I took this after already having coding knowledge, but found things were presented in a simple and accessible way and it filled in some gaps in my knowledge. Assignments were interesting, some tricky bits but not huge in terms of volume.

Grade: 91. Just as a disclaimer, I did have some previous coding knowledge though it was rather minimal and nothing significant (literally anyone could learn what I knew in under 10 hours). As for the subject, if you're someone that likes logical thinking and hates memorisation, this one is for you. this is literally the anti-biology. Content itself was very easy and all the Grok worksheets cover 95% of the content and were released at the start of the semester. The worksheets themselves take like no time to do. I barely watched the lectures. Also, the first week and final few weeks go into content which isn't even in the exam so really you only have like 8 weeks of content. As for the Grok worksheets, I personally finished them all within the first 2 weeks only by spending tops a few hours a day. And the assignments each only take 1 day to do so it is rather easy. However, for those that want a big challenge, for each assignment theres 2 bonus marks which u can get (so really you can get up to 104) in this subject. But tbh, these are much much harder (I only got 0.9/4) with the task requiring knowledge which isn't even taught in the subject. Exam itself was quite fair. Just the last part of the last question was difficult. Other than that, very solid subject.

Overall a pretty good subject. If you have no experience in programming like I did the subject teaches you the basics and the foundations (hence the name of the subject) through Python, though you do have to keep up or else you will fall behind. Alistair and Chris are good lecturers. Grok Worksheets 8/10 - Good practice in programming, some are easy, some are challenging. MST 4/10 - Very hard, even the lecturers said it was too hard, might just have been this semester though. Projects 8/10 - Challenging but fair. Our projects were simple games. You had ample time to complete the project but some sections of it were quite difficult. Exam 7/10 - Not too bad, some parts were hard but others weren't too bad. If you didn't know what you were doing you probably wouldn't be able to scrape a pass though.

Did this subject in the summer. The Grok worksheets are easy enough to work through by yourself and you can skip tutorials if you are confident enough. I found tutorials useful because I had no previous coding experience and the tutors were supportive and encouraging. The projects were a huge struggle to be honest and tutors would sometimes give conflicting advice. I spent DAYS trying to do each single question and it was really frustrating because the coordinator would release information and the assignments later than when she said and she was difficult to get in contact with because she was overseas at the time. The first project was delayed and the due date was not extended for us. The second project was delayed a bit as well but we did get a couple more days to do it. It was due the night before the exam so it was a pick your poison with either trying to fix your project or study for the exam. The MST was also a bit pressed for time and there were a few question formats that I couldn't do so if you do this subject I would suggest learning how to do the different question types just in case it comes back on the exam. Particularly the ones where you have to unscramble the lines of code and fix the indentation to make the program work. This subject is good if you are interested in starting to learn Python but I wouldn't recommend it otherwise.

I did it in the summer so it was 3/7 days a week with one lecture and one tutorial a day (so three lectures and three tutes a week) and honestly it was pretty tough. If you have no coding experience like me and you get left behind in the lectures you must must must catch up because then youll get lost in the tutorials. If you follow along the Grok worksheets are quite easy to get full marks in so complete them on time. MST is also close to practice MST so make sure you understand. However in contrast to Grok, the projects are SO FKN HARD like i don't know anyone (who had no coding experience) who did the project by themselves without the help of someone who is studying computing or has computing experience. So pls dont be stubborn like me and actually get someone to help you if you want to get a good score. Ended up with an H3 but I'm pretty sure my exam got scaled up because there was no way I did good in that.

Grade: 99. It was a subject worth doing, teaching Python coding but also problem-solving. The content was well-organized and the Grok platform made coding easy to learn. The project - though quite tough and required loads of hours - was fun in hindsight. To do well, do all Grok exercises and make sure you understand what all of it means, and review tutorial material (no need to actually attend, they're a waste of time).

An excellent introduction to programming and Python. Material is presented very well.

If it's your first time programming you are well accommodated. They build everything from the ground up, and there are plentiful facilities for support. Most of the lecture material appeared to be reflected in the worksheets on Grok (the online learning platform used in the subject), which was well designed and covered a good breadth of material. Hence, you can forego the lectures and work through all the content in the subject independently if you please. Every second Friday, Ekaterina would deliver a lecture on 'advanced' topics outside the scope of assessment, but I found that she did not proportion those lectures to the experience and background typical to the cohort and she would often rush through material without adequate explanation. Otherwise, the lecturers appeared strong. The Grok worksheets, which comprise 10% of your final grade, are quite easy and hold your hand through each topic. The two projects which represent a more significant portion of your assessment were quite satisfying; the teaching staff put effort into constructing interesting project prompts, and there is much room for creativity in your response. This semester, the first project was to construct functions that solved a series of toy algorithmic problems on the premise of a little narrative about an explorer in a cave, whilst the second project was more practical and involved simulating a basic traffic network. This entailed parsing files which contained the state of the traffic network, and writing functions which tracked the state of the network at discrete time-steps based on a given set of rules. If you know some Python already, you have the option to take the programming proficiency test and skip to COMP10002 Foundations of Algorithms. If you're a bit rusty or haven't applied Python much, however, I think the subject helps solidify your skills and you may come out feeling more confident. The Grok worksheets also contained some fun pet projects for extra credit, including things like developing a system for classifying text by language, and some basic image manipulation.

Grade: 90. In hindsight I'm really glad I chose this as an elective, even though there were times I was really struggling with it. Like others said, you finish the semester with a really good grasp of beginner to mid-level python and whole new skill to add to your resume, not to mention the subject itself is fantastic. However, it takes a hefty time commitment to do well, especially if you've never touched python or programming before (like myself). This is one of those subjects that you can't study for by simple revision of concepts or rote learning, you require constant practice, literally the only way to get better at python is by coding and coding and coding. So if you're one of those people who hate memorisation, this might be for you. But again, it takes up a lot of time, especially the projects, do NOT leave them until the last minute, they took me weeks. Other than that, I genuinely enjoyed it. GROK always makes sure that you're constantly working and building your skills. I personally found the exam easier than I expected, but I spent days constantly working through practice problems, plus they give you practice questions that will prepare you for the exact type of questions they will ask, so that was a bonus. The MST was not difficult, but a lot of people ran out of time (me included) so go in with a good time management strategy, and same with the exam. Overall, great subject and great elective even for those not interested in a career in programming, coding is so useful and so in demand in most places that you'll probably benefit from having some coding skills regardless of your major. You end up learning so much and by the end of it you'll feel really proud for having developed this entirely new skill in 12 weeks! H1 is also very achievable but make sure you do to all the practice problems they give you, especially keep up with the GROK worksheets and start the projects as soon as they release, you'll thank yourself for it. Highly recommend.

Quite a good subject, if you've done any Python before, this will be quite easy. The weekly Grok worksheet(s) are generally not too bad (you have unlimited tries), and it exposes you to some edge cases and is generally a pretty good way to practice and learn new skills (a lot of the learning is done through Grok itself). The project questions can be quite interesting since there is good scope for various approaches and optimisation. As someone else said, do not leave this until the last few days; you might be able to get the first couple of questions, but the last question (the one with the most marks) can take many days just on its own. The 50/50 exam weighting is very nice since the 10% worksheets are very easy to secure, the MST is pretty manageable, and the Projects are not too hard to H1 so as long as you start it at a reasonable time. There are also several bonus marks to get throughout the course (probably amounts to ~+6 WAM maximum). The exam was on the easier side (I made a pretty bad error on it, but 50% weighting + bonus marks mean it doesn't really matter). The group of lecturers are good and quite helpful.