CS61BL
Data Structures
Summer 2016

Hello. This is a placeholder web page until the real course website is put up, which probably won't be until the start of the course. In the meantime, below is an FAQ you may find useful. If you have additional questions, you can also email us, the course instructors, at sarahjkim@berkeley.edu and alanyao@berkeley.edu.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this course count for the same credit as CS 61B?

Yes. It counts for everything exactly the same.

Will lectures be webcasted?

Unlikely.

How is this course different from CS 61B?

It is lab-based. You will spend proportionally more time in lab and proportionally less time in lecture. In addition, 61BL is partner/groupwork focused, where as 61B tends to be all solo. In 61BL, all labs/homeworks are done in partnership, and projects 2 and 3 will be in group. Project 1 will be solo, however.

Is this course easier than CS 61B?

No. You will learn the same content. The labs, homework, exams, and projects will be the same difficulty. The major difference, however, is that this course is essentially run at twice the speed.

How much work will this class be?

A lot. I speculate it will feel like around 2.5 times as much work as the regular 61B, which is already a significant step up from the amount of work in 61A. I strongly recommend not taking any other courses concurrently with this one.

Can I take CS 70 concurrently with this course?

Please don't. You will not have a good summer. I speculate taking both these courses during summer will feel like 18-20 units of work during a regular semester.

Can I do a 40 hour internship concurrently with this course?

Please don't.

Can I take this course without having taken 61A (or some equivalent)?

No.

Can I take this course concurrently with 61A?

No.

What if I'm a transfer student, and/or I already have significant experience programming in Java?

Okay.

I'm from another school, and I'm not sure if the course I took is equivalent to 61A. What skills from 61A are necessary to succeed in this class?

Basic skills in programming and debugging, fluency with solving problems using recursion, and basic exposure to object-oriented programming.

I'm bored. Is there anything I can do to prepare for the course before I take it?

Review object-oriented programming concepts from 61A. Read the textbook Head First Java. Build something cool using Java. If you don't have any ideas for your own project, here's one suggestion: build something that implements the process described here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Getting_to_Philosophy.

Potentially useful links:

Previous sites:   http://inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs61bl/archives.html
General Catalog Description:   http://osoc.berkeley.edu/catalog/gcc_search_menu/
Schedule of Classes:   http://schedule.berkeley.edu/