What is an intro computer science course like?

Question

What is an intro computer science course like?

Answer 1

all the intro courses I have taken have been C. I took a chem computing course that taught mathematica and fortran (haha).



the intro courses probably will not require you to know essentially any math at all.



you will probably have to write programs that will let you do something like: input the number of students in the class, input the grades for each student, then calculate the average (which is like 10-15 lines of C).



the goal of an intro class like that is not necessarily to get the programming right, its just to make you start thinking in that mode, introduce you to what you will be doing most of the time, and give you a feel for what its like to actually program.



dont worry too much about it. but also, yeah CS and CE go hand in hand with math.



you would be surpised how many applied math majors, physicists, engineers, etc had to quit there jobs doing science and start programming over the past 3 decades or so.

Answer 2

Day one:

http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Nebula/4156/infirmary/xeno/borg/assimilation.jpg

Midterm:

http://www.ussranger.co.uk/images/adventure/adventure-borg-alcove.jpg

Graduation:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2d/Regeneration_%28ENT_episode%29.jpg

Answer 3

This particular major is really difficult. I have a degree in it from UC Santa Barbara. You better find a good support group of like-minded individuals you can study with.



I spent most of my college experience studying-- or in the lab, compiling some code or another. It was heavily math based. Granted, math was not my favorite subject in high school. But it became my favorite in college only because everything else was so much more difficult (CS classes, electrical engineering, physics--electromagnetism, etc).



Also, there's not a lot of women who major in it. Or at least there weren't when I was taking it.



Despite the challenge, there is something extraordinarily good about it. It is probably one of the most practical majors you can take up. Not because it will help you understand computers better -- of course it will. That's just an aside.



It will help you organize your thoughts logically. Especially w/ object oriented design. To see things as objects with states and functions. And with this -- you will be able to conceive of systems. Programs. Machines.



If you are a visual learner -- you might be very good at this.

Answer 4

here are a couple of websites that will tell you what is required:

http://www.mathcs.moravian.edu/courses/cs/csprereqs.pdf

http://www.cs.uvm.edu/ugradinfo/curriculum/current/ba.html

hope that helps you some.

I didn't understand it, but I am not going into computer science.

Answer 5

It will likely be an introduction to a common programming language, such as Java or C++. You will probably begin with simple programs that print output to the screen, then move on to control structure (loops, if/then statements, etc.), mathematical operations, array operations, sorting algorithms, user input, and simple graphics.



If you are good at thinking logically, it should not be difficult. There will probably be terminology to memorize, though.

Answer 6

Well, I teach CS at the university level, including the first course for majors...and I've seen courses like this that range from little more than an introduction to computer applications to a full-blown programming course. What I would EXPECT is an introduction to computer hardware, architecture, operating systems, and programming in at least one high-level language like Java.



Computer Science (as opposed to, say, computer information systems or other degrees with "computer" in the name) has a lot of applied mathematics. If you enjoy math, you'll like CS. If you hate math, find another major.