CS 61B Data Structures, Spring 2023 UC Berkeley • Hacker News Board

Re: CS 61B Data Structures, Spring 2023 UC Berkeley

#71

Post by dwrodri » Wed, May 17, 2023, 1:48 PM UTC

tylerhou wrote: post #64

dwrodri wrote: post #62

Has anyone had any success using course pages like this for guiding their FAANG interview prep? thinking about trying some of these projects to refresh my brain for an upcoming interview.

I wouldn’t do 61B projects to learn how to interview; they aren’t too relevant because they focus more on writing software rather than data structures (and aren’t of the greatest quality IMO). The lectures on heaps, arrays, linked lists, and MST are worth reviewing. Also, I would try implementing each DS/A from scratch, and do Leetcode to brush up. If you want to learn algorithms super well, then do the first half of…

Thanks for the advice!

Re: CS 61B Data Structures, Spring 2023 UC Berkeley

#72

Post by kobiguru » Wed, May 17, 2023, 2:51 PM UTC

pamelafox wrote: post #66

alex_lav wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve been curious for a while now, if anyone’s had success completing these courses via YouTube or open courseware or whatever, and citing them as a proxy to an actual undergrad degree on a resume. The content seems great, and other than, I guess, interaction with professors and other students, I’m unsure what the difference would be in outcomes?

For the full CS61A course experience, you would want to do the assignments and even try the exams, which are fairly difficult (they are the grade differentiator, for the most part). I wrote up a post about how to audit 61A as an external learner: http://blog.pamelafox.org/2022/07/how-to-audit-cs61a.html (I taught it for a few semesters)

Thank you for this blog post. I have been trying to audit it on my own and always got stuck on the assignments.

Re: CS 61B Data Structures, Spring 2023 UC Berkeley

#73

Post by slyrus » Wed, May 17, 2023, 5:40 PM UTC

er4hn wrote: post #56

slyrus wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I took this so many years ago I can't remember who taught it. Paul Hilfinger maybe? Microvax assembly language was a big part of the course, IIRC.

A dead assembly language sounds like a Hilfinger thing. Taking 61B with him was an experience. He started by asking us to look to our left and to our right. He told us that one of us would not make it to the end of the class, with pride in his voice. He was right about that. In his defense he would also work very long hours answering emails from students. The night before projects were due he would hang out in his of…

And it wasn't quite dead back then. '89 maybe? Dying, but not yet dead.

Re: CS 61B Data Structures, Spring 2023 UC Berkeley

#74

Post by ericjmorey » Wed, May 17, 2023, 8:28 PM UTC

blagie wrote: post #33

ericjmorey wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand what your question is? How is the 2023 course material taught at UC Berkeley being publicly accessible not exactly the thing you're asking about?

I'll simplify. In 2023, there are much more effective ways to teach computer science than tossing lecture videos up on a web site with homework assignments. MIT pioneered that in the nineties with OCW. It was a good idea at the time. Now, we have ways of doing online learning which are an order of magnitude more engaging, and lead to much better learning outcomes. I would never use the Berkeley stuff with kids. I mig…

> Now, we have ways of doing online learning which are an order of magnitude more engaging, and lead to much better learning outcomes.

I'm not sure that's true.

> I would never use the Berkeley stuff with kids. I might use it to help inspire what I do with kids. I would use many of the more animated, interactive things with kids, if available.

You want to teach Data Structures and Algorithms theory to kids? With the exception of the most capable kids, I don't think that's realistic in any format.

Re: CS 61B Data Structures, Spring 2023 UC Berkeley

#75

Post by extasia » Thu, May 18, 2023, 9:22 AM UTC

mdaniel wrote: post #42

Wow, good for them teaching software engineering, and A++++ for the Ousterhout book https://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Software-Design-John-Ouste... >; I wish everyone would read it

Probably the software book that has influenced my practice the most. Fantastic writing, and not too long either.

Re: CS 61B Data Structures, Spring 2023 UC Berkeley

#76

Post by wayne-li2 » Thu, May 25, 2023, 7:52 AM UTC

blagie wrote: post #70

wayne-li2 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi, I used to TA for 61B. This isn’t an online course though. You’ll notice a small detail at the top “245 Li Ka Shing” which is the lecture hall used. Granted most students don’t attend because the lectures are diligently posted online on the website. What’s not captured on the website are twice a week discussion small groups where one TA to 20-30 students work through problems in a group setting. There’s a lot of c…

I got that, and it's great that it's public. That has a lot of impact, a lot of it auxiliary. The key question is suitability-to-purpose. Without the small group work and the collaboration, a web site like this isn't what I'd like to point strangers on the internet wanting to learn algorithms. Without that, something more is needed. Two decades ago, we were figuring out what that "something more" ought to be so learn…

That’s fair. I don’t think our 61B is optimized for public consumption nor is it designed to do so. I would not recommend learning DS by just watching the lectures posted on this website. But making this website public gives people at least the option, even if it is subpar. So I think we’re in agreement here!