Does anyone in software engineering have any tips for preparingfor second year? I'm having a pretty boring summer anyway so I guess a little work done to make second year easier can't hurt.

I wouldn't mind trying to learn syntax for a new programming language or two, or even just doing some theory reading. Any suggestions?

I'm not in software eng nor management, but I can say this: Learn yourself some Ocaml. From what I've heard, the language sucks and is a pain in the ass. Also, learn some C, I guess, since you do have to work in C for a while next year.

Originally Posted by TheAxtmann

Does anyone in software engineering have any tips for preparingfor second year? I'm having a pretty boring summer anyway so I guess a little work done to make second year easier can't hurt.

I wouldn't mind trying to learn syntax for a new programming language or two, or even just doing some theory reading. Any suggestions?

hello fellow software student!
from what i have heard, it never hurts to learn new languages when you are in software engineering. we aren't taught much in terms of programming languages other than C or OCaml. If you would specifically want to prepare for next year, then you could get started on either of the two languages. From what I have heard, Dr. Farmer who generally teaches the course might not teach it again and therefore there might me some changes made to the course. Nevertheless, C is a very important language, so it would anyways be good to know.

C, Java, OCaml.

I, unlike most, liked OCaml. It was different from any language I've ever tried, but I really liked it.

Java is what you'll probably be using most past 2nd year (used it almost all the time in 3rd year classes).

Originally Posted by Kanishka

hello fellow software student!
...From what I have heard, Dr. Farmer who generally teaches the course might not teach it again and therefore there might me some changes made to the course...

Your right. Dr. Farmer is not teaching 2S03 this year (the course that I used OCaml heavily in) its going to be Dr. Qiao. So maybe you will not use OCaml next year??

Originally Posted by Colin

Your right. Dr. Farmer is not teaching 2S03 this year (the course that I used OCaml heavily in) its going to be Dr. Qiao. So maybe you will not use OCaml next year??

Dr. Qiao used Java when he taught compsci 1MD3. Maybe he'll use that.

Still, it would be good to learn some OCaml, especially if you've never used a functional programming language before.

I was looking forward to OCaml!

Safest thing to learn at this point - C. There is no way you're going to avoid C.

If you want to go even further, try C++ or objective-C.

Thanks for the tips guys. We did Java all through highschool so I'm familiar with it already. I'll definitely take a look at OCaml, never had any experience with functional languages.

Is syntax for C at all like C#? 1D04 was ridiculously easy because C# was almost identical to Java, which I used a lot through highschool.

Trust me, the highschool in Java is nothing like the java your gonna learn here. This is hardcore java, right from scratch.

C is nothing like C#, its not video. Infact, your output window will be the command promp. Grab a couple books on C and Java from the library and learn the basic. It will give you a good foundation.

Originally Posted by blackdragon

Trust me, the highschool in Java is nothing like the java your gonna learn here. This is hardcore java, right from scratch.

C is nothing like C#, its not video. Infact, your output window will be the command promp. Grab a couple books on C and Java from the library and learn the basic. It will give you a good foundation.

I think the high school thing is highly subjective. Some high schools actually do legit computer science. Also, in second year software, there is no hardcore programming (unless you call a linked list hardcore :p).

Also, C is very much like C# (C# is Microsoft's rip-off of Java, which had it's syntax pretty much stolen from C).

The main differences are all in how it internally works. Java and C# are essentially very pretty versions of C with a garbage collector in the background to clean up all your variables lacking reference. In C, you have to clean up all your unused crap yourself. This is where pointers come in, which in a way equate to declaring a variable without a value and then "pointing" it to somewhere in memory where you have declared memory for it.

It all makes a lot more sense after looking at some tutorials :p.

If he says Java in highschool was similar to C#, then thats not the Java hes gonna learn here. LL are fine, but when you get into some sorting algorithms, they can get kinda messy.

C# is visual, and C isnt. Thats basically it. The syntax is similar, but not the exact same.

I envy you guys who learned Java throughout High School. All I learned was Visual Basic 6.0 and even then it was really really simple things like making a true or false quiz or something hah.

Originally Posted by Colin

I envy you guys who learned Java throughout High School. All I learned was Visual Basic 6.0 and even then it was really really simple things like making a true or false quiz or something hah.

lol VB6. Ya, I used that too in high school. It wasn't until grade 12 that I got to touch Java.

C# is visual, and C isnt. Thats basically it.

I'm guessing if he's used Java he wouldn't be freaked out by the console of C. Most Java IDEs I've used have no form making tools... or at least only have a terrible hard-to-use one.

Originally Posted by Ownaginatios

lol VB6. Ya, I used that too in high school. It wasn't until grade 12 that I got to touch Java.


I'm guessing if he's used Java he wouldn't be freaked out by the console of C. Most Java IDEs I've used have no form making tools... or at least only have a terrible hard-to-use one.

Yeah. We used Netbeans.

Try that out and get used to it, would be very helpful for next yr