Computer science/computing

elmoslattery

anyone doing either of these courses...

Looking in the prospectus and found these courses interesting.
I was just wondering what prior IT Knoledge you need before you go into the course.
I know how to use a computer but i dont know much about the technical side.Is that ok??

also,are there a lot of job prospects afterwards??


Thanks.

Vorr1k

No, you dont have to know much about computers going into it, But it does help.

As long as you work really hard youll be grand, just not in first year lol.

And as far as i know you stand as good a chance as any in getting a job after, moreso even because you have a skill you can use.

Creamy Goodness

as vorrik said.

you don't to know anything about computers but it will help if you can turn them on etc.

the course is easy doable if you have an interest in what's going on.

job wise at the moment is so so for Comp. Sci. jobs, companies are still hiring but now they are paying more attention to the experience of a graduate more so than ever. so it's difficult for grads atm to get a job i know i'm finding it difficult.

this however shouldn't be a deciding factor because in 5 years time (when you would be graduating if you do the course) things will be a lot different.

elmoslattery

Thanks

wolfric

To be honest, You should look into doing a bit before you come. (not that you'll actually need it for the course) but due to the amount of people who drop out you should make sure you know what exactly you'll be doing and enjoy it. About half the people stop coming after Christmas so it's said.

As for the actual course, some people will have bits and bobs already under their belt but the majority of the class are starting from scratch.

Why not go out there and see what you'll be getting into. IMO the open days for nearly ALL the colleges are complete crap. They tell you jack **** about what the course is like.

This is my programming lecturer - Have a look at the 2 links at the bottom.
http://www.comp.dit.ie/dmanley/programming.htm

Computer technology -
http://www.comp.dit.ie/asloan/DT211%20Comp%20Tech.htm

SoItsMe

The area of computing is fairly intense to study. I'm currently in the Computing course. The level of drop outs is very high. I'm not trying to put you off but it is honestly a case of you will love it or hate it there is no middle ground.

Have you any experience of computer programming at all? There are pleanty of resources online to have a look into it and try it out a little and see how you get on. They are doable as long as you are dedicated and keep onto of the work. Good Luck.

Creamy Goodness

i can still never get why some lecturers use such awful colour schemes on their websites. nearly had to don a pair of sunglasses there looking through that first link.

wolfric

well they're programmers not web designers and i suppose they're built for efficiency. They don't need something really flashy or professional OR something that's likely to have a computability issue with a browser or an OS.

To be honest though nobody would tell them otherwise as you really just want the notes and that's it. You wouldn't reject it based on it's appearance like you might with another website.

elmoslattery

This is my programming lecturer - Have a look at the 2 links at the bottom.
http://www.comp.dit.ie/dmanley/programming.htm

Computer technology -
http://www.comp.dit.ie/asloan/DT211%20Comp%20Tech.htm

had a look at some of the powerpoints. Looks like a lot of work but it hasnt put me off. I kind of expect a lot of work no matter what course i do.

I understood everything in the introduction powerpoint,but was lost after that.
cheers:D

SoItsMe wrote: »

There are pleanty of resources online to have a look into it and try it out a little and see how you get on.

Like what?

cheers:D

Alanstrainor

How C programming works.

Naikon

wolfric wrote: »

well they're programmers not web designers and i suppose they're built for efficiency. They don't need something really flashy or professional OR something that's likely to have a computability issue with a browser or an OS.

To be honest though nobody would tell them otherwise as you really just want the notes and that's it. You wouldn't reject it based on it's appearance like you might with another website.

+=1

When will the unwashed masses understand that flashy junk != efficiency?
Adobe flash could be the death of the web:P

I respect any lecturer that keeps to theKISS principle.
Beats having to put up with webcourses.

I can't even upload assignments from my pc using that piece of garbage.
The web is a pretty nasty place these days...

Creamy Goodness

ahh now i'm not talking about them integrating a fully fledged custom coded CMS to deliver notes.

just something that doesn't burn the old retinas would suffice ala. http://www.comp.dit.ie/dgordon/FYP/index.html it's nice and easy on the eye and it's a standardised dit template.

don't get me started on web courses naikon, i think ya know out of everyone how much i despise web courses and sungard email :pac:

Naikon

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

ahh now i'm not talking about them integrating a fully fledged custom coded CMS to deliver notes.

just something that doesn't burn the old retinas would suffice ala. http://www.comp.dit.ie/dgordon/FYP/index.html it's nice and easy on the eye and it's a standardised dit template.

don't get me started on web courses naikon, i think ya know out of everyone how much i despise web courses and sungard email :pac:

Not bad, a black background should help with the retina burning issues:pac:
Cool, you can't even visit the Coke website without flash:pac:

Creamy Goodness

don't get me started on flash, working on a site atm that they insist on a flash site but with the ability to mange the contents of it, real balls in a blender type of site.

Naikon

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

don't get me started on flash, working on a site atm that they insist on a flash site but with the ability to mange the contents of it, real balls in a blender type of site.

Adobe will soon haunt your dreams!
Without going too OT, what exactly do they need it for?

Creamy Goodness

they are a package design company, they design some box art and merchandise for ps3 and 360 releases.

they need flash to make it all design-y .

could be worse, i could be forced to use silverlight :pac:

Rb

elmoslattery wrote: »

Like what?

cheers:D

Click.

elmoslattery

Rb wrote: »

Click.

very funny!...



I know i could have googled it but im sure there are 1000s of websites with introduction to programing...could you reccomend one that you think would be directly related to the kind of stuff you think would be good to know for someone going into these couses...or would any site do???

thanks!

elmoslattery

Alanstrainor wrote: »

How C programming works.

looks good.....cheers

CrinkElite

I'm using this at the moment.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/beginner/cc305129.aspx

It's a link I got from the main browser in the Microsoft Visual C++ dev tool.

It's a full free ebook and I think it's been the most helpful of all the sources I've tried.

Naikon

I don't recommend it for total noobs, but this book is my authoritative reference on anything C: Click me

See, once you know the basics, this is the only book you will need.
I even consult this book for my C coding projects:cool:

Too bad I can't find as elegant a book on PHP spaghetti.
Make no mistakes, any serious C coder needs the K&R book.

wolfric

elmoslattery wrote: »

very funny!...
I know i could have googled it but im sure there are 1000s of websites with introduction to programing...could you reccomend one that you think would be directly related to the kind of stuff you think would be good to know for someone going into these couses...or would any site do???
thanks!

All of them. c is c. Look for an introduction and start there. If you see a page like this you should train yourself to think JACKPOT (not to mention the multitude of links using different words like , guide/tutorial/intro/beginners/noobs etc) not "oh god so many i don't know which i should pick so i just wont"
If you don't like looking at pages and pages of writing go to youtube and search the same thing. As an added bonus as you're writing your search terms youtube will offer suggestions that could be useful for you.

If you're looking for an introduction just look at the programming guides under my dmanley link. They aren't the best but those ARE the course.
Download a compiler like this and go to file and new and source file. Go to save as and in the file type drop down menu at the bottom chose c source file (NOT C++). Look up some basic code. Copy it in and compile it (execute menu up the top). Change it around and learn to your hearts content. For the course have a look at ANY programming language even if it's not being done. If you're genuinely interested in the topic why not learn something because you want to learn it not because you have to learn it for the course (which you don't anyway)
Found a youtube link for what i just said. First video i found on youtube (and just by accident)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b00HsZvg-V0

Naikon wrote: »

I don't recommend it for total noobs,

But the op is (in the sense of newbism not noobism) ....If he wasn't he probably wouldn't have asked for links.

Creamy Goodness

so many little things in that video that annoy me.

dev cpp is not a compiler for one.

dev cpp is not supported anymore and depreciated code blocks with mingw is best.

wolfric

Does it make a difference? yes it's just an ide for mingw but what difference does it make in the end. For a beginner it's an easy program that they can download that compiles ****. If we're being technical though he called it his "dev c++ compiler" like you'd call your "dell xpswhatever cpu"... The structure he used implying the compiler OF dev c++ . Yet if someone said "dell xpswhatever cpu" it's taken to be the cpu belonging to the dell model number not calling the dell a cpu.

Didn't know about not being supported any more (doesn't make sense with them having a beta still out and no news about it???) but does it really matter? First off you don't pay for it; second it's not an essential security package so it really doesn't need to be updated constantly and third even if it does have issues down the line they're not going to be for the simplistic code compilations. By the time they come up i'm sure he'd have enough knowledge to just get another one.