Help needed Please! COS110/121 Tuks

[I am Penguin]

I am desperate!
My daugher is studying BI.T at Tuks. She finds COS110/121 demanding as many issues prevailed that made it difficult if not impossible for her during her 1st semester.

Lack of funding/
Lack of support/
No handbooks/
No Internet/

She wants to abort.

What can I do to help her?
Is it to late to recover at this stage of the game?

What computer program for compiling C++ on Linux can be used to give her more time for practising on her own PC?

ANY advise to assist her, reading materials/study materials etc?

If she aborts will there be any cost savings? What is the implications? can she do the modules again later?

 

[guest2013-1]

Can't say for tuks but wtf? No handbooks/support/funding?

I studied COS110 through UNISA (or began too... maybe I should start it up again) and they supplied all the handbooks and software required to do the course material and practice on your own PC at your home

It does get a bit involved, but I usually say "if you can read you can program". Never say that the "difficult" part comes into the problem solving and debugging

I'm sure there's somewhere where you can download the stuff from that you need ... WTF is wrong with Tuks?

Lemme msg my cousin, he studies there, not sure if he's doing COS this year

 

[sn3rd]

It's never too late to pass. Trust me, I've done it many times

The best thing to do is for her to sit down with the teaching assistant, where available, and ask questions. So in order to do that, she should obviously work through the stuff before hand.

Luckily it's an introductory course, so it's more about syntax and style than anything else. You can buy lots of awesome books at most book stores. Or you could borrow one of mine if you like. I have quite a few very good books.

But books won't help if she isn't willing to work through it.

And the Internet is great too... Check out http://www.java2s.com for a nice C++ by example tutorial.

And you could also ask us here; we're always glad to help.

Or PM me if she's really getting stuck.

This is only nearing the end of the first quarter; definitely plenty of time to pull it back.

 

[I am Penguin]

Can't say for tuks but wtf? No handbooks/support/funding?

I studied COS110 through UNISA (or began too... maybe I should start it up again) and they supplied all the handbooks and software required to do the course material and practice on your own PC at your home

It does get a bit involved, but I usually say "if you can read you can program". Never say that the "difficult" part comes into the problem solving and debugging

I'm sure there's somewhere where you can download the stuff from that you need ... WTF is wrong with Tuks?

Lemme msg my cousin, he studies there, not sure if he's doing COS this year

Thanks, Yeah, i do not want this thread to become a political debate.
With 6 distinctions in matric we could not manage to find a bursary in IT.
We could not find Hostel or close living space so rented a bachelor flat closeby.
Although approved already in March the Varsity did not finalize her study loan.
Etc, Etc.

Really heartbreaking.

I just managed to find extracts on these prescribed books on the net for cos121

5 Study Material
5.1 Prescribed
The prescribed books for the module are:
E. Gamma, R. Helm, R. Johnson and J. Vlissides (1995); Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software; Addison-Wesley
K. Scott Fast Track UML 2.0

 

[sn3rd]

Only read your post in its entirety now.

1) If she aborts now, they still charge you half or the full amount. There's a cutoff where it changes from half to the full amount, but no idea when that is.
2) If on Windows, either get Dev C++ or just the MingW compiler. Then she can write the code using her favourite text editor, and simply compile it. If on Linux, gcc/g++ does the trick, and again, any text editor does the job.
lived666's daughter was using Codeblocks, which is pretty good too.
3) She can always do the module later, but bear in mind that if the module is a pre-requisite for another module, she won't be able to take that module until she completes COS.
4) If you need software, all the stuff is available on UP's FTP servers:

ftp://ftp.up.ac.za
ftp://ftp.ee.up.ac.za
ftp://ftp.cs.up.ac.za

 

[I am Penguin]

It's never too late to pass. Trust me, I've done it many times

The best thing to do is for her to sit down with the teaching assistant, where available, and ask questions. So in order to do that, she should obviously work through the stuff before hand.

Luckily it's an introductory course, so it's more about syntax and style than anything else. You can buy lots of awesome books at most book stores. Or you could borrow one of mine if you like. I have quite a few very good books.

But books won't help if she isn't willing to work through it.

And the Internet is great too... Check out http://www.java2s.com for a nice C++ by example tutorial.

And you could also ask us here; we're always glad to help.

Or PM me if she's really getting stuck.

This is only nearing the end of the first quarter; definitely plenty of time to pull it back.

Thanks, that's encouraging. I will now have to try and get her motivated again. She is tired of battling against the tide.

I think she left it too long before asking for advise, she did not want to dissapoint. I just hope we can get her going again.

The problem with many information articles re the subject is that it is to vast. There are so much to learn. What she needs is a guide/mentor in the course to get her back on track. Only now study what is required for the course.

I need to find someone at Tuks to discuss with and help maybe.

 

[Orax]

Hi im a final year electronic engineering student at Tuks at from what im thru its never too late to catch up I did Cos131 a few years back but its is not on the same level ( a lot easier) as the IT department's programming so cant comment on complexity.

1st of all I believe lack of funding should never be a reason someone cant continue their study. I myself use a study loan from NSFAS and a University bursary to finish my study. If the cost of education is a burden make use of some of the funding the South African government provide such as NSFAS and Eduloan.

UP offer support with extra tutorial classes, tutors and one of the best libraries in the country which many students never use (I myself discovered the wealth of library resources very late in my study).

I already gave away my handbook sorry cant help with that but the library at Tuks will have a copy of the handbook and allow students to make a 10% copy of the book.

Internet is a problem at Tuks every student receive only 200mb a year which wont last very long for anyone studying IT or any such direction. Best option is to use Google Scholar at Tuks which is free with a huge database of educational resources. Internet at home is very important personally I cannot program without Internet it is just too hard to do everything alone. Best is to make an investment and get something proper such as adsl or a vodacom data contract.

There is many different C++ compilers for linux best is to use the 1 her lecturer use.

Don't know if the cutoff date to deregister modules without cost past but if she really wants to abort best is to find that out tomorrow else she will have to pay half of the cost of the module.

 

[Choppie]

I'm from tuks... and i did Cos 110... ok i must admit i did i 4 years back and I wasn't studying B.IT.

Back then the course was based on Java.
Basically the course is a bit of an introduction to programming(But on a more advanced level, since programming at school is a prerequisite). I did not find the subject too challenging ( just the shift to object orientation, we still did turbo pascal at school)

I also found that the support for the subject was quite good, the lecturer was approachable( the lecturer might have changed), they supplied all the information needed to set up the compiler. They have a lecture assistant available to go chat to and ask questions.

She can go to the computer labs at anytime between 8am - 9pm( thats just the one lab... she can go check the times for the different labs). All the pc's in the labs will have the software set up.

All i can say is that, it will require a lot of work and she just needs to do her part( If she struggles, she should ask someone to help, the tutors or the lecture assistant or go to the department because they have tutors available).

 

[guest2013-1]

No worries, I knew a guy who got 8 distinctions, the one for math (in matric) he got 100% on the paper AND he got the bonus questions correct, which put him at like 115% just for Math.

His average for matric across all subjects were 99.89%

That's his ****ing average dude... and he got turned down for a bursary because he didn't do well enough (this was back in 96/97)... bunch of bull crap.

 

[I am Penguin]

( since programming at school is a prerequisite). I did not find the subject too challenging ( just the shift to object orientation, we still did turbo pascal at school)

Thats maybe the problem. She did Delphi on school, did well, maybe the difference is to big and from loving IT (programming) she now are starting to loath it.

 

[Choppie]

I must admit, i got 63 for the first semester test then got something in the 80's for the second one... The big thing is just to master object orientation(should be a bit easier for her since she did Delphi) but to make that switch takes time and practice...

But believe me when you get it, it opens up a new world. All the tings you can program... it makes it a lot more fun

 

[I am Penguin]

There is many different C++ compilers for linux best is to use the 1 her lecturer use.

The platform that you have to use is Linux, and all programming assignments will be marked on a Linux platform. You have to make sure that your programs run on Linux. If not, then your programs will not be evaluated.

3. The programming language used for COS110 is C++. All programming assignments must be implemented using C++.

4. Please note that all programming assignments will be marked using scripts. This means that you have to follow the instructions of the assignments very carefully. If you deviate from the specifications of the assignment, then the scripts will not be able to mark your programs, in which case you will get zero, or a very low mark.

5. Note that all code must run successfully on the environment as provided in the Informatorium. Debian with KDE 3.5 is loaded on the machines in the Informatorium. The version of the GCC compiler used is 4.3.3.

I presume this in RED is what she will need? Question is which Distro. Any advice?

 

[Orax]

We used the GCC compiler also its freeware if I remember correctly should be somewhere on the ftp servers. Let me check if I can find it.

 

[Orax]

Cant find it on the UP ftp servers but here is a list of mirrors on the GCC site (http://gcc.gnu.org/mirrors.html). There was some procedure to get everything working but cant remember used it awhile ago best will be if she ask a tutor or lecturer how to install the compiler correctly.

 

[I am Penguin]

Cant find it on the UP ftp servers but here is a list of mirrors on the GCC site (http://gcc.gnu.org/mirrors.html). There was some procedure to get everything working but cant remember used it awhile ago best will be if she ask a tutor or lecturer how to install the compiler correctly.

Thanks a lot.

 

[Orax]

np just dont let finance be an issue. Education is too important and there is many opportunities to get study bursaries/loans.

 

[Gnome]

She shouldn't give up just because of COS 110, if she fails, so what, just do it again. I understand the loans thing but I'll tell you people who are financially worse off than you have made it before even after failing modules, I know because one of my friends is such a person, his father made a **** load of debt and left him and his mom in the middle of our 2nd year and he failed a bunch of modules, had to get a job just so they can keep their home (their car was repossessed).

For comparison in that second year he failed HALF his modules but he didn't give up.

Also COS 110 this year is COMPLETELY different from previous years, it's very difficult for 1st years, I don't even want to tell you what the pass rate is so far but she just needs to get the basics down from COS 131/130

 

[I am Penguin]

she just needs to get the basics down from COS 131/130

Thats a good Idea, I will check if I can find anything.

 

[Gnome]

Btw. my personal opinion on setting up a Development environment is as follows:

Download Eclipse For C++
Download GCC

Install GCC first with everything checked, add the GCC bin folder to the path environmental variable ( http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Windows+Environmental+Variables ).

Next up install Eclipse for C++, run it, good to go, it's simple to use, you have step-through debugging, a programmers MOST important tool because it allows you to inspect the values of variable while applications run and to see step by step what a application does, lastly it's also a lot better in terms of compile errors and warnings.

I have both, GCC is available from ftp.cs.up.ac.za but the Eclipse C++ I downloaded, I'd be happy to give it to her/you/whomever on campus if you can't download it.

 

[I am Penguin]

Btw. my personal opinion on setting up a Development environment is as follows:

Download Eclipse For C++
Download GCC

Install GCC first with everything checked, add the GCC bin folder to the path environmental variable ( http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Windows+Environmental+Variables ).

Next up install Eclipse for C++, run it, good to go, it's simple to use, you have step-through debugging, a programmers MOST important tool because it allows you to inspect the values of variable while applications run and to see step by step what a application does, lastly it's also a lot better in terms of compile errors and warnings.

I have both, GCC is available from ftp.cs.up.ac.za but the Eclipse C++ I downloaded, I'd be happy to give it to her/you/whomever on campus if you can't download it.

Thanks man, of course I should set up Linux first?

Ok, checked the download pages, its avaiable for all platforms.