CSC104SLOG233

Eason Yang, a csc104 student in U of T

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HW by Dec 6th

Well,

many finals are coming up one by one. tons of pressure on me.

Probably last post on this blog ; <

I have to say, CSC104 is over my expectation. 

At first, I regarded it as a very simple course (as easy as writing down read(? ) and then writteln(?)). And at the very beginning of the semester, it was very easy. So I did not treat it seriously. 

but later on, I found out that this course was becoming more and more interesting. I learned big bang function, pixels functions, etc. I have posted some of my achievement in my previous posts. ; >

Yah, time flies by, I became a veteran in CSC104 now. So it is time for me to summarize some tricks to do well in this course.

I think I did not bad in this course. I got 93 in tt1 and 92 in tt2. I got 97 in the first group project. (I have not got my final and group project 2 grades yet) I have some suggestions for how to do well in CSC104

As for studying, there are in-class and after-class tricks:

In class:

     1. take notes of contents covered in class (e.g. decimal to binary expression)

     2. ask questions frequently. do not feel shamed of asking your TAs, professor and peers. this course is not that easy

     3. ask your self questions to test whether you have acquired these knowledges.

After class:

     1. do practices(tut practices, past tests, group project, etc.)

     2. read your notes frequently. You know, humans are oblivious. REMIND YOU OF FUNTIONS AND ＨＯＷ THEY WORK EVERYDAY

Regarding how to design a function, there are several steps:

     1. Mimic professor’s example in class(E.g.You can do Leprechaun practice yourself again after class)

     2 .Keep practicing tut questions. They can help you acquainted with those complicated functions and recursions.

     3. Read your group project. Group projects are very long. Understand them can help you build up programming skills.

In terms of preparation for class, there is no need to prepare for this course in advance. What you should do is just participating in every tut and lecture and keeping practicing. Then you will be fine.

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Ongoing journey in CSC104 (DDL OCT 27th)

This is a post after midterm... Sorry for the late update

Time flies by, its almost the end of October right now. I tried hard to review for all tests, including CSC104. I did get 94% in midterm. Not bad but not pleasing... : ( Maybe I am too confident about my test so that I do not double check my answers. Prudence is the key to perfection. 

How are you preparing for the quizzes/tests?

Anyway, I did review for my quizzes and tests. I jotted down some key points of how to use functions and their inputs & outputs in class and I kept practicing them through DRRACKET. Practice makes perfect. Stick to the stuff I have learnt in class and keep them in mind. That’s the best way to be well-prepared.

Are there any images you've made, or even functions to create images, that you enjoyed or are proud of? 

Honestly, at first I never thought of any possibilities to implement recursion in DRRACKET. But after I learned conditional clauses, recursion can be achieved. The doge image above is a simple application of recursion. AND ITS SO AMAZING!

MORE AWESOME PICS

Are there things you initially found hard or intimidating, but now understand? How did you get to that point? It is a challenge for me to do programming without using something like “ Assign b to a ”, “for i：=1 to j” etc. But it is like a different kind of challenge for me: focus more on computational thinking rather than relying on convenient functions and signs. I guess this is what CSC104 is designed for. 

Would you like to ask questions in tutorial, the CSC104 TA office hours, the general CS Help Center hours, or on Piazza, but have trouble doing so? What could make that easier for you? 

Of course I will do ask questions about everything I cannot handle. But honestly, I think professor is trying to make everything crystal clear. So far I am not in trouble yet. But, anyway, there are some recommendations for easier communication between students and diligent TA:

1. Use online forum

2. Post more exercise questions for students

After midterm, I am in a brand-new start-point. More work need to be done. Never settle and never give up.

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Interesting Topic 2

 Sorry for delaying this one... I had so many tests these days and those truly disappointed me...

Last time I briefly introduced AI (Artificial Intelligence). Today I am going to cover a hot spot nowadays - VR (Virtual Reality).

Virtual reality (VR) is a computer technology that uses virtual reality headsets, sometimes in combination with physical spaces or multi-projected environments, to generate realistic images, sounds and other sensations that simulate a user's physical presence in a virtual or imaginary environment. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_reality#History

To summarize, VR lets users to experience virtual world by using headsets. Before I start to judge on VR, I want to show some interesting history about VR.

                                           ↑ VR attempt before the 1950s

In the early ages, the idea that “illusion was not distinct from reality” had emerged to be first try as the image above displayed. However, due to limited technology, this was like a television on head. JAJAJAJA

Around 1980s, the embryo of modern VR headset came out. It was portable and maximized the imagery experience.

↑Playstation VR headset in 2015

VR nowadays has related to video games. Like one of the most famous one “ Resident Evil 7 - bio hazard”, many players accrue the tremendous success of this game to the implementation of VR headsets.

So far VR has many shinning achievements. It is worth compliment though. Nevertheless, personally I am still not satisfied with the status quo.

A successful VR should match with these features:

Low cost; better relation with sensations; better hardware to handle with mass data

I think a possible future template can be the one in Sword Art Online, an Japanese anime.

Anyhow, VR is on the right track. Anchors away, and let’s sail!

[csc104slog233-blog]

Interesting Topic 1

Are there any specific Computer Science topics you're interested in?

These are the topics I pay attention to so far, and I will take time to post my personal views toward these topics:

Artificial Intelligence(AI)

“Artificial intelligence (AI, also machine intelligence, MI) is apparently intelligent behaviour by machines, rather than the natural intelligence (NI) of humans and other animals. “ - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence

Right now , the AI we alluded to is most about Artificial automation, which enables machines to control a series of machines, equipment or programs without human operation. Though AI application is controversial (Some might think AI might act like the ones in “The Matrix”), in my opinion, AI has not reached the level of Artificial Creativity, which makes machines capable of human-level creativity. Plus, shut-down programs can be inserted into the core database of AI, like “Anti-human activities are forbidden, if so, then shut down the system”.

But AI is a very interesting approach in this era. To imitate the sophisticated nature of human brain, machines have to be very delicate and extraordinary. Maybe it will bring us with breakthroughs in all walks of life; or maybe not. But it is like the time in the Industrious Revolution: human beings were always afraid of unknown. Personally, I expect AI can be “the big bang” in 21st century.

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My journey in CSC104

Why did you choose CSC104? What do you hope to get out of the course?

What did you expect programming to be like, and how does it compare with your experience in the course so far? (If you programmed before, how is programming in this course similar, and how is it different?)

Before I started my school life, I admitted that one of the reason I chose CSC104 was I heard the fact that this course was “lucrative” - Easy for students to get high scores. Intimidating by so-called “University of tears” , I enrolled in csc104 during my summer vacation. 

The other reason that made me to do so during summer is motivated by my programming experience. I have learned pascal(A kind of programming language) before, so I am acquainted with programming to some extent. Therefore, I did believe in my capabilities of doing well in this course.

However, after I truly acted as one of the bustling students in U of T, it is a different story to me.

When I first sat in the first row in CSC104 lecture, I was excited and a little bit arrogant (A little bit embarrassed to mention this). Professor was a very nice man in my first impression- he always talked in a neither slow or fast manner, paused to ask students questions to make sure everybody catching him and always smiled. That truly made my class experience very good. 

What do you nd interesting so far?

But, the first time I found this course interesting was about Leprechaun Project- the one required students to shift parts of the pic to make a new pic. 

↑ my first try in definition area

When I first saw my professor tried it on the big screen, I was shocked and then burst into laugh. The programming I did before could not deal with these kinds of datatype. It really pushed me to keep trying after class again and again.

What do you find hard so far? Is the course easier or harder than you expected? How did you study for the quizzes? Are you satisfied with your performance on them; if not, what do you plan to change?

Though I learn in a great fun so far, everything become harder than my expectations when coming to quizzes. I need to recite function names and the way they work; I pay a lot of attention to “Steps” of every expressions; Notebooks are always full of tips. It is easy to understand the theory base of this programming language, but the toughest thing is that I need to keep every detail of this language in mind so that I won’t do bad in my quizzes. 

CSC104 is not that easy, but is not that complicated. Just like my professor commented, “Try everything and Play around”