Anyone doing Computer Science?

Jako8

the following course

http://www.tcd.ie/courses/undergraduate/az/course.php?id=64

basically is there anyone doing the computer science course?

If so would you mind telling me about it. I am thinking of becoming a programmer and I heard C++ is covered.

any help is appreciated.

Do a quick search for Computer Science on this forum, you'll get some previous responses to this question

Boston

If you actually had computer science in the title you'd get more people replying.

/mod powers abused.

tabouli

I'm currently in first year Computer Science, it's good enough so far. Haven't seen any C++ yet (mainly Java), but it could be on it's way, maybe in second or third year, not quite sure though.

Anyway, if you've any more specific questions feel free to ask, although as a previous poster pointed out there've been a few similar threads before. General course information about the modules and stuff can be found here.

tolosenc

I'm a CSLL, which is not quite the same thing. JC, Nehpets, and karlr are the CS students in my year who have been seen here, there are also a few others.

I did/do the programming and maths components. Programming is Java for 1st year, and 2nd year is Java, Eiffel, C and C++.

I mean, if you want to be a programmer, CS is the only course you should be thinking of.

Stev_o

Is it any good? Out of all the colleges running it do you think from your own experinces and hearing from others that TCD is better?

Mark200

I'm in first year and it's pretty good so far. As said, we only do Java in first year and then C++ is covered later on in the course.

If you do physics and you're good at it then that'd be a plus. That's probably the part I struggle most with so far.

I have a friend doing Computer Applications in DCU and he seems to like it. It's a lot easier to get into that course though (300 points and C3 in ordinary level maths), so while you might be quite able to do the course your classes could be held back my people who really shouldn't be there.

ZWEI_VIER_ZWEI

If you do physics and you're good at it then that'd be a plus. That's probably the part I struggle most with so far.

Maybe just to clarify, none of that Electrotech stuff will show up in later years, so if you don't have Physics, you might struggle a bit with one class (of six) in first year, but you won't have anything more to worry about than anyone else in the rest of the course (i.e. the years that matter).

Epic Tissue

Check out http://www.scss.tcd.ie/courses/ba/prospective/ if you haven't already. You can click on current students too and check out the subjects for all the years.

Jako8

Thanks for all the help guys



And I do physics

MrDrifter

Hey im thinking of it too, went up to the open day and felt kinda disappointed at how I was treated. Basically, is there any reason I should choose CS here rather than say mathematics? Honestly now. Im not sure what I want to do, (during uni or after) and I want to be competent enough in computers (programming and modelling)but also to ahve a strong background in maths too.

like, how much maths do you guys do?

Jako8

MrDrifter wrote: »

Hey im thinking of it too, went up to the open day and felt kinda disappointed at how I was treated. Basically, is there any reason I should choose CS here rather than say mathematics? Honestly now. Im not sure what I want to do, (during uni or after) and I want to be competent enough in computers (programming and modelling)but also to ahve a strong background in maths too.

like, how much maths do you guys do?

Just out of interest, how were you treated? and who treated you this way?

MrDrifter

Jako8 wrote: »

Just out of interest, how were you treated? and who treated you this way?

Found that there was a "we don't need you, you need us" attitude from anyone I talked to. granted the computer science guy was relaly really dead on, but he didnt answer any of the questions I asked him, kinda steered around them.
Talked to a PostGrad student about mathematics, and he was a bit of a **** about it, basically told me that Trinity was too good for me.

Jako8

MrDrifter wrote: »

Found that there was a "we don't need you, you need us" attitude from anyone I talked to. granted the computer science guy was relaly really dead on, but he didnt answer any of the questions I asked him, kinda steered around them.
Talked to a PostGrad student about mathematics, and he was a bit of a **** about it, basically told me that Trinity was too good for me.

That sucks

Dongasaurus

I wouldn't and couldn't recommend CS.

Dongasaurus

MrDrifter wrote: »

Found that there was a "we don't need you, you need us" attitude from anyone I talked to. granted the computer science guy was relaly really dead on, but he didnt answer any of the questions I asked him, kinda steered around them.
Talked to a PostGrad student about mathematics, and he was a bit of a **** about it, basically told me that Trinity was too good for me.

Was the person you were talking to ginge?

tabouli

Dongasaurus wrote: »

I wouldn't and couldn't recommend CS.

That's a bit harsh. What are you basing your opinion on?

Dongasaurus

tabouli wrote: »

That's a bit harsh. What are you basing your opinion on?

Currently 2 and a half years of the course. 3rd year is the straw that broke the camels back.

Señor Juárez

Dongasaurus wrote: »

Currently 2 and a half years of the course. 3rd year is the straw that broke the camels back.

What are you talking about, you haven't done any work this year.

Stev_o

Im in a bit of dilemma here that i need help with. TCD says for CS you need a "C3 in Higher Level Leaving Certificate Mathematics (or equivalent)" Does that mean that entry requirments are a C3 in HL Maths or a A1 in OL Maths?? I am doing HL maths at the moment but am thinking to dropping to past as my results are just consistently D2's etc

Dongasaurus

Señor Juárez wrote: »

What are you talking about, you haven't done any work this year.

And that's CS's fault.

Stev_o

Stev_o wrote: »

Im in a bit of dilemma here that i need help with. TCD says for CS you need a "C3 in Higher Level Leaving Certificate Mathematics (or equivalent)" Does that mean that entry requirments are a C3 in HL Maths or a A1 in OL Maths?? I am doing HL maths at the moment but am thinking to dropping to past as my results are just consistently D2's etc

By 'equivalent' I'm pretty sure they're referring to other end-of-school exams like the A-Levels. So it'd be C3 in HL LC Maths.

Stev_o

Myth wrote: »

By 'equivalent' I'm pretty sure they're referring to other end-of-school exams like the A-Levels. So it'd be C3 in HL LC Maths.

Sh*t =/ Why cant TCD have a more informative website like UCD's one its like drawing blood from a stone to find what requirements are needed and the points requirements arent even displayed. Oh well looks like it ll be CS in UCD then =/

Dongasaurus

Stev_o wrote: »

Sh*t =/ Why cant TCD have a more informative website like UCD's one its like drawing blood from a stone to find what requirements are needed and the points requirements arent even displayed. Oh well looks like it ll be CS in UCD then =/

As the points change every year and the course page never changes it's pretty intelligent web design.

Also, it's a terrible idea to choose courses based on points. The whole idea of the CAO is to give you the course you prefer most. You shouldn't put medecine top of your CAO if you don't want to do it, since you COULD get 600 points, get offered medecine (which you don't want), and not be able to choose a lower course in your order of preference.

Mark200

Stev_o wrote: »

Sh*t =/ Why cant TCD have a more informative website like UCD's one its like drawing blood from a stone to find what requirements are needed and the points requirements arent even displayed. Oh well looks like it ll be CS in UCD then =/

http://www.tcd.ie/courses/content/pdf/undergraduate-prospectus-2009.pdf

There

Entry requirements and last year's points for every course

PurpleFistMixer

Also, qualifax.ie has such information on it for all courses (not just TCD).

snappieT

tabouli wrote: »

I'm currently in first year Computer Science, it's good enough so far. Haven't seen any C++ yet (mainly Java), but it could be on it's way, maybe in second or third year, not quite sure though.

You'll start C & C++ in second year, along with more advanced java topics, and an introduction to eiffel.

Mark200 wrote: »

If you do physics and you're good at it then that'd be a plus. That's probably the part I struggle most with so far.

As mark said, this is only one module in first year. The physics dies off quite rapidly after that. You still do mathsy subjects, programming, software engineering, hardware & group programming projects.

MrDrifter wrote: »

Hey im thinking of it too, went up to the open day and felt kinda disappointed at how I was treated.

MrDrifter wrote: »

Found that there was a "we don't need you, you need us" attitude from anyone I talked to. granted the computer science guy was relaly really dead on, but he didnt answer any of the questions I asked him, kinda steered around them.
Talked to a PostGrad student about mathematics, and he was a bit of a **** about it, basically told me that Trinity was too good for me.

To clarify, were you disappointed on the whole, or was it in particular with computer science or maths? I was working the open day on the computer science stand, and I did one of the lab tours. I would really really hope I didn't steer anyone away from the course.

If you feel any of your questions were left unanswered, here is the ideal place to ask, and I will gladly help you make your decision. (I'm in final year of Computer Science)

MrDrifter

snappieT wrote: »

To clarify, were you disappointed on the whole, or was it in particular with computer science or maths? I was working the open day on the computer science stand, and I did one of the lab tours. I would really really hope I didn't steer anyone away from the course.

it was more of the general attitude of people there. there was an air of "we're better than you so just accept it, we dont need you"
It wasn't anyone in particular. I didnt do the lab tour, I managed to mix up my times somehow and showed up at the wrong time and was under pressure for time to get back to waterford. But I just felt that alot of my questions were half answered.
The main worry I have is that Im interested in maths, computers and how stuff works in general, so I've been thinking along the lines of engineering, maths or CS in trinity or UCD. I'm an indecisive person at the best of times, but my fear is that Ill do Computer science and realise halfway through my 3rd year that I want to be a civil engineer, or if I do engineering that I'll realise halfway through that I want to be a programmer/debugger or something. I know its a choice everyon ahs to make but Im trying to do this properly first time around.

One of the biggest questions I had was how much maths is there in the computer science course? I dont want to be left with no maths at all like if you get me.....


And thanks for your help by the way.

Mark200

MrDrifter wrote: »

it was more of the general attitude of people there. there was an air of "we're better than you so just accept it, we dont need you"
It wasn't anyone in particular. I didnt do the lab tour, I managed to mix up my times somehow and showed up at the wrong time and was under pressure for time to get back to waterford. But I just felt that alot of my questions were half answered.
The main worry I have is that Im interested in maths, computers and how stuff works in general, so I've been thinking along the lines of engineering, maths or CS in trinity or UCD. I'm an indecisive person at the best of times, but my fear is that Ill do Computer science and realise halfway through my 3rd year that I want to be a civil engineer, or if I do engineering that I'll realise halfway through that I want to be a programmer/debugger or something. I know its a choice everyon ahs to make but Im trying to do this properly first time around.

One of the biggest questions I had was how much maths is there in the computer science course? I dont want to be left with no maths at all like if you get me.....


And thanks for your help by the way.

I'm in maths now. You definitely won't be left with no maths. So far this year we've done matrics (more than just the 2 x 2 stuff we did for LC) and more integration. What we're doing right now is sequences and series, and soon we'll be starting logic which apparently is nothing like anything we've done before.

So yeah, in summary don't worry at all about not getting any maths

thebossanova

MrDrifter wrote: »

it was more of the general attitude of people there. there was an air of "we're better than you so just accept it, we dont need you"
It wasn't anyone in particular. I didnt do the lab tour, I managed to mix up my times somehow and showed up at the wrong time and was under pressure for time to get back to waterford. But I just felt that alot of my questions were half answered.
The main worry I have is that Im interested in maths, computers and how stuff works in general, so I've been thinking along the lines of engineering, maths or CS in trinity or UCD. I'm an indecisive person at the best of times, but my fear is that Ill do Computer science and realise halfway through my 3rd year that I want to be a civil engineer, or if I do engineering that I'll realise halfway through that I want to be a programmer/debugger or something. I know its a choice everyon ahs to make but Im trying to do this properly first time around.

One of the biggest questions I had was how much maths is there in the computer science course? I dont want to be left with no maths at all like if you get me.....


And thanks for your help by the way.

I'd probably recommend Engineering in Trinity then for you. 2 maths classes a year, and you get a maths degree on top of your engineering degree. It's common for the 1st 2 years combining lots of disciplines so at the end of 2nd year you can decide whether you want to do Computer Engineering or be a Civil engineer etc... they do programming in C++ in 1st and 2nd year, but it's not done in as much detail as if you were doing CS. I'm in CS now and it's a good course if you put the work in and are interested in the material. Don't be put off by the know it all nay sayers above! There's one or two dodgy lecturers/courses in CS but you get that no matter what you do.

snappieT

2BA1 is the hardest maths course in CS, the course page (including notes) is here: http://www.maths.tcd.ie/~dwilkins/Courses/2BA1/

If you find that easy, and you want to be challenged in maths, then CS may not be for you.

You have to remember that those manning the open day are people in the courses they are studying. I can tell you all about CS, but not very much about maths, and I certainly can't contrast them for you. TBH, it sounds like engineering could be a good path for you.

MrDrifter

Okay, so reading thruough these things (took a look at that 2BA1, Im handyt enough at the induction things, but some of the other problems I havent a clue how to go about them.) Im not looking to be challenged for maths REALLY, I mean, Im quite used to breezing through it (although I should probably put more work into it for the A this year) but still, I just want to know that Ill have something to fall back on if I dont want to do programming. Looking at careers as trader/broker, Programmer or maybe some sort of computer modelling, and not too sure where I should be loking for it ( I know ts kind of off topic but dont know where else to go I emailed whatever address was given on the site, and tehy said the new website would be up shortly and that I could consult that for any questions I may have)

Morgase

thebossanova wrote: »

I'd probably recommend Engineering in Trinity then for you. 2 maths classes a year, and you get a maths degree on top of your engineering degree. It's common for the 1st 2 years combining lots of disciplines so at the end of 2nd year you can decide whether you want to do Computer Engineering or be a Civil engineer etc... they do programming in C++ in 1st and 2nd year, but it's not done in as much detail as if you were doing CS. I'm in CS now and it's a good course if you put the work in and are interested in the material. Don't be put off by the know it all nay sayers above! There's one or two dodgy lecturers/courses in CS but you get that no matter what you do.

Mr Drifter, I agree with the above in that Engineering in TCD is a good course. I did it myself (graduated in 2003) and went down the Civils route in third year, although you might prefer the Computers or Electronics routes.

The maths was interesting (however I think it's officially a general arts degree you get rather than a maths degree - you can still teach second level maths with your TCD Engineering qualification though!)

We did C++ and Java programming in first and second year.

It's a good course to do if you feel you need the two years to try a few different disciplines to make your mind up.

TheCrimsonClown

Sorry for bumping an old topic but I thought it was better than making a new one.

A lot of the discussion here has been about how maths centric the course and that's basically what I'm looking to find out as well. Having read through this topic and others, I'm still not sure what to think. If I'm finding LC Highers Maths challenging, how big of an issue is it going to be if I decide to do CS? It's seems like the course is for me, I'm just worried that the maths end of it will hold me back.

Can anyone doing the course shed some light?

Mark200

TheCrimsonClown wrote: »

Sorry for bumping an old topic but I thought it was better than making a new one.

A lot of the discussion here has been about how maths centric the course and that's basically what I'm looking to find out as well. Having read through this topic and others, I'm still not sure what to think. If I'm finding LC Highers Maths challenging, how big of an issue is it going to be if I decide to do CS? It's seems like the course is for me, I'm just worried that the maths end of it will hold me back.

Can anyone doing the course shed some light?

If you get into the course (which requires a HC3 in maths) then it shouldn't be a problem

devinejay

I don't know if this is too general of a statement to make but here goes;

In some respects, the maths gets a little easier in third level. Lecturers tend to focus more on the theory in lectures, which can be hard to follow in lectures, but then when you go back later with a textbook in hand, you begin to understand things from the very basic concepts up, which is nice.

I used to hate LC maths when we started on calculus

Teacher: "To integrate this function, you just add one to the power, and divide by the new power"

Me: "Why"

Teacher: "Cause integration is the opposite of differentiation, and to differentiate you multiply by the power, and reduce the power by one. Duh."

Me: "What exactly is differentiation again?"

Teacher: "I just told you, it's when you multiply by the power, and reduce the power by one. Double Duh."

Etc.


Again, take this with a pinch of salt, that's just my experience of it (More understanding, less doing ten years worth of sample papers)

ronivek

The short answer is no; not really.

Whilst there are some fairly difficult mathematical aspects (especially applied probability in 3rd year); they will not make or break your degree.

In an ideal world you'll engage with all the mathematical content and learn how to apply it to relevant programming/design problems; but it's by no means a requirement.

In addition most of the mathematical content is fairly well contained and similar rote learning methodologies work as per the leaving certificate.

devinejay

ronivek wrote: »

In addition most of the mathematical content is fairly well contained and similar rote learning methodologies work as per the leaving certificate.

Lol at Ron's ninja moves. My post looks stupid now

ronivek

devinejay wrote: »

Lol at Ron's ninja moves. My post looks stupid now

Well all I meant was that it's possible to just muddle through the mathematics and scrape passes by using good old tried and tested leaving certificate strategies (in TCD Computer Science at least)

devinejay

Nah your timing was too good, I maintain that you're a ninja.

Healium

Ah cool,i was wondering about maths,too. I'll probably struggle for that C3 :P

Jonathan_UCD

TheCrimsonClown wrote: »

A lot of the discussion here has been about how maths centric the course and that's basically what I'm looking to find out as well. Having read through this topic and others, I'm still not sure what to think. If I'm finding LC Highers Maths challenging, how big of an issue is it going to be if I decide to do CS? It's seems like the course is for me, I'm just worried that the maths end of it will hold me back.

Can anyone doing the course shed some light?

Hi mate, I'm currently doing Computer Science at UCD. I remember on one of the opening days. I remember being told that maths Higher Level is essential to any Computer Science degree. This made me worry alot about what I was doing. As I had UCD down on my CAO as I was doing Ordinary Level maths. I am no genius when it comes to Maths. But I found when I got to UCD that I was capable of handling the maths envolved. I know in UCD you basically go through everything you learned in maths all over again in first year and basically cover the higher level syllabus. Like I said I'm not genius when it comes to Maths but I was able to find the maths easy enough. I find the teachings in Maths I have learned so much more than when I was at school.
Need some more reinsurance or have any questions just PM me.
I normally don't look on the TCD section just stumbled onto this topic from a search.