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Computer Science Through Science Omnibus.

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  • 19-10-2009 11:54am
    #1
    Fad
    Registered Users Posts: 7,231 ✭✭✭


    In previous year, was it the case that students doing the Omnibus Program learn a different language to the students in the denominated program?

    I had the omnibus program up higher on my CAO because I didnt know whether I'd like to do Computer Science or Chemistry (In the event I wound up in UCD, which I did) and at the time I had a fairly big interest in both.

    If it is possible for me to do a degree in this, why then, do UCD seem to be trying to impede me so dramatically?

    Processing is fine, it's interesting enough, but it really isnt as potentially useful as Java. And what annoys me even more is the fact that during the Peer Advisory meeting, I was told that the only difference between 10010 and 10110 was the code examples used, other than that, the two modules are fundamentally the same.......

    Anyway, has anyone on here done (Or are doing) computer science through science omnibus, and was your experience in anyway similar?


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    #2
    rainbow kirby
    Registered Users Posts: 26,928 ✭✭✭✭rainbow kirby


    This is the first year that they are teaching a different language to omnibus people, which I think is crazy because it impedes people like you so dramatically.

    I did the denominated CS course, but I transferred from Mathematical Science so my experience is different really.


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    #3
    RandomName2
    Registered Users Posts: 5,570 ✭✭✭RandomName2


    Fad wrote: »
    In previous year, was it the case that students doing the Omnibus Program learn a different language to the students in the denominated program?

    I had the omnibus program up higher on my CAO because I didnt know whether I'd like to do Computer Science or Chemistry (In the event I wound up in UCD, which I did) and at the time I had a fairly big interest in both.

    If it is possible for me to do a degree in this, why then, do UCD seem to be trying to impede me so dramatically?

    Processing is fine, it's interesting enough, but it really isnt as potentially useful as Java. And what annoys me even more is the fact that during the Peer Advisory meeting, I was told that the only difference between 10010 and 10110 was the code examples used, other than that, the two modules are fundamentally the same.......

    Anyway, has anyone on here done (Or are doing) computer science through science omnibus, and was your experience in anyway similar?

    Doing Comp Sci through Arts Omnibus (happy days!) :rolleyes:

    Are you sure processing is a different language to java? I thought processing was just the name of the program (and then java being the code used in it)

    Looking at CSIMoodle there doesn't appear to be any other courses which teach another programming language for Comp Sci.

    You should potentially be able to specialise in Comp Sci after the first year...

    I will be seriously pissed off if neither java nor C++ are taught on this course - make it a bloody waste of time if you ask me!


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    #4
    rainbow kirby
    Registered Users Posts: 26,928 ✭✭✭✭rainbow kirby


    COMP10110 - taught to denominated CS students by Fintan Costello - uses Java
    COMP10010 - taught to everyone else, seemingly - taught by Gianluca Pollastri

    RandomName - Processing is a separate language. It seems to be aimed at teaching basic programming concepts and at creative users more than anything else.


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    #5
    ravydavygravy
    Registered Users Posts: 545 ✭✭✭ravydavygravy


    See, heres the trick. It doesn't matter what language you learn. The important thing is the ideas behind programming - algorithms and data structures. In the real world, we use different languages for different jobs - IMHO, the mark of a bad developer is the guy who tries to shoehorn every program he writes into the single language/system that he is familiar with.

    AFAIK, this is the idea behind processing - abstract away from language specifics and learn how to program - it all gets translated to java in the background anyway. http://processing.org/reference/compare/java.html

    Once you understand the CONCEPTS you are learning (object-oriented design, iteration, recursion, gui programming, whatever...), you should find it relativily easy to translate this to any language. Thats what API referances are for. ;)


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    #6
    Fad
    Registered Users Posts: 7,231 ✭✭✭Fad


    My point is ! I miss out on all the technical stuff that I need to learn anyway and 2 I want to drop Biology next semester and take more computer science, I would like to take the Software Engineering Project, but it's Java based and clearly not processing based.......

    I have 35 credits next semester, so I just wont have time to learn an entire language on top of that......Hopefully 10020 will be Java but then I'd still be behind the rest of the ones in the Engineering module and that's just not fair to them!

    The lecturers reasoning behind Processing was, that it's easier, but I dont want to learn something that's easy and totally fúcking useless to me.....I'd rather be challenged and learn something that might actually be helpful (I like processing, but I will never use it after Uni).

    If I wanted to do things totally arseways I would have done computer science in trinity........


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    #7
    TDOie
    Registered Users Posts: 327 ✭✭TDOie


    Learn Java on your own then. Its not like basic java is hard. Also Software Engineering Project 1 isnt hard. If their doing Alice again if your anyway usefull @ computers then you should get an A+ witha bit of work and showing up.

    Talk to Joe Carthy.


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    #8
    RandomName2
    Registered Users Posts: 5,570 ✭✭✭RandomName2


    Are the lectures for Comp 10110 in ThA or B in the Sci building (or is it in the comp sci building?)


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    #9
    Fad
    Registered Users Posts: 7,231 ✭✭✭Fad


    TDOie wrote: »
    Learn Java on your own then. Its not like basic java is hard. Also Software Engineering Project 1 isnt hard. If their doing Alice again if your anyway usefull @ computers then you should get an A+ witha bit of work and showing up.

    Talk to Joe Carthy.

    But I have no time to learn Java now (2 jobs, getting rid of one before next semester, but I cant do that till after xmas) on top of the other stuff that I'm already behind on.
    RandomName2 wrote: »
    Are the lectures for Comp 10110 in ThA or B in the Sci building (or is it in the comp sci building?)

    10010 is in ThB, I assume they're at the same time, so not in ThB?


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    #10
    RandomName2
    Registered Users Posts: 5,570 ✭✭✭RandomName2


    Fad wrote: »

    10010 is in ThB, I assume they're at the same time, so not in ThB?

    God - you're right. I might skip a couple of lectures for 10010 though as I can get those lectures off CSIMoodle. This arrangement is the most ridiculous thing I have come across for a long while :rolleyes:


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    #11
    Raphael
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,880 ✭✭✭Raphael


    Fad wrote: »
    But I have no time to learn Java now (2 jobs, getting rid of one before next semester, but I cant do that till after xmas) on top of the other stuff that I'm already behind on.



    10010 is in ThB, I assume they're at the same time, so not in ThB?
    Then learn Java over the summer


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    #12
    Fad
    Registered Users Posts: 7,231 ✭✭✭Fad


    Raphael wrote: »
    Then learn Java over the summer

    Doesnt solve my issue about the software engineering project.......

    (I'm not looking for a solution, more highlighting the problem and seeing if it exists for anyone else)


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    #13
    ravydavygravy
    Registered Users Posts: 545 ✭✭✭ravydavygravy


    My point is that you don't need to learn java. You need to learn how to program. Any modern language can be used to teach you this. Raw Java isn't even a great choice (for example, look at how much Java code is required to read input from the keyboard, a common beginner chore.)

    A first year course needs to focus on basics, and not get bogged down in language-specific rubbish (of which java has loads) - thats why they use something like processing.

    I program every day, for a living, with various languages. 90% of the time, I don't even try to remember specifics of how to do things in each language. Need to read input from a file in Java, parse it and output it to a DB - just look up the class specifics online - the important thing is that I know the basics what I need to do (open the file, read it in line by line, break up the lines somehow, connect to a db, insert data into the db, etc...) - the language specifics are easy and quick to look up.

    I'd rather be a jack of many languages, than a master of one. You'll naturally gravitate to 2-3 languages over time anyway, and be good at them through practice. But its a mistake to fixate on a specific language in college.


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    #14
    Raphael
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,880 ✭✭✭Raphael


    Fad wrote: »
    Doesnt solve my issue about the software engineering project.......

    (I'm not looking for a solution, more highlighting the problem and seeing if it exists for anyone else)
    Last year the Software Engineering Project used Alice, not Java. So you should be ok.

    Also, for the record, I think it's very silly to have two different modules for denom and non-denom, presumably for the reason that Java is too hard for non denoms. Which is stupid, but I see no other reason they'd use the overly simple excuse for a program language that is Processing.


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