I had Howard for CS31, and I still like him a lot. Again, his lectures are boring sometimes, but he really tries to break things down for you to understand better. He sometimes speaks in his own way (“garbage-y values” “hair pins < >”), so you’ll have to get used to his language because he’s the one writing the exam. He is very helpful in office hours, so if you have any questions go ahead and ask him! Be warned though, he does have his own interpretation of some things (like what quadratic probing is) that may differ from the general definition, but if you bring it up to him he’ll admit the difference and either change his definition or accept both answers. The class should be pretty doable, but a friendly warning is don’t rely on ChatGPT too much because you do need to understand the projects for the exams. And, don’t copy paste your friend’s code! There are consequences for clear cheating (some people in our class got caught… so rip)!!!

Pretty easy class, Tests have a few tricky questions and Stahl makes a lot of grading mishaps, but he is quite accommodating and flexible. Would recommend taking CS 32 with Stahl, especially if you are not very confident on your coding skills

Slow, clear lecturer. Skipped lots of hard topics. Simpler coding problems on exams but enforces syntax memorization and has you memorizing very course-specific implementations, and I don't like that. Raw score only, no curve. Easy projects with skeletons provided. Homework is canvas quizzes, often with tons of mistakes. Exams have a lot of mistakes too. He also taught quadratic probing in a way that goes against the conventions agreed upon by 95% of the internet. He's very kind and responsive when correcting mistakes, however. I wish he included more choice-based, more group-based, and more challenging projects.

Definitely easier than CS32 with Smallberg/Nachenberg. The projects (35% of our grade) are almost too easy (although the last 2 are a bit tough) and the homework (15%) is straightforward too. The exams are pretty fair (12.5% for Midterm I, 12.5% for Midterm II, and 25% for the final) and he is lenient with regrade requests. He also gives you 2 bonus points on either midterm 1 or 2 depending on if you actually go to section. His lectures can be pretty boring at times but he records them so watching them at 2X speed is recommended in addition to going to his office hours which are helpful. The TAs can be pretty dogshit, not going to lie. Mine barely spoke English and would buffer in real-time. However, Stahl's class is not super difficult and is 100% doable. You can definitely get an A in his CS32 class, which is supposedly a weeder too. I would take it again.

Pros: Howard fits in perfectly next to Smallberg and Nachenberg for an absolutely stacked CS32 teaching core. If you have the correct habits (going to lectures, participating in discussions, starting projects early) this class feels strangely too easy. For a class sometimes described as a weeder, Howard is so straight forward, logical, and clear that learning comes easy and besides making cheat sheets for midterms and finals I didn't even study. There is also no debate that Howard's projects and exams are easier than Smallberg and Nachenberg's but knowing many people that have taken CS32 with those professors I wouldn't say they knew any concepts or programmed any better than me after taking Howard. Definitely my favorite class I've taken at UCLA so far.

Cons: Some found his lectures a little boring and slow paced. Also, since it was his first time teaching CS32, he had mistakes in homework, projects specs, and exams.

Grading:
20% Homework
30% Projects
12.5% Midterm 1
12.5% Midterm 2
25% Final
Extra Credit for Participation in Discussion (Very Small)

Goated professor for this class. He teaches in a way that makes everything very clear and easy to follow. Tests were very reasonable and the projects were not too bad, just don’t wait until the last minute and they should go well.

Pros: he's extremely nice, he's a good lecturer, he made it clear what was covered on the exams, he was very approachable, the projects weren't too difficult

Cons: I felt he didn't go into enough depth on some of the topics (hashing, sorting, searching, etc.), which makes me feel less prepared for upper divs/interviews

Howard is an incredible professor. I would highly recommend taking a class with him if you have the chance.
He is incredibly knowledgeable and a great lecturer. For the entirety of each two hour lecture, I found myself completely engaged throughout. I learned the concepts thoroughly through his lectures. He has a way of teaching that allowed me to fully understand these concepts. I wasn't just learning what code to write down, but I was learning about how the program actually words and why we need to tell the computer something in a certain way. I was able to develop a deep understanding of these concepts. This made my life infinitely easier when it was time for exams, because I didn't actually feel the need to study a lot. I already knew the concepts so well that all it took was a review before I felt confident. He also allowed us to have cheat sheets for the exams which helped a lot.
The projects will be tough, especially the last few. It cannot be emphasized enough that you can't start a project too early. Just do yourself a favor and start the project the day it gets assigned. You won't regret it.
Howard's office hours were always extremely helpful, and he will take time to answer your question or look at your code one-on-one.
I remember Howard introducing himself on the first day of lecture as "human". And he definitely is. He's easily approachable, and he will be understanding if you are going through something. He will take time to explain a tricky concept or answer your question.
This class is by no means easy. You will have to put in a lot of time and effort. But if you are hardworking and stay on top of the work, you can be very successful in Howard's class.
My advice for a successful quarter: go to every lecture in person, start the projects when they're assigned, and go to office hours.