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The Coursera Stanford [0] and Princeton [1] courses start again soon, February 20 to be exact. Not sure which one is better, but to refresh my atrophied CS skil

by b3b0p 10y ago

The Coursera Stanford [0] and Princeton [1] courses start again soon, February 20 to be exact. Not sure which one is better, but to refresh my atrophied CS skills of 10 years I've joined the Stanford course. Not sure how it compares to the Khan Algorithms course. Anyone have any feedback? [0] https://www.coursera.org/learn/algorithm-design-analysis/ https://www.coursera.org/learn/algorithm-design-analysis/ [1] https://www.coursera.org/learn/algorithms-part1/ https://www.coursera.org/learn/algorithms-part1/

bootload 10y ago
EdX as well, - 6-00-1x https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computer-science-mitx-6-00-1x-9 https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computer-science-mit... (started) - 6.00.2x https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computational-thinking-data-mitx-6-00-2x-5 https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computational-thinki... (March) All are good and are pitched at various levels of complexity. The Princeton course uses Java. Okay if you're into that sort of language/thinking. MIT is using Python. Found one using lisp, "Systematic Program Design" ~ https://www.edx.org/xseries/how-code-systematic-program-design https://www.edx.org/xseries/how-code-systematic-program-desi...
imakecomments 10y ago
This is just my opinion and I'm sure it differs from others... Roughgarden's class is advance and expects mathematical maturity. You may find his course quite fast and rough if you are a beginner. Sedgwick's class is much easier. He is a bit boring and tries to use "real life" examples (in some instances) from the physical sciences to make the material relatable. This in my opinion detracts from the material. Also, he doesn't always fully explain where he got some of the big ohs here and there. My advice? Follow MIT's OCW course (it uses CLRS). Supplement it with Algorithms Unlocked, the Khan Academy link in OP and CLRS. If you use those 4 resources and put in the work you'll understand the material. All 4 sources have Thomas C's DNA touch to it (he is the C in CLRS). So you'll find it consistent when you read from one source to the other. After reading/hearing the same thing about 4 different times in 4 different ways it'll begin to click. Order of easiness is probably Khan Academy > Algorithms Unlocked > MIT Algorithms Course > CLRS. Algorithms Unlocked is like "pre-CLRS" and Khan Academy's version is the TL;DR version of Algorithms Unlocked. Hope this helps. Below are the links, https://www.amazon.com/Algorithms-Unlocked-Press-Thomas-Cormen/dp/0262518805 https://www.amazon.com/Algorithms-Unlocked-Press-Thomas-Corm... https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Algorithms-3rd-MIT-Press/dp/0262033844/ref=pd_sbs_14_img_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=AYGC508DGP6YSYKSA759 https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Algorithms-3rd-MIT-Press... https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-science/algorithms https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-science/algor... https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-046j-introduction-to-algorithms-sma-5503-fall-2005/video-lectures/ https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-compu...
- b3b0p 10y ago
  Great feedback and insight. Appreciated. I'll checkout the MIT OCW and Khan Academy first. I'm hardly a beginner, but my skills feel a bit rusty and want to refresh them.
  - imakecomments 10y ago
    No problem.
- sua_3000 10y ago
  I've taken both Stanford's and Princetons Coursera courses, and powered through the MIT OCW, and I would say this evaluation is spot on. If you have to pick only one go with the MIT OCW, and snag a copy of CLRS. I got mine from my local lib. and it gave me more than enough time to work through the problem sets from the mooc.
- 40acres 10y ago
  Great post, thanks for the resources. I find there are a lot of online resources for those looking to learn algorithms and data structures but I've had trouble finding the same breadth and depth of resources surrounding the math behind CS (discrete math, probability, etc.). Any suggestions?
  - imakecomments 10y ago
    Read "Discrete Mathematics" by Epp. Probably the easiest Discrete Math intro I came across.
- augusto2112 10y ago
  I'm going through Sedgewick's class right now. Is the MIT OCW's course math heavy? It lists "Mathematics for Computer Scientists" as a prerequisite, I am somewhat familiar with the material, but not in a very deep level. Should I take that one before?
  - Cursuviam 10y ago

by b3b0p 10y ago

bootload 10y ago

EdX as well, - 6-00-1x https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computer-science-mitx-6-00-1x-9 https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computer-science-mit... (started) - 6.00.2x https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computational-thinking-data-mitx-6-00-2x-5 https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computational-thinki... (March) All are good and are pitched at various levels of complexity. The Princeton course uses Java. Okay if you're into that sort of language/thinking. MIT is using Python. Found one using lisp, "Systematic Program Design" ~ https://www.edx.org/xseries/how-code-systematic-program-design https://www.edx.org/xseries/how-code-systematic-program-desi...

imakecomments 10y ago

This is just my opinion and I'm sure it differs from others... Roughgarden's class is advance and expects mathematical maturity. You may find his course quite fast and rough if you are a beginner. Sedgwick's class is much easier. He is a bit boring and tries to use "real life" examples (in some instances) from the physical sciences to make the material relatable. This in my opinion detracts from the material. Also, he doesn't always fully explain where he got some of the big ohs here and there. My advice? Follow MIT's OCW course (it uses CLRS). Supplement it with Algorithms Unlocked, the Khan Academy link in OP and CLRS. If you use those 4 resources and put in the work you'll understand the material. All 4 sources have Thomas C's DNA touch to it (he is the C in CLRS). So you'll find it consistent when you read from one source to the other. After reading/hearing the same thing about 4 different times in 4 different ways it'll begin to click. Order of easiness is probably Khan Academy > Algorithms Unlocked > MIT Algorithms Course > CLRS. Algorithms Unlocked is like "pre-CLRS" and Khan Academy's version is the TL;DR version of Algorithms Unlocked. Hope this helps. Below are the links, https://www.amazon.com/Algorithms-Unlocked-Press-Thomas-Cormen/dp/0262518805 https://www.amazon.com/Algorithms-Unlocked-Press-Thomas-Corm... https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Algorithms-3rd-MIT-Press/dp/0262033844/ref=pd_sbs_14_img_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=AYGC508DGP6YSYKSA759 https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Algorithms-3rd-MIT-Press... https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-science/algorithms https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-science/algor... https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-046j-introduction-to-algorithms-sma-5503-fall-2005/video-lectures/ https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-compu...

b3b0p 10y ago
Great feedback and insight. Appreciated. I'll checkout the MIT OCW and Khan Academy first. I'm hardly a beginner, but my skills feel a bit rusty and want to refresh them.
- imakecomments 10y ago
  No problem.
sua_3000 10y ago
I've taken both Stanford's and Princetons Coursera courses, and powered through the MIT OCW, and I would say this evaluation is spot on. If you have to pick only one go with the MIT OCW, and snag a copy of CLRS. I got mine from my local lib. and it gave me more than enough time to work through the problem sets from the mooc.
40acres 10y ago
Great post, thanks for the resources. I find there are a lot of online resources for those looking to learn algorithms and data structures but I've had trouble finding the same breadth and depth of resources surrounding the math behind CS (discrete math, probability, etc.). Any suggestions?
- imakecomments 10y ago
  Read "Discrete Mathematics" by Epp. Probably the easiest Discrete Math intro I came across.
augusto2112 10y ago
I'm going through Sedgewick's class right now. Is the MIT OCW's course math heavy? It lists "Mathematics for Computer Scientists" as a prerequisite, I am somewhat familiar with the material, but not in a very deep level. Should I take that one before?
- Cursuviam 10y ago