Trash hated it dont do unless you have to

it was interesting I guess? but as an introductory class, this was unimaginably hard for someone like him with no history of coding whatsoever. the only 'intro' was probably only the first three weeks max, afterwards it was just.... blood and tears, and tbh it does not teach anything on intro-level??? most of my classmates had prior knowledge of coding, and they are taking this as an elective, as for me, it was mandatory and I have no knowledge regarding python or coding in general. my tutors were kinda fun to be with and easy to talk to and was very responsive in answering questions regarding the assignments. The assignment was very hard to be done with, especially for someone like me with no prior knowledge. When I was doing this there was an exam hurdle and I didn't pass it... didn't wanna retook the exam again cause it was just too much for me to do codes and all within the time limit. I heard now they don't have a final exam? just another added assignment? anyways, this class Is best to take when you have some experience and knowledge regarding python.

Probably the best introduction to programming/algorithms you can get with zero background knowledge and no prereqs. The focus on the mindset behind algorithmic thinking is prime and the lectures/lecturer reflects that. If you attempt this unit with the approach of "doing the minimum work required" then you're going to struggle. The lectures can be dry and will not make sense if you're not familiar with the past weeks' content. The unit builds from the ground up, so your foundations need to be solid to understand the advanced concepts. Sheer experimentation and practice of problem-solving is the only way to solidify your knowledge and thus your ability to do well in the class. The one thing I didn't like was they required us to memorize definitions for the final exam which was quite funny I found. You had this whole unit based on problem-solving and thought processes that were exempt from memorization, but a portion of marks available were for sheer memorization. For comparison, everything that didn't require memorization has stuck with me since the unit, and the definitions have gone from my memory.

I'm giving this a 5 star rating because I personally loved this unit all things considered. Depending on whether or not you had prior experience with programming, this unit can be quite challenging. It's the kind of unit where if you know what you're doing — you'd be able to do the assignments and lab tasks in less than a day. If you're new to programming, though, expect to spend hours revisiting lecture notes, consultation classes, and online resources. I think as long as you have an interest in learning how to use the python programming language, you will be pleased with this unit. It teaches you the basic building blocks of programming better than any other introductory units. I'll admit the lectures were not the most interesting and motivating, and I did skip a few lectures to just read the content online later, as there are a lot of documentations online about python. My take on this unit is that even if you are taking this unit as a compulsory unit and only want to pass this unit, if you spend the required time for this unit as recommended per the unit guide, you'll be able to do all the assessment requirements.

If you've had no prior experience with algorithms or programming, this unit will be quite intense and difficult. It requires spending a lot of time working on assignments and learning content, especially because the lectures aren't great and confusing. It can be especially hard for coding beginners since you pretty much have to learn python from scratch on your own (basics of python were only covered for two weeks). If you're thinking about doing this unit or have to take it, I would highly recommend learning python before the semester starts (codeacademy has a good introductory course) as this will save you a lot of time with assignments, and allow you to focus more on learning the content. Overall it's a good unit, but definitely not an easy bludge first year unit.

This subject is by far the most poorly pieced together subject I have ever studied. The lectures, which are made quasi-compulsory, were painful to sit through. The lecturer often rocked up late, did not seem to have even looked at the slides before the lecture and would ramble on in barely coherent speech for 10 minutes in an unsuccessful attempt to explain a concept, before simply saying "is it clear?" and repeating the process. This would be less of an issue if the only real resource for this unit weren't these lectures and the incredibly vague and poorly put together slides. Once you go online and watch competent people explain the same concepts you realise how badly this unit is taught. If you are not an IT or computer science student, seriously save yourself the pain and frustration.

If you have had prior experience programming then this subject will be a breeze in terms of content, however painful the lectures may be to sit through. If you have had little to no prior experience but an interest to learn then you may enjoy the subject. The assignments were time consuming, beware of spending too much time on coding and not enough time learning the actual content.

This was one of the worst units I ever taken. I came into the unit with no programming background which made things hard but the way they taught everything made me loose my mind. It was extremely stressful as my other units were time consuming too. If you are thinking of doing some hard units along with this unit then its going to give you sleepless nights. The professor used to ramble and made everything confusing. The contact hours are 6 but if you go to PASS as well as consulations then its extremely time consuming. I regret taking this unit without learning programming before. If this is not a core unit then avoid taking it.

Assignments take a ridiculous amount of hours (had no programming experience before this unit), skipped most tutorials a lot of it felt like fluff I just skimmed the solutions and to understand them, lectures were meh but had compulsory participation through MARS quizzes. Exam was straightforward but if this isn't a core unit you should avoid it.

Would not suggest if you have never coded before. Horrible lectures, useless tutorials and assignments which take countless hours (for only 10% of your grade).