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>"woman who wrote the #2 Computer Science book on Amazon, about coding and technical interview skills" Computer Science has absolutely nothing to do with eithe

by ekr 12y ago

>"woman who wrote the #2 Computer Science book on Amazon, about coding and technical interview skills" Computer Science has absolutely nothing to do with either coding or interviews, it's a subfield of mathematics.

scott_s 12y ago
I've addressed the whole "CS is math" thing so much, I wrote an essay on it: http://www.scott-a-s.com/cs-is-not-math/ http://www.scott-a-s.com/cs-is-not-math/
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
vonmoltke 12y ago
Amazon doesn't agree: > #1 in Books > Textbooks > Computer Science > Software Design & Engineering
crazypyro 12y ago
Coding is the main way that computer science is implemented. This is like complaining that doing titrimetry isn't part of Chemistry or drafting isn't a part of civil engineering. It's true that C.S. is a subset of math in a strict, theoretical definition, but the practical application of the science is highly important.
27182818284 12y ago
This might be true outside the US, but certainly not from what I've seen in the US. In the US, a lot of curriculum in CS majors include coding, interview practices and more—and that's a good thing because there doesn't seem to be a lot of dedicated "software development" majors in existence. I can think of a computer engineering curriculum that actually requires a half-semester course in interview practicing and cover letter writing. Similarly I can think of a major state university whose CS includes a semester project for a company / organization outside the university in teams of four. That same university has a required CS course where you have to maintain the code of previous students in the course, to give you a taste of that real world aspect. And those courses are taken in between or while you take your standard courses on algorithms, discrete math, etc. Though true I know a professor of CS who ONLY works on a chalkboard, the vast majority don't and the vast majority of CS grads don't either.
- vonmoltke 12y ago
  > and that's a good thing because there doesn't seem to be a lot of dedicated "software development" majors in existence. Actually, I think it's a bad thing. The sooner Computer Science and Software Engineering become separate disciplines, the better.
  - pas 12y ago
    SEs need to know results from CS. That might be seen as separate, but knowing results and when to apply which, I think requires one to be at least a bit CS-educated. So, no, they're not separate in the ideal case, but obviously, results in CS are arrived at through mathematics and rigorous proofs, whereas resutls in SE are usually produced via code.
    - vonmoltke 12y ago
      Physics and electrical/mechanical engineering are separate disciplines, but electrical and mechanical engineers still require physics education.
codygman 12y ago
Programming languages utilize computer science.

by ekr 12y ago

scott_s 12y ago

I've addressed the whole "CS is math" thing so much, I wrote an essay on it: http://www.scott-a-s.com/cs-is-not-math/ http://www.scott-a-s.com/cs-is-not-math/

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

vonmoltke 12y ago

Amazon doesn't agree: > #1 in Books > Textbooks > Computer Science > Software Design & Engineering

crazypyro 12y ago

Coding is the main way that computer science is implemented. This is like complaining that doing titrimetry isn't part of Chemistry or drafting isn't a part of civil engineering. It's true that C.S. is a subset of math in a strict, theoretical definition, but the practical application of the science is highly important.

27182818284 12y ago

This might be true outside the US, but certainly not from what I've seen in the US. In the US, a lot of curriculum in CS majors include coding, interview practices and more—and that's a good thing because there doesn't seem to be a lot of dedicated "software development" majors in existence. I can think of a computer engineering curriculum that actually requires a half-semester course in interview practicing and cover letter writing. Similarly I can think of a major state university whose CS includes a semester project for a company / organization outside the university in teams of four. That same university has a required CS course where you have to maintain the code of previous students in the course, to give you a taste of that real world aspect. And those courses are taken in between or while you take your standard courses on algorithms, discrete math, etc. Though true I know a professor of CS who ONLY works on a chalkboard, the vast majority don't and the vast majority of CS grads don't either.

vonmoltke 12y ago
> and that's a good thing because there doesn't seem to be a lot of dedicated "software development" majors in existence. Actually, I think it's a bad thing. The sooner Computer Science and Software Engineering become separate disciplines, the better.
- pas 12y ago
  SEs need to know results from CS. That might be seen as separate, but knowing results and when to apply which, I think requires one to be at least a bit CS-educated. So, no, they're not separate in the ideal case, but obviously, results in CS are arrived at through mathematics and rigorous proofs, whereas resutls in SE are usually produced via code.
  - vonmoltke 12y ago
    Physics and electrical/mechanical engineering are separate disciplines, but electrical and mechanical engineers still require physics education.

codygman 12y ago

Programming languages utilize computer science.