<p>Hi, I was wondering how useful taking CS1 would be. I am not planning on being a CS major, and my experience in programming is quite limited. Will CS1 help me at all, or would I be better off taking another class?</p>
<p>If you’re interested in being a mechanical engineering major, it’s required. Otherwise, I’d suggest taking CS 11 instead. CS 1 will teach you basic programming concepts, but they teach them from a theoretical approach and you won’t learn a language practical for applications outside of CS. CS 11 is a 3 unit course with the sole purpose of teaching you a computer language. When you take it, realize that despite it only giving you 3 units, depending on the language you choose, it could take the same amount of time as a 9 unit course.</p>
<p>alleya: it’s not required. MechEs can substitute three instances of CS 11.</p>
<p>pencilcase: the search function is your friend. We’ve been over this.</p>
<p>Be nice, SteelPangolin. He/she is just a nublet!</p>
<p>Excuse me, you’re right, that was recently changed. However, taking CS 1 is a much more time effective alternative than taking three courses of CS 11 for a MechE.</p>
<p>That depends. I’d rather spend a few more hours on something interesting and useful than take a bit less time for a useless course. If you choose the right tracks, it tends not to be overmuch work, except for the last couple weeks. </p>
<p>Admittedly, I’d already taken 3 units of CS 11 before I realized CS 1 was specifically required for MechE, and I’d taken a second CS 11 track when I noticed the 2005-2006 catalog change (which made me very, very happy.) Just need to fit in C++ somewhere, and I’m done.</p>
<p>Well, C is the most time consuming of the tracks, and you would need to take that one first. Now that I think about it more, I might be overly CS-absorbed to think that after taking CS 1 anyone should be able to learn a programming language with less work than required by a CS 11.</p>