David Taylor - San Jose State University

Professor: David Taylor

Department: Computer Science

College: San Jose State University

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CS146
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

CS146 is HARD. Taylor knows that and tries to help his students. Do NOT cheat on his programs, he will catch you like he caught me. He gave me a 0 on all program credit. Also, I didn't pass the rote exams so I didn't get the "safety net". Yet, I got a B- on the final and I got a C- in the class. Make it easy on yourself and do the damn work.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CS146
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Do your best and don't cheat on his programs. If you cheat, he will find out. 4 programs, you will do code review (office hour 5-10 mins per visits) for credit, else 0 credit. Prepare to learn a lot of algorithms, time complexity etc. 2 rote exam 1 final in the end. He give exam practices which is very similar to his actual exam, you just study. GL

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: SE146
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Best c lass and best professor I have ever had. Course consists of very well-done video lectures, and engaging in-class problem solving. Projects were well-defined, and auto-testing makes feedback near-instant. Tests were difficult but fair. This is an excellent prep class for the real-world of SW engineering.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CS155
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Sure, this is a very challenging class, but that should be what is expected for algorithm design and analysis. Interesting algorithm problems are discussed in the class. Took both cs146 and cs155 with Prof. Taylor, found his classes to be the most rewarding among all the cs class I ever took. He curved generously in the end.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CS155
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

The class is tough, but you'll learn important algorithms things that you won't get from any other course -- it's the "hard part" of CS that you can't really learn on your own. Exams are difficult and are the basis of your entire grade, but he has a very lenient grading scale (in our case we only needed 20% of total exam points to pass the class).

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CS146
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Taylor is definitely a very knowledgeable professor and you can learn a lot from him, but his teaching style is not for everyone. He explains the main concepts but you have to research and learn from other resources to be able to do the homeworks. His class is tough and you need a solid coding foundation otherwise you won't pass.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: CS155
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Look. The class is terrifying. I think he is brilliant, and boils the subject down to as much as he could in the span of time that he could. I think he gave us a lot of intuition on how to create algorithms. Dont look at your grades when you take the tests though. They are crushingly difficult.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CS146
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Taylor really knows his stuff. HOWEVER, he makes certain things a lot MORE stressful than they need to be. Just know all the algorithms he introduces you to very well, and you'll pass the class. You won't get solutions to your homework unless you do it and turn them in.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CS146
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

CS is a subset of Math and Dr. Taylor emphasizes on that fact in this class. Often the correct answers will look really incorrect. Procrastinators do not do well here, because your grade is entirely based off your exams. Dr. Taylor is one of the top guys in the world in Algorithms. If you want to succeed in interviews, this class can give you that.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CS146
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Tough teacher, but you will learn a lot. I was on the edge of my seat the whole semester because the materials are very hard to understand and there is really no feedback until near the end of the semester. Don't get behind, attend office hours, learn as much, ask questions, and you'll be alright. Overall, I felt really challenged in a good way.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CS146
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Lectures&videos amazing. He's super knowledgeable. He's better than textbook although book is good. He gives precious feedback on coding. Watch his videos until you understand. I watch ten times sometimes. I never programmed 20 months before his class and finished all his programming hw myself. I did bad in CS before, but improved in his class(A+)

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: CS146
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

This guy is really tough. Unless you are a hardcore programmer, you will not do well in this class. My advice is find a teacher that is more willing to help those people that struggle and not just praise and support the smart people in class. Find someone else. Don't waste your time!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CS146
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

No..... Just no

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CS146
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

This class is inverted. You watch videos at home, and ask questions as comments, on Piazza, or in class. I think Dr. Taylor is in the process of making more videos, so his content cuts out half way. He provides a "study guide" for the rote exams, and for the final, anything goes from the semester. There is a curve; don't take percentages at face.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CS146
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Knowledgeable professor. Prerecorded lectures posted weekly to the class website. In-class time is dedicated to answering questions; ask plenty. Responds to questions on the class message board quickly. Optional homework, but not if you want to pass. A few solo coding projects. Course grade is completely dependent on curved exams.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CS146
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

One of the best CS professors

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CS146
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Advice: Show up to office hours early (they get super packed), ask questions in class (Taylor is super knowledgeable), take the time to understand each algorithm (yes, every single one) perhaps make a video of yourself explaining the algorithms to your future self (to watch when studying), think before you start programming, attend every lecture.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CS146
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

BUCKLE UP LADIES AND GENTS. You're about to embark on the Tower of Taylor. Yes, the rumors are true. This class moves at the speed of 70 credit hours/week. Do your homework. Go to class. Study for the exams. Try not to cry. Good luck. See you on the other side.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CS146
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

You don't want CS146 to be easy. You want to be pushed. Of all classes you will take, this is the class that will prepare you best for interviews. Taylor teaches more than other professors and at a faster pace. See that kid that took CS170 in Berkeley and thought this class was easy? That's your competition in the job market.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: CS146
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Taylor teaches the algorithms and data structure materials really well. Although hw is not mandatory, you most would most certainly need to do them in order to pass the class and do good on the midterms and finals.