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Software Engineering Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [computer-science]

Computer science or computing science (abbreviated CS or CompSci) is the scientific approach to computation and its applications.

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How can I make sure that I'm actually learning how to program rather than simply learning the details of a language?

I often hear that a real programmer can easily learn any language within a week. Languages are just tools for getting things done, I'm told. Programming is the ultimate skill that must be learned and mastered. How can I make sure that I'm actually…
Ryan
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What's a nice explanation for pointers?

In your own studies (on your own, or for a class) did you have an "ah ha" moment when you finally, really understood pointers? Do you have an explanation you use for beginner programmers that seems particularly effective? For example, when beginners…
Macneil
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Why does a computer science degree matter to a professional programmer?

I have a degree in computer science. It has been great for opening doors, getting a job. As far as helping me in the professional field of C# .NET programming (the most popular platform and language in the area I work if not the entire united…
P.Brian.Mackey
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What is the difference between 'layer of abstraction' and 'level of indirection'?

I am not sure if both terms can be used interchangeably. Maybe there is some academic distinction in computer science which is not relevant for day-to-day programming? Or can I use both term interchangeably without being wrong? Maybe it depends on…
Theo Lenndorff
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What methods are there to avoid a stack overflow in a recursive algorithm?

Question What are the possible ways to solve a stack overflow caused by an recursive algorithm? Example I'm trying to solve Project Euler problem 14 and decided to try it with a recursive algorithm. However, the program stops with a…
Lernkurve
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How do I completely-self-study Computer Science?

Being a completely self taught programmer, I would like it if I could better myself by self-learning the computer science course taught to a typical CS grad. Finding different resources on internet has been easy, there is of course MIT open course…
Optimus
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What is the meaning of "doesn't compose"?

I see a lot of texts, especially functional programming texts, claim that certain CS concepts "don't compose". Examples are: locks don't compose, monads don't compose. I've been having a hard time tracking down exactly the meaning of this phrase.…
Bill
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What to do when coding begins to feel boring, like it is all just more of the same?

I started programming at the age of 6 on a Commodore 64. Now I'm 28, and I have to complete 4 courses from a first degree in Computer Science. I'm starting to get bored with writing code after all these years. I've taken a course in Computer…
boos
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What's the difference between computer science and programming?

I'm new at computer science and programming, and I was wondering, is there a difference between computer science and programming? and do you get to choose to study only one of them at the university, or both of them?
xXSarahXx
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Will a computer science college degree ever hurt my employability?

Too often, I can see that there are many viable programmers without college degrees in Computer Science, Informatics, etc. Now that I've been reading more articles about underperforming education and the insignificance of college degrees…
Gio Borje
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Help in understanding computer science, programming and abstraction

Until now, I always believed that you should learn programming languages that make you do low-level stuff (e.g. C) to understand what's really happening under the hood and how the computer really works. this question, this question and an answer…
lightning_missile
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Upcoming Google interview, looking for some preparation advice

Well I've been hitting the books wherever I can. I have an interview coming up, first one via phone, for a software engineer position. I've read all the blog posts, I've read all the accounts of interviews (some pretty old), and Google itself even…
Fast Fish
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How does sleeping a thread work?

When you sleep a thread, what is actually going on? I see that sleeping a thread "pauses the current thread for a given period of time". But just how does it work? According to How Thread.sleep() works internally and How does Thread.sleep really…
Rowan Freeman
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What is the one bit of computer science theory I should know?

Speaking as someone with an Electronic Engineering rather than Computer Science degree, what is the one bit of computer science I should know to make me a better real world programmer? (By real world I mean something I'm going to use and benefit…
Jon Hopkins
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Is there a subset of programs that avoid the halting problem

I was just reading another explanation of the halting problem, and it got me thinking all the problems I've seen that are given as examples involve infinite sequences. But I never use infinite sequences in my programs - they take too long. All the…
daven11
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