CS 61B and 61C

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

<p>So CS 61B is listed as a pre-requisite for CS 61C, but I wanted to know if it actually helps to have done 61B before 61C.
Also, if anyone's taken 61BL with Clancy, how did you like it? What was the workload, homework, grading like?</p>

2

<p>the only thing useful from 61b for 61c was the basic knowledge of data structures, for loops, and while loops. you could easily pick that up from self-studying on the side.</p>

3

<p>Thanks Castel. I’m familiar with for and while loops, as for data structures, I guess I’ll just go over the book in Winter break or something.
Would taking 61BL and 61C together be a good idea?</p>

4

<p>Eh, I can’t imagine taking two classes from the 61 series simultaneously. It’s entirely doable, I’m sure, but it’s definitely unconventional. There is very little overlap between 61B and 61C.</p>

5

<p>There isn’t much overlap and you can definitely do 61C w/o 61B. Doing them together would be possible too. However, I took 61B with Hilfinger and despite years of programming experience (including working for companies) the class was still extremely time-consuming and the exams were pushing it. Now, I don’t know about Clancy. He might be a better/easier choice in which case you can take the chance.</p>

6

<p>@20LEGEND: the only data structures are linked lists, arrays, and tables. nothing you can’t pick up in 2 hours, haha.</p>

<p>classes are relative time-consuming. i would not suggest taking two 61 classes at the same time.</p>

7

<p>Hmm, thanks.
I’m confused between 61BL with Clancy and 61C with Garcia then. I guess I’ll wait for the Fall '10 CS Draft Schedule to come out and decide based on who’s teaching it then.</p>

8

<p>Btw, for someone who’s taken 61B and 61C, which class takes up more time? And how’s the workload for both of them compared to 61A?</p>

9

<p>20Legend’s question is a good one.</p>

<p>Bump.</p>

<p>And do we have to take 61B if we’ve already taken APCS AB in HS?</p>

10

<p>Both 61B and 61C are easier than 61A, but I believe more people find 61B to be easier than 61C. Both are about the same level for others. </p>

<p>You don’t have to take 61B if you’ve taken the AB exam, but it’s highly recommended. In your internship interviews, you will be asked questions straight out of 61B. It’s a worthwhile class.</p>

11

<p>

In general? No, absolutely not.</p>

<p>I am taking 61A and 61B right now and I spend around 3-4 hours per week studying and doing homework for 61A. The class is extremely easy, I don’t need to study for exams and get A/A+'s only, same thing for the “projects”. You cannot even call them projects, they are no more a little extra homework.</p>

<p>61B, even though I worked as a professional Java/.NET developer in a company before I came here, the homework still takes me 3-4 hours to complete. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Same thing for labs, which are mandatory in my class. The concepts covered may not be difficult but the problems are usually not straightforward and require some thinking/research. Now, the projects are the time killer. I spent around 40-50h total on my first project (of which we have 3) to get full points. I’m working on the 2nd one right now and I think it’s gonna be about the same amount of time. Projects are not posted in advance and usually have to be completed within 3-4 weeks, so add another 10+ hours of time spend per week. The exam was hard, the average on the last one was 6(!) points, out of 20 I think. Fortunately exams don’t count for a large portion of your grade.</p>

<p>I am not saying that you’re lying, your 61B class might have been easier than 61A but I would argue that it extremely depends on the teacher. My 61B class is about 27 times more difficult than 61A ;)</p>

<p>61A is always taught by Harvey, so there’s not much to argue about. However, there are different teachers for 61B/61C and that’s what it comes down to in the end. If you want to know which class is easier look up the professor ratings and grade distributions and you’ll get your answer. Everybody can make an apparently simple topic difficult if he wants to…</p>

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<p>That’s probably because you’re taking 61B with Hilfinger. He takes 61B to another level. If you take it with Shewchuk, it’s really straightforward.</p>

13

<p>Here’s a picture to describe CS61B with Hilfinger: <a href=“http://hkn.eecs.berkeley.edu/~chris/hilfinger.jpg[/url]”>http://hkn.eecs.berkeley.edu/~chris/hilfinger.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

14

<p>That’s really funny! And not that far from the truth…
He might be difficult but I really like him though. He is smart and funny and in comparison with Harvey’s class which is just boring and straightforward I feel that I’m actually “growing mentally” in his class :wink: I’d recommend everyone to take him.</p>

15

<p>Hilfinger, according to a CS faculty member, is a “code warrior.” First time I heard it, the image of Hilfinger in a jedi outfit popped into my mind…</p>

<p>He is an incredibly difficult professor, but I’m sure his courses are worthwhile.</p>

16

<p>How’s 61BL with Clancy? Anyone?</p>

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<p>I’ve heard 61BL in general is not that great.</p>

18

<p>61BL is easy. When I took it, Clancy gave more than half the class A’s/A-'s.</p>

<p>I thought 61C was difficult, at least relative to 61BL and 61A</p>