Computer science and information technology-gy350

GSI

Hey Ive just finished the LC and I've put the above coarse down on my cao.

Is anyone doing the coarse able to give me any insight? I have a keen intrest in computers but I'm particulary worried about the maths and programming as I did ordinary maths for the LC

Any help is appreciated,

Thanks:P

reap-a-rat

There's a lot of useful info in these two threads:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055653263

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055953233

If you have any questions after reading those, feel free to ask me! I've just completed second year of the Information Technology course, they're pretty much the same course. There are plenty more IT people here willing to help you with any further questions you have !

I did Honours maths til after the mocks and then did ordinary, which was probably an advantage with the maths element, though plenty of the peple in my class just did ordinary and once they put the work in, they did grand for the most part!

We're only beginning to see how the maths is related now though, so I wouldn't worry about programming just yet! They start you off as if you have no prior knowledge and again, if you put the work in its very doable!

TheCosmicFrog

I'm in the same year as reap-a-rat. The course we're doing is the exact same as CS&IT, they just didn't change the name our year due to... politics...

I've offered to answer any questions anyone has about the course. Just drop me a private message with anything you want to know or are concerned about

GSI

Thanks a lot people:)

GSI

Really starting to like the sound of this now:o

I have business information systems as my no 1. But I'm really tempted to switch haha. I have computer applications in DCU as my number 2. One particular thing that attracted me to was that I would have the opportunity to teach computer studies through that coarse. I wonder wonder would CS&IT be better though? Ah decisions:/ not long left to decide either:/

galwayman17..

GSI wrote: »

Really starting to like the sound of this now:o

I have business information systems as my no 1. But I'm really tempted to switch haha. I have computer applications in DCU as my number 2. One particular thing that attracted me to was that I would have the opportunity to teach computer studies through that coarse. I wonder wonder would CS&IT be better though? Ah decisions:/ not long left to decide either:/

i have found another person wanting to do this course on boards! thank god! i had that down too but i dont do french so i had to drop it.

do CS&IT galway is the place to be! so i've heard.

GSI

What coarse do you have to do French with? Are you you going to do CS&IT yah?:D

barry181091

I'm just finished my first year of this course. The maths is hard enough to be fair, you will get frustrated will all the maths for sure. Is it worth it? That's up to you

I like the course overall. Sure, too much maths and programming gets annoying but think about the jobs

galwayman17..

GSI wrote: »

What coarse do you have to do French with? Are you you going to do CS&IT yah?:D

the business information systems one. ya im going doin it. hopefully!
CS&IT all the f***king way!!:D:D

galwayman17..

barry181091 wrote: »

I'm just finished my first year of this course. The maths is hard enough to be fair, you will get frustrated will all the maths for sure. Is it worth it? That's up to you

I like the course overall. Sure, too much maths and programming gets annoying but think about the jobs

well barry! i think i remember you from reading the old CS&IT thread! i generally dont mind maths its just that the paper was annoying this year in paper 1.

is the programming hard? do you need to pick it up very quickly to keep up or is it manageable?

GSI

Galwayman. For business info systems french is just a requirement to get in isn't it? you don't actually learn French on the coarse.

Yeah CS&IT sounds great now. Although Barry you have worried me again haha:(

TheCosmicFrog

galwayman17.. wrote: »

is the programming hard? do you need to pick it up very quickly to keep up or is it manageable?

Not at all. It's taught under the assumption you've never seen a piece of code before in your life. Before you know it you'll be printf()ing your ifs and elses, like a main() function that's gone into an infinite loop

ru437z9t8fidq2

GSI wrote: »

Ah decisions:/ not long left to decide either:/

do cs&it you'll do fine if you want to...

GSI

Haha business info systems is my number 1. I'm just debating whether or not to switch computer applications in DCU with cs&it as my number 2.

So far everyone I've asked have encourage me to do CS&IT:P

galwayman17..

GSI wrote: »

Galwayman. For business info systems french is just a requirement to get in isn't it? you don't actually learn French on the coarse.

Yeah CS&IT sounds great now. Although Barry you have worried me again haha:(

its just an entry requirement i think.! i dont think you do.! barry you're causing awful trouble here now man!:p

TheCosmicFrog wrote: »

Not at all. It's taught under the assumption you've never seen a piece of code before in your life. Before you know it you'll be printf()ing your ifs and elses, like a main() function that's gone into an infinite loop

haha cosmicfrog to the rescue again with putting my mind at ease! gabh raibh maith agat!:D

TheCosmicFrog

Come to Galway. It's not just about the degree course. It's just a piece of paper in the end. It's also about the craic. And you won't find mightier craic than Galway.

And never mind that Barry lad. He was once a programming and algorithmical scholar. Then he settled down.

GSI

Hopefully I get the points for my number 1 anyway. But I think I will change my number 2 to CS&IT now...despite barrys comments haha. Ah no seriuosly I just hope the maths/programming isnt too hard:(

EDIT: **** I dunno what to do again:( I want to go to NUIG more than DCU. But computer applications might be better than CS&IT. Does anyone know anything about computer applications?

ethernet

The maths side of things can be a bit hairy. Back in my day (*just finished, feeling old*), there was no choice in the level of maths taken. It was nothing short of rotten. At least that's since been addressed.

Furthermore, you don't necessarily have to pass the maths subjects - passing by compensation can help you out in this regard. Needless to say, extra help is put on (for free) in the form of tutorials if you're having trouble with assignments, as well as grinds (ching, ching).

Just to add: the mandatory placement in third-year is greatly beneficial. Many of my classmates have secured jobs already. You can be sure having some industrial experience under their belts before graduating makes them more likely to be shortlisted as candidates.

In summary: don't let the less attractive mathematical modules put you off a good course!

TheCosmicFrog

GSI wrote: »

EDIT: **** I dunno what to do again:( I want to go to NUIG more than DCU. But computer applications might be better than CS&IT. Does anyone know anything about computer applications?

Most people seem to get seduced by the course they're applying for, rather than the college/city. In fact, once they get their course, it only then hits them that they'll be going to Dublin/Galway/Timbuktu. Remember to give college and city a thought as well. As I said before, once you're in the course you'll forget about any other courses. You'll be doing a computers degree and you'll tend not to care after that.

Galway's friendly, the college is right in the middle of the city, it's safe, the craic is mightier than any other city, we have class night life, we have the Spanish Arch and, most importantly, Barry!

GSI

TheCosmicFrog wrote: »

Most people seem to get seduced by the course they're applying for, rather than the college/city. In fact, once they get their course, it only then hits them that they'll be going to Dublin/Galway/Timbuktu. Remember to give college and city a thought as well. As I said before, once you're in the course you'll forget about any other courses. You'll be doing a computers degree and you'll tend not to care after that.

Galway's friendly, the college is right in the middle of the city, it's safe, the craic is mightier than any other city, we have class night life, we have the Spanish Arch and, most importantly, Barry!

Right I'm changing my cao tomorrow:D please no more negative comments about the coarse to make me have second thoughts.....again:P

barry181091

GSI wrote: »

Right I'm changing my cao tomorrow:D please no more negative comments about the coarse to make me have second thoughts.....again:P

You're changing it 'cos i'm here, aren't 'cha!?

GSI

barry181091 wrote: »

You're changing it 'cos i'm here, aren't 'cha!?

Nah not really. More because of cosmic frog. But il blame ye all when I'm dropping out in December because the maths and prgramming is to hard :P:P

RolandIRL

FYI, if you find the maths a bit tough, there's a support centre called SUMS on campus. really handy, and the guys in there are dead helpful. and i think there's one for programming called DISC or something, frog or barry might know about that

barry181091

whiteman19 wrote: »

FYI, if you find the maths a bit tough, there's a support centre called SUMS on campus. really handy, and the guys in there are dead helpful. and i think there's one for programming called DISC or something, frog or barry might know about that

DISC are good as they help you figure out programming problems or find errors.

The problem I found with SUMS is that they are only open for a few short hours (The Maths students have them exclusively for half the day) and during that time they are usually packed. There's like 2 people for 15? people maybe in the room.

ethernet

GSI wrote: »

Nah not really. More because of cosmic frog. But il blame ye all when I'm dropping out in December because the maths and prgramming is to hard :P:P

Give yourself a chance.

Give yourself a headstart.

If you're twiddling your thumbs idly like most of your peers this summer, you should definitely take a look at an introduction to programming. They teach (or at least used to) the C programming language in the first year. Then it's primarily Java.

You can find tutorials online but quality varies. I read this book when I was in your position at this time four years ago. It made the programming a lot easier having even a rough idea of how things work first. Highly recommended. Great analogies and humourous explanations. Even though it's for C, the same ideas will apply to lots of other languages you'll be exposed to in the course so it's well worth getting this solid foundation.

TheCosmicFrog

GSI wrote: »

Right I'm changing my cao tomorrow:D please no more negative comments about the coarse to make me have second thoughts.....again:P

*gets Boardsie to change CAO form*
*Tyler Durden deed for the day done*

Erm-erm, sweet! I should have also mentioned that we have the best society setup in the country. As far as I know, we have more socs than any other college, even some completely bonkers ones like Nothing Specific Soc and Kazoo Soc. Check out http://socs.nuigalway.ie and watch this video - I'm in it somewhere

As mentioned by the other guys, there's two excellent support facilities for maths and programming. If you want a leg-up on programming, I can't recommend the book "C In Easy Steps" highly enough.

And remember, programming is one of the best parts of a computer science degree. It's how you build software yo!

And as before, feel free to ask me anything by PM. That goes for everyone

gant0

Heading into second year of this course from undenominated engineering...looking forward to it:D

TheCosmicFrog

gant0 wrote: »

Heading into second year of this course from undenominated engineering...looking forward to it:D

Ah right, you'll meet Barry face-to-face so. God help your soul.

Foxx92

TheCosmicFrog wrote: »

Ah right, you'll meet Barry face-to-face so. God help your soul.

This has turned into a Barry-appreciation thread!

ru437z9t8fidq2

More like a barry disgust thread! :P

TheCosmicFrog

Foxx92 wrote: »

This has turned into a Barry-appreciation thread!

This is just a warm-up for "Barry: The Experience". Coming this September to a Galway campus near you.