What Advice is There to Become a Successful CS Student?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around advice for becoming a successful computer science (CS) student, particularly focusing on challenges faced in programming courses and understanding assignments. Participants share their experiences and strategies related to programming, mathematics, and assignment comprehension.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses difficulty in understanding assignment prompts and seeks advice for improvement.
  • Another participant suggests that engaging with code and experimenting is crucial for learning programming effectively.
  • A participant mentions struggling with math problems related to CS and emphasizes the importance of practice.
  • One participant recommends writing programs for fun and suggests specific programming exercises to improve math skills.
  • Advice is given on systematically approaching assignments by breaking down the input, processing, and output requirements.
  • A participant shares the utility of maintaining a library of useful functions to streamline coding tasks.
  • Keeping a scratch pad for organizing thoughts during assignments is also suggested as a helpful strategy.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally share similar sentiments about the challenges of programming and the importance of practice, but there is no explicit consensus on the best strategies for improvement, as different approaches are suggested.

Contextual Notes

Participants' suggestions depend on individual learning styles and experiences, and the discussion does not resolve which methods are most effective for all students.

realism877
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I just finished my intro to programming course, and I have to take intro to C next spring. The first course was rough, but I got through it. The problem I have is reading an assignnment provided by the professor and understand what it is asking.

Any advice is there for improvement?
 
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I think you meant you didn't understand the reading. You should read and mess around with code you have. I have taken 2 programming classes so far and it is important to write out code and just mess with it until you get what you want.
 
Ivan92 said:
I think you meant you didn't understand the reading. You should read and mess around with code you have. I have taken 2 programming classes so far and it is important to write out code and just mess with it until you get what you want.

Yeah, I have a hard time understanding the math problems.
 
What kind of math problems? I'm studing CS, and it's rough at times, but you have to practise a lot. Write some programs for fun. :)

As for maths, I'm no expert, but you could try writing a program to solve some simple maths problems (like Euclid's GCD, or Pascal's Triangle)

C is good, I'm learning it myself (a few courses in now), it's a bit more tedious than say Java, for some things (like string processing) but you get the hang them. One thing I've found helpful is to keep a library (.h) file of useful functions that I write, so I can use them later (like clearing the input buffer, a linked list implementation, and various other things).

As for reading your assignment and understanding what's asked. Be systematic when you read it. Note down what your input data is, what format it's in, what variables you might need to store this data, then have a think about what processing is involved, how do I get from the input to the output, what kind of algorithm do you need, and how do I format my output - to the screen, or a file?

I keep a scratch pad handy when I'm nutting out an assignment, it helps me to organise my thoughts.
 
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