Professor
Jens Palsberg
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2023 - Prof. Palsberg is a very clear lecturer and the theory is presented very well in lecture. However, the lectures, being all theory, is a little dry. But it is good that he clarifies the content; I would've been lost if I had to read the theory from a textbook. The best part about this course is undoubtedly the homework assignments. Implementing a compiler almost completely from scratch is so rewarding. I like the fact that the class isn't exam-focused; the midterm (60 multiple choice questions) was the easiest midterm I've ever taken at UCLA. Also, this class has the most active piazza out of any class I've ever taken at UCLA---the average response time is only 13 mins. Biggest weakness of this class is that it's too short. I would've loved an extra quarter where we can practice implementing generics, lambdas, and learning about more advanced and interesting programming language features.
Spring 2023 - Prof. Palsberg is a very clear lecturer and the theory is presented very well in lecture. However, the lectures, being all theory, is a little dry. But it is good that he clarifies the content; I would've been lost if I had to read the theory from a textbook. The best part about this course is undoubtedly the homework assignments. Implementing a compiler almost completely from scratch is so rewarding. I like the fact that the class isn't exam-focused; the midterm (60 multiple choice questions) was the easiest midterm I've ever taken at UCLA. Also, this class has the most active piazza out of any class I've ever taken at UCLA---the average response time is only 13 mins. Biggest weakness of this class is that it's too short. I would've loved an extra quarter where we can practice implementing generics, lambdas, and learning about more advanced and interesting programming language features.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2024 - This class is just fine. Too much work for a graduate class and it seems like a lot of the work is busy work. I don't understand the purposes of the quiz and their due dates. There is not enough time and when the concepts are so difficult I feel like i'm being force fed with more work. The Jupyter notebooks for this class need to be completely rewritten. They are quite confusing and with the TA making changes while students are working on the assignment only makes things harder. The notebooks don't really flow very well and they aren't formatted properly making it confusing on what needs to be completed.
Fall 2024 - This class is just fine. Too much work for a graduate class and it seems like a lot of the work is busy work. I don't understand the purposes of the quiz and their due dates. There is not enough time and when the concepts are so difficult I feel like i'm being force fed with more work. The Jupyter notebooks for this class need to be completely rewritten. They are quite confusing and with the TA making changes while students are working on the assignment only makes things harder. The notebooks don't really flow very well and they aren't formatted properly making it confusing on what needs to be completed.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2024 - This class dives deeper into some of the core topics of algorithm design, error correction, complex theorems such as Gottesman Knill, and more. A lot of the homework assignments are open-ended research questions and you need to put in effort to understand the problem at hand and be creative. The lectures are really engaging and help you think in the right direction. TA and professor office hours are super helpful too. But, if you struggled in CS 238, I would be cautious in taking this course. The difficulty is significantly higher.
Winter 2024 - This class dives deeper into some of the core topics of algorithm design, error correction, complex theorems such as Gottesman Knill, and more. A lot of the homework assignments are open-ended research questions and you need to put in effort to understand the problem at hand and be creative. The lectures are really engaging and help you think in the right direction. TA and professor office hours are super helpful too. But, if you struggled in CS 238, I would be cautious in taking this course. The difficulty is significantly higher.
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2020 - The course covers some of the most elementary and fundamental concepts in quantum programming, which I personally found quite notation-heavy and generally inaccessible to an outsider when I first explored it on my own. The class does much to break down the layers of notation and start at first principles, which I greatly appreciate. On the other hand, I wish there were more discussions about how can we learn more about quantum computing on our own. I found that there is still a gap between what’s covered in the course and the literature, which often makes heavy use of terms from physics. I think a component dedicated to reading recent literature would be quite useful, especially for a graduate-level course like this one. Additionally, I think it would be a very real boon to the CS instruction at UCLA if the course is offered as cross-listed for both undergraduate and graduate students. The course material is, and from what I can tell is designed to be, quite accessible to undergraduates. But the enrollment process was a bit nerve-inducing for myself, an undergrad.
Spring 2020 - The course covers some of the most elementary and fundamental concepts in quantum programming, which I personally found quite notation-heavy and generally inaccessible to an outsider when I first explored it on my own. The class does much to break down the layers of notation and start at first principles, which I greatly appreciate. On the other hand, I wish there were more discussions about how can we learn more about quantum computing on our own. I found that there is still a gap between what’s covered in the course and the literature, which often makes heavy use of terms from physics. I think a component dedicated to reading recent literature would be quite useful, especially for a graduate-level course like this one. Additionally, I think it would be a very real boon to the CS instruction at UCLA if the course is offered as cross-listed for both undergraduate and graduate students. The course material is, and from what I can tell is designed to be, quite accessible to undergraduates. But the enrollment process was a bit nerve-inducing for myself, an undergrad.
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