Does anyone know why NOVA requires you to take CSC 130 - Scientific Programming before you can take CSC 201 - Computer Science I?

George Mason allows you to take Computer Science I without the other class.

Btw CSC 200 replaces CSC 130 (I don't know if they have CSC 130 anymore, but if they do, don't take it, and take the CSC 200)
CSC 200 is an Introduction to Computer Science.
It's prerequisite is that you should be taking precalculus at the same time or in a higher math. So, CSC 200 gives a chance for precalculus students to take it, instead of them waiting to take 201 the semester after.
CSC200 gives a broad info on computer science.

...the only other reason I can think of is...all about the money :< (just like the other unnecessary classes like SDV and PE)

Ok, I already took Calculus I and II at GMU a few years ago so maybe I can ask if I can skip it or something.

And precalculus relates to introductory programming how? I shudder to think...

Mind you, when my sister took "programming" in high school (45 years ago!), they were punching cards and trying to make what we'd now call "ASCII art" on printers. My dad (who was teaching programming to university students) was livid: "That's not programming!"

So at least it sounds like they're doing some real programming eventually. But if what they're doing requires precalculus, they're going to scare away a bunch of kids--most programming does not require higher math, though of course the logic and rigor are beneficial.

If you think it's not fair they're making you do stuff you don't think you should have to do, you're unprepared for the real world.

Is the CSC ELI/internet class entirely online or do you meet for tests etc?

I meant CSC200

Greybeard Wrote:
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> And precalculus relates to introductory
> programming how? I shudder to think...
>
> Mind you, when my sister took "programming" in
> high school (45 years ago!), they were punching
> cards and trying to make what we'd now call "ASCII
> art" on printers. My dad (who was teaching
> programming to university students) was livid:
> "That's not programming!"
>
> So at least it sounds like they're doing some real
> programming eventually. But if what they're doing
> requires precalculus, they're going to scare away
> a bunch of kids--most programming does not require
> higher math, though of course the logic and rigor
> are beneficial.

Precalculus is not exactly high-level math, and if it scares anyone away from programming they shouldn't be there in the first place. In actual fact, precalculus "shouldn't" scare anyone.

An understanding of computational complexity is important in order to evaluate algorithms and solve problems efficiently. That requires understanding of limits of functions as they approach infinity or some finite value. (Limits are a calculus concept that may be covered in pre-calculus.)

Certainly an idiot can write programs without understanding basic math or even stacks or queues. Unfortunately that happens all too often. The world is filled with slow, buggy software written by idiots. Again, the math concepts are important not just for "logic and rigor" but for efficient algorithms.

By the way, why would you not consider "ASCII art" to be programming?

csx Wrote:
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> By the way, why would you not consider "ASCII art" to be programming?

No conditionals in the code?

CSC merged with SRA to become CSRA.

www.csra.com

You're welcome.

Well, ASCII art wouldn't be Turing complete.