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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Computer Science: Programming with a Purpose by Princeton University

4.7
stars
1,116 ratings

About the Course

The basis for education in the last millennium was “reading, writing, and arithmetic;” now it is reading, writing, and computing. Learning to program is an essential part of the education of every student, not just in the sciences and engineering, but in the arts, social sciences, and humanities, as well. Beyond direct applications, it is the first step in understanding the nature of computer science’s undeniable impact on the modern world. This course covers the first half of our book Computer Science: An Interdisciplinary Approach (the second half is covered in our Coursera course Computer Science: Algorithms, Theory, and Machines). Our intent is to teach programming to those who need or want to learn it, in a scientific context. We begin by introducing basic programming elements such as variables, conditionals, loops, arrays, and I/O. Next, we turn to functions, introducing key concepts such as recursion, modular programming, and code reuse. Then, we present a modern introduction to object-oriented programming. We use the Java programming language and teach basic skills for computational problem solving that are applicable in many modern computing environments. Proficiency in Java is a goal, but we focus on fundamental concepts in programming, not Java per se. All the features of this course are available for free. It does not offer a certificate upon completion....

Top reviews

VS

May 13, 2019

Beautiful course. I am a software developer with 10+ years of experience in programming and have never realized depth of actual MATH behind all that I do. Thank you Robert Sedgewick, you are the BEST.

PK

Aug 6, 2023

This was a very great course to learn a powerful programming language, techniques used. This has changed my life for better and am looking forward to a career change into the programming world.

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26 - 50 of 327 Reviews for Computer Science: Programming with a Purpose

By Dominic

Jun 18, 2020

Very bad explanations. I do not recommend at all.

By Xiaoyu Z

Nov 2, 2019

This course is much more than fantastic! Professor Robert is one of the best teachers. I am so lucky to have a chance to learn those great materials.

For me, the meaning of completing this course is way beyond the course itself. I am a CS graduate more than 15 years ago, and I've done some computer engineering work for a while. Then I took a different path other than software engineer, because at some point my interest is on other things. What I did after software engineering are financial analysis, business analysis and data analysis. Nowadays, I am doing data analytics as my daily work. But as time passed by, I found programming is way fun than I thought before, and that's my real passion. So I decided to come back to software engineering field. But it's difficult, very very difficult, for companies accepting me as software engineer again. I don't know whether taking those CS courses and refreshing my knowledge will lead to the place where I want to be. But again, that's my interest and real passion. I just love programming.

I really really want to thank Professor Robert for his fantastic courses (his other courses are also great), which built up my confidence and gave me challenges and fun!

By Cameron F

Feb 28, 2021

I read the reviews and saw a bunch of people complaining about how little was covered and how ist not for beginners etc. None of this is true, there are adequate resources provided and the whole point of programming is that you learn to do your own research. Also who signs up to a course with Princeton expecting it to be easy and to not be able to at least understand math if the formula is given to you and explained.

Course is great, learned a lot, I wish a lot of the optional exercises were included, I know I can still do them, but being graded on it is super helpful when practicing. Some really cool concepts are introduced and I feel pretty confident with my programming atm compared to where I was when I started (I had watched a few videos on python!)

By Machiestay-Dzregah E B

Apr 8, 2021

This course is great. I would say it is the best course that any beginner who wants to learn how to program should take. The assignments are challenging and the touches of science in the course content is just what I wanted. I am now a programmer with a purpose indeed. Though there is nothing beginner about the assignments, I believe they were created that way so that students will know that there is still more to learn on the web and in the book, because until you make these two tools your friend, I can tell you, you may not be able to finish the course. The lecturer, he's the best, he demonstrates knowledge and experience in his lectures and that is exceptional. I loved this course.

By Nathanael Y

Jan 20, 2020

This is the 2nd course of Professor Sedgwick and Wayne that I enrolled, as expected it's well designed and organized. The programming assignments are the most valuable part from my perspective. Some of them, especially week6 to week8, can be somewhat challenging and difficult, maybe tough for beginners, but they cover quite a lot of topics that is really important. I would highly recommend this course to those who want some challenging and meaningful exercises.

By Jinqiang Z

May 29, 2021

Although it's an introductory course, it covers quite a spectrum of what Java programming can do. The professor is very knowledgable, you can tell from the examples or the programming assignments which is from all kinds of field: math, graphics, image processing etc.

I'm an experienced programmer, I subscribed only to learn Java and also from Princeton which I admire, I enjoyed the course the whole way.

By Chufan W

Jan 30, 2021

Very very useful and helpful for people who is interest in programming and algorithms. Even for CS students who have already learned this. The programming assignments are nicely designed and the auto-grader is outstanding for debugging. After 30 days of learning, I completed this course. I'd like to say thank you to Prof. Sedgewick and Prof. Wayne for this inspiring, creative course.

By Amandeep

Jul 28, 2020

Firstly it is not an introductory programming course. You would be better if you have knowledge of java prior. Professor Robert Sedgewick walks you through the course and he has this charisma in his style that he can make rocket science sound easy. It is amazing course which make you stop, think and rethink on how you think.

By Jake B

Jun 18, 2021

This course was outstanding. I really enjoyed the simple yet rich mathematical applications that were used to demonstrate so many concepts covered by the course. I look forward to taking the next and all subsequent courses offered by Dr.'s Sedgewick and Wayne.

By Vanessa W

May 9, 2020

This is a great course, it's challenging for beginners like myself but it shows what's possible just with the codes we learned so it's encouraging at the same time. It is indeed programming with a purpose like the course's name. I'm glad I took this course!

By Hao Z

May 23, 2021

Thank you so much for offering this course as open on Coursera, I've learned a lot from this course. And the assignments really helps me practiced hands-on coding, I believe this course helps open another door and new possibilities. Thank you!

By Андрей К

Jul 1, 2020

Information of the course is enough to get very basic knowledge about Java programming language. Good starting point for further studying. May be not very simple for absolute beginners (but not impossible).

By Seung L

Sep 6, 2020

It was a beautiful course. I gained a ton of understanding of the structures of programming (especially OOP). And could become proficient in Java language, which is great.

By Meridel E

Mar 28, 2021

This course is very helpful and useful especially that i am in the field of teaching. While im learning my student also learning. Thank you! And Godbless!

By Sayed K

Jun 7, 2019

I appreciate your work and your services. Your classes are very valuable for whom new in the world of IT is. Thank you very much dear professor!

By rishav p

May 18, 2021

The course is structured very well which makes it very easy to understand the concepts. Also helps build a decent grip on java language.

By L H

Feb 10, 2021

Challenging but doable. Highly recommended for those with slight experience with programming; this course is not for complete beginners.

By Erik C

Apr 12, 2021

Batalle un poco al principio, pero conforme va avanzando, las piezas se van uniendo y, con práctica, el aprendizaje es excelente.

By Luye H

Jun 14, 2021

Hope I had a professor like this, who is able to seed curiosity in students to explore further this topic on their own. 

By B S

May 6, 2021

Very challenging course, would recommend definitely. Well paced and presented, clear instructions and descriptions 10/10

By Hussain

Feb 28, 2019

A very simple down to earth explanation on how to program from a very reputable university

By chenqi77

Apr 11, 2021

This course is very good for java beginner or someone who wants to learn a programming.

By Edmundo W

Sep 5, 2020

Difficult for beginner's, great for people trying to practice rusty programming skills.

By Petter S

Jan 29, 2020

High tempo, definitely some difficult content, but overall I've learned a great deal

By Xinyi Z

May 21, 2021

Course with material carefully prepared! Examples are interesting and insightful.