my second year BioE people who have messed up their GPAs this semester). This class can easily get students to pull too much time away from classes they actually have a chance of passing. So the dominino effect begins and there are no communists to blame only a lousy grading policy that can turn your hard earned C into a D. I don't know what the point of taking the final was if missing a pair a programs can do that. I could have earned the same grade and had a lot more fun.
                                                  SUMMARY: CS107 + GPA BUILT ON ONLY ONE YEAR'S COURSE WORK = DISASTER.

This class was very challenging, but very helpful. I never though I will learn some much about programming during lectures but I did and that is thanks to frofessor Reed he is the best.

I do have tho said though is that this class was very hard, and time consumming, because even if you go to class and try to do all the samples you will still have to expend many, many, MANY hours in the lab. And as someone said before if you are trying to take this class and working and teking other classes, I don't think that you will do very good.

I think that the labs were not helpfull at all, you only wanted to go there to get the points, do the quizzes and that's it. When I start the class I though that we were going to take lab so that we could get help with programs assignments and to get help in things that were not very clear from class.

I agree with the student that said that Reed should assign some homeworks, short programs by week or something. Or another suggestion is to have more shorter programs and then have two or three major programs during the semester.

I think that the people that were able to do all the programs were students that had some programming experience but for some of us that have no experience this was almost imposible for some of those programs.

I really enjoy this class

Good luck to all the new students and to all the CS107 of this semester!!!

i agree with all who said this was a hard class, but i want to add that it was very helpful too. i never learned that much in a single class before, and i never enjoyed a class that much before.

okay, it was a little "hectic", time wise. we had 2 weeks to finish a program that we didnt know where to start from sometimes! and very few of us started on time.. if ur taking this class next semester, then start early! even if u think u dont need two weeks to finish it,, well,, finish early!!!! and also dont miss any classes,,, proff. Reed's lecture is very helpful, and at begining he might go over the basics so many times,, u feel confident that its okay to miss the class, but trust me , at the end of the semester .. u dont want to miss a single lecture!!

prof. Reed ..... one thing to keep in mind, some students dont work as hard as they r supposed to ,, some dont have the logic for programing ... dont waste weeks of lecture just because one or two students said we r absolutly lost...i think that program2 was doable with what u gave us before, and i really do believe that if u moved on with ur class schedual.. the class would have turned out to be better and could have learned more..

one last thing,, the labs we not at all helpful!! i think the labs should have something challenging,, not the very basics we cover in class! and working on a group means that only one third of the class did the work!!!

This class was too hard

I was dissappointed in the labs. I had hoped that they would be instructive, but they merely baffled and annoyed. It made no sense to be evaluated on our understanding of material that we had barely covered in class (I'm sure we all remember the linked-list lab). I would have preferred to have thirty minutes of instruction and demonstration at the beginning of the class, and then let loose on a practice problem or two.

The tests I found to be frustrating. Professor Reed would give a snippet of code and ask questions about it, such as "will this compile?" or "what is the output?" He would often leave out pieces off code that were implied to be present, such as replacing for(i=0;i<5;i++) with for( ; ;). He would also deliberately leave off "{}" braces or othe punctuation. This led to problems. This is an example from test 1:

int i=6;
        if (i>=3)
            if(i<5)
                System.out.print("inside if");
        else
            System.out.print("inside else");
        System.out.println("Done");

Because of his habit of leaving of punctuation, one could not be sure if the indentation was correct but braces were missing and implied to be present, or if he wanted us to evaluate the code as shown. Many (such as myself) guessed that the braces were implied to be there based on other test problems and were wrong. I feel that he should have left all punctuation in place so as to be fair.

Well I am glad Reed made this class as challenging as possible. Thanks to him i understand alot in programming. He pulled me kicking and screaming but i enjoyed it.

Professor Reed does attempt to keep the subject matter interesting. He remains professional and is willing to answer student questions after class and during office hours without making the student question the validity of his/her question. In class discussions help, but aren't enough.

Each student is warned in the beginning of the semester that practice is the only way to learn this skill of programming. True. I've never programmed before, so I guess the labs were suppose to give me the practical experience leading up to our programming assignments. Labs were almost a complete waste of time. I was either paired up with one of the geniuses that were frustrated with my lack of experience whom I would receieve all the lab points with, or I was paired with the other inexperienced programmers (it was nice to know I wasn't the only one struggling) and we'd be lucky to get a single point on the lab. (Labs grades were one to three points). Either way, after some time, lab students knew one another as a part of one group or the other. The "haves" stayed with the "haves", and we can all determine what happened to the "have-nots."

Questions to Reed: Why weren't we assigned small homework assignments every week? Eg. write a while loop or write a method that demonstrates what we covered in reading or in class that week. BlueJ was OK, but obviously wasn't enough. I imagine grading these assigments would be tedious, but we are paying quite a bit of money to learn what you claim to be able to instruct. Program 2 was a joke, and I remember going over the solution after it was released thinking that you didn't instruct us on some very fundamental portions of that program. Reed might actually believe he teaches us as if "we never touched a keyboard", but program 2 was simply unfair. Damaging especially to the new programmer who is attempting to build confidence with this new skill. Professor Reed, I appreciate that you are instructing a very difficult subject, but you have lost touch with the beginning programmer. Perhaps you need to keep a journal next semster. When you meet up with these new programmers, document their questions and feelings so that we can avoid these frustrations in the future.

NukeML's evaluations on the discussion board are dead on. I couldn't have said it any better.

New programmers: you have many challenges ahead. Strictly adhere to all the advice given on this forum. This class attempts to teach much more than most. It is design intensive. Good luck

A great class for those looking for a challenge in school work if they know they want some work to do during the semester, but for those taking a full load as is and trying to add on a couple extra credit hours DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. This is not a class for lightweights that are new to programming. If anything I suggest taking CS 100 if you are new to programming which takes you through certain aspects of programming before you get to the heavy stuff in CS 107.

The class was very challenging. If you take other classes and work take that into consideration some programs take between 30-40+ hours of work for a newbie. I came in knowing nothing about programming, but noew I feel confident about playing around with code.

Reed keeps the class interesting. The tes however are so tricky. It noty enough just to know the material you have to able to do it in your sleep.

You will learn a lot if you keep up.

May the griping begin!
The discussion board on Blackboard was not terribly helpful for answering tricky questions. Why?....

1. People who knew what they were doing had no need to use the board. This meant that some of the smarter folk were not replying to questions.

2. Many people understand the intricacies of Grade curving. If you can ensure that someone else will not do well, your own grade may go up. Because of this, some people would not post helpful information (though they knew the answer) for fear of jeopardizing their own grade (I know first hand that this occured).

3. Most people that posted questions and answers were typically those who had no clue what they were doing. A little like the blind leading the blind.

I'm not saying that the board was completely useless. Indeed some smart but charitable folk did post helpful (life saving?) information. For the most part, however, the programming elite abstained.

DO NOT wait until the last minute to start your programs!!!! Wait, let me say it again....DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO START YOUR PROGRAM!!!!!! Reading the assigned material will save you a lot of time consuming flipping through the book. Also, on a more personal level, you will get frustrated with this.....I can't tell you how many times I wanted to rip my hair out (ok....I know that's not very comforting to hear) but if you stick with it you will come out fine. I can't tell you how frustrated I got with this at certain times and how sure I was that I was going to fail but I am walking out of this class with a B because I didn't give up. (ok i know that sounds cliche but its the truth dammit!!)

Prof. Reed, I think that when you tell us to take a second or two to talk with the person sitting next to us that is a good idea, but if you split us into small groups and let us do that for longer it would help a lot. You know lots about programming so I think sometimes it is hard for you to know what we are confused about. I know that I learn much better when a classmate explains things to me, and when I explain things to someone else I reinforce the concept in my own head. But I also realize that there's not much class time to work with.......

I hate this class.

See? Now I'm anonymous.

It's really pretty easy, and it is completely anonymous! No need to sign up or register, just type away!

Welcome to the CS 107 evaluation and advice to future students page.

Please give any advice you might have to future students.
 
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