Computer Programming(General)

[Cadwallader]

I know there is an "education" section but I felt this was more towards computer science specifically. I currently just started my path towards a Computer Science degree and actually am going towards an Associates of Applied Science first which involves, from what I know, more programming and actually what I am going for is called "Programming Specialist".

 

Computer Science takes a lot of Mathematics and though it is tough it usually is more simple to study for because you can grab a problem from the book and work it out. If that is not enough for you then you can look at or reference another 50 problems regarding that same concept. Because of this the Mathematics part of Computer Science isn't what I worry about when it comes to studying.

 

I was wondering if anyone had or knows of a technique I can use when it comes to studying for a test in my programming classes. I know it's a weird question because basically you'd probably tell me to review the chapter but for an example: When it comes to my Algebra class I simply grab our exam reviews, work out every problem at least 3 times and more randomly through out the week for the ones I find more difficult, and then I am done. I usually get A's or B's but when it comes to programming I am stuck towards B's and low B's and can't figure out what I can do to study.

 

Do I just study key terms? What's the best way to study concepts?

 

Thanks for the help in advance and sorry for the long post

[Sato]

I recommend practicing on Projecteuler.net; they have 379 programming challenges that you can try out.

[phillip1882]

another great site is topcoder.com

basically, i would recommend the following.

the key in my opinion is not so much how to program a computer, but how to understand problem solving in general.

so my suggestion would be this, take some practice problems form the book, write a commented version of what you need to do (high level pseudo-code)

and then try coding it for real. if the coded version doesn't work, give it 6-7 more tries, correcting any obvious errors.

as an example, many programming books have sorting an array as a practice problem.

so your step 1 might look like the following.

//go through the array. 
//if the previous element is greater than the next element,
//swap them.
//do this until no elements need to be swapped.

try step 2 for yourself.

[Cadwallader]

Yes, actually array sorting was about three chapters ago. It covered different methods, sequential sorting, bubble sorting etc. Array sorting is not my favorite so i might try to cover that in more depth.

 

My class actually covers psuedocode and that is actually a great idea. I will try to jump back to previous chapters during my off time to make my own psuedocode for examples I forgot solutions to.

 

I appreciate the advice along with the site recommendations. Thanks guys