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.

Overall a decent subject and not difficult, especially if you're interested in Python. It does start off quite slow and easy but rapidly progresses into more intermediate Python. There's also weekly Grok worksheets which were very engaging and great practice for writing code so it's crucial to keep up to date. The projects involved problem solving and were easiest to score high marks on (since Grok automatically checks code). The final exam went much better than anticipated for me, and wasn't too daunting since the exact structure and question types for each section were clearly outlined in revision lectures.

As someone who has never done any kind of coding/computing before I found this subject very interesting but challenging. It required a lot of time each week to keep up with the work and the projects took a lot of time as well. The content was super interesting though, and all the tutors/lecturers were super helpful, having heaps of time we could go see them (online) to get help with the worksheets. They were all very supportive. I'd definitely recommend if you have a strong interest in computing but be aware it takes up a lot of time.

Grade: H1 (90) Workload: Let me just preface by saying this subject is NOT a WAM booster if you are new to programming like me. The Grok worksheets require weekly commitment, but they are a fun and engaging way to learn python. While I didn’t really watch the lectures, there are some examinable concepts on the lectures that are not covered in the weekly grok worksheets. So I ended up having to binge a couple of those lectures in Swot vac, but it wasn’t too bad and I reckon you can get away with not watching lectures if you are a good self learner. While the first project isn’t too bad and possible to complete in a few days of intense work or a week of more relaxed work, the second project is a different story. The second project requires at least two weeks of work to get a high mark (I’d say a couple hours everyday, but this is variable depending on how difficult you find the questions), especially since the project’s instructions can be quite confusing at times by design. This means you need to be organized and give yourself enough time to ask the faculty or other students for help and clarifications for the project. The MST for us was held a week after the mid semester break. It was definitely a step above in difficulty compared to the practice materials, and I ended up not doing the best on it (60%). Luckily it was not counted towards our final marks because of technical difficulties during it, but I highly recommend doing some past exam questions that are part of the four question types on the MST, because the practice materials they give you for it may be too easy and not representative. The final exam for us was open book and had no theory questions. This meant that most of the swotvac workload was based on just grinding out practice exams in preparation, similar to a math subject. The final exam was hard in that it was difficult to score full marks (last question still be giving me nightmares), but it is not impossible to get a pass if you work hard and do as much practice exams as you can. I’d say about 70% of the marks are achievable by everyone as long as you use good exam technique. Overall though, unless you are a god programmer and/or high iq genius, DO NOT think this subject is one that you can put on the back burner. Administration: Despite a couple of technical hiccups with the MST, I’d say the teaching staff is great and really helpful. They really care about teaching us and Tim and the tutors are always on the subject forum answering people’s questions in detail. From the few lectures I watched, the lectures seem generally well made and structured. While I found Tim a bit hard to understand and retain information from on 2x speed, Nic was a really clear and understandable teacher even on such high playback speeds. In terms of marking, I think it is a tad variable in how you are marked for the projects. I got lucky in that whoever marked my projects seemed a little lenient, but some tutors can be a little tougher in how they mark things like the approach of the code or the clarity of code comments. Enjoyment: I’d say this subject was pretty enjoyable. While it did become more difficult towards the second half of the semester, I never felt like I was totally out of my depth. The feeling of getting your code to work perfectly is unparalleled in the satisfaction you get. I will put a disclaimer though, which is that this subject really isn’t for everyone. If you are a mathsy type of person though, you will definitely like this subject. I reckon the best way to find if you are compatible for this subject is simply just to have a shot and pick it, especially if you are a first year or this is a breadth subject. If you don’t like it, just withdraw before your census date. A couple of my friends did this and there’s nothing wrong with quitting a subject that doesn’t mesh well with you. If this subject does mesh with you, you are in for a good time and you will develop some great and relevant skills.

One of the best subjects I've taken at university. Incredibly well-run, catered to students who might only have a casual interest in programming. Very fun, very enjoyable, and very well-taught. Not at all hard to do well in. Highly, highly recommend.

Highly enjoyable subject. Gets you properly familiar with Python and covers basic programming principles well, although algorithms are not touched at all. A great introduction to programming nonetheless.

Chris is fantastic

You'll probably hear this from everyone, but honestly its so true - this subject is perfect. Tim is so engaging and fun so the lectures feel real breezy. You'll have a good ol' time on Grok and before you know it you'll be able to write Python like it's your native language. Highly recommend!