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It's been about 4 years since I took a compilers course (from OMSCS, graduate program) and still shutter ... it was, hands down, the most difficult (yet rewardi

It's been about 4 years since I took a compilers course (from OMSCS, graduate program) and still shutter ... it was, hands down, the most difficult (yet rewarding) classes I've taken.

msla 6mo ago
It made me drink myself Venetian blind.
Pay08 6mo ago
I would like to agree with this comment, but I certainly didn't find it rewarding. It was pure pain.
- kuboble 6mo ago
  10 years ago I took few coursera courses to fill the gaps in my computer science education. One of them was a compilers course done by karpathy. It was pure joy and a great learning experience. Also in my experience the joy of doing a course was much stronger correlated with the teacher's qualities rather than the subject itself.
  - jgwil2 6mo ago
    Do you have a link by by chance? A quick search didn't turn anything up.
    - kuboble 6mo ago
      No, I am checking my emails (it was in 2012), and all the links are broken. however I could dig out the references to it. Apparently it was a course by Prof. Alex Aiken and karpathy was a TA. This repository seems to be a future version of the same course. https://github.com/gboduljak/stanford-compilers-coursework https://github.com/gboduljak/stanford-compilers-coursework Edit: found the videos from the course on the archive https://archive.org/details/academictorrents_e31e54905c7b2669c81fe164de2859be4697013a https://archive.org/details/academictorrents_e31e54905c7b266...
      - jgwil2 6mo ago
        Ah yes, I remember this one. Very challenging indeed. Thanks!
      - deleted 6mo ago
        [deleted]
nirvdrum 6mo ago
Based on another reply I can’t tell if there’s a clever window-based pun that I’m missing. If not, I think you want “shudder” and not “shutter” here. I’m sorry if I just ruined the joke.
tjarjoura 6mo ago
What did you find more painful about compilers than other forms of programming?
- kuboble 6mo ago
  I think there is a million ways to make a compilers course. The course I did was organized perfectly with big parts of compiler boiler plate already written, and I only had to implement parser/lexer rules and the translation of language structures into assembly instructions. Also it was a compiler for a language designed just for this course with the intention of it being specifically easy to write a compiler for it and not programming. Without this I can imagine it being a painful experience
bluedino 6mo ago
I used to judge CS programs based on if they had compiler classes or not.
shepherdjerred 6mo ago
I loved that course so much but it was incredibly difficult to do while also working
niyikiza 6mo ago
I took that course too and ruined my life...by making me think writing a compiler could be fun. The course itself was worth the money I paid for the program.

It's been about 4 years since I took a compilers course (from OMSCS, graduate program) and still shutter ... it was, hands down, the most difficult (yet rewarding) classes I've taken.

msla 6mo ago

It made me drink myself Venetian blind.

Pay08 6mo ago

I would like to agree with this comment, but I certainly didn't find it rewarding. It was pure pain.

kuboble 6mo ago
10 years ago I took few coursera courses to fill the gaps in my computer science education. One of them was a compilers course done by karpathy. It was pure joy and a great learning experience. Also in my experience the joy of doing a course was much stronger correlated with the teacher's qualities rather than the subject itself.
- jgwil2 6mo ago
  Do you have a link by by chance? A quick search didn't turn anything up.
  - kuboble 6mo ago
    No, I am checking my emails (it was in 2012), and all the links are broken. however I could dig out the references to it. Apparently it was a course by Prof. Alex Aiken and karpathy was a TA. This repository seems to be a future version of the same course. https://github.com/gboduljak/stanford-compilers-coursework https://github.com/gboduljak/stanford-compilers-coursework Edit: found the videos from the course on the archive https://archive.org/details/academictorrents_e31e54905c7b2669c81fe164de2859be4697013a https://archive.org/details/academictorrents_e31e54905c7b266...
    - jgwil2 6mo ago
      Ah yes, I remember this one. Very challenging indeed. Thanks!
    - deleted 6mo ago
      [deleted]

nirvdrum 6mo ago

Based on another reply I can’t tell if there’s a clever window-based pun that I’m missing. If not, I think you want “shudder” and not “shutter” here. I’m sorry if I just ruined the joke.

tjarjoura 6mo ago

What did you find more painful about compilers than other forms of programming?

kuboble 6mo ago
I think there is a million ways to make a compilers course. The course I did was organized perfectly with big parts of compiler boiler plate already written, and I only had to implement parser/lexer rules and the translation of language structures into assembly instructions. Also it was a compiler for a language designed just for this course with the intention of it being specifically easy to write a compiler for it and not programming. Without this I can imagine it being a painful experience

bluedino 6mo ago

I used to judge CS programs based on if they had compiler classes or not.

shepherdjerred 6mo ago

I loved that course so much but it was incredibly difficult to do while also working

niyikiza 6mo ago

I took that course too and ruined my life...by making me think writing a compiler could be fun. The course itself was worth the money I paid for the program.