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Comp Sci and IT (1 Viewer)

Mystique1

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How much Maths is involved in these subjects?
Is it possible to go through doing General Maths? I have all the background knowledge from Software Design and Development so i really do know how to code basically in PHP and VBA but how will i go without 2U maths?

Is the Maths requirement literal or just for the problem solving basis?
 

Hakz

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Well i think comp sci will require more maths then IT. Currently at uow you only have to do 1 math subject in the 1st year for IT and same with comp sci, but before it was different i did math and a statistical subject.
 

Mystique1

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Yea the BSc IT at UTS doesnt seem to have much maths =]
I think ill aim for that =]
Thanks for the help Hakz :p
 

Makro

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Considering there's already one like this, I'll post here.

What are the significant differences between Csci and IT? Also it appears to me that Csci is more like SDD and IT more like IPT, that is, in terms of the HSC. Would this be a safe assumption?

Are they the only two computing courses? From scanning through courses, they seem to be it, unless I'm looking in the wrong spot.
 

Hakz

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Well at uow comp sci is mainly programming based where as Info Tech deals with programming and business oriented topics eg making database for an organisation, creating a programs to support business functions etc.
 

Makro

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Csci is more maths oriented right? How bad is it if you don't have the Reccommended subjects? I.e. 3U Maths. I've only got 2U Maths.
 

Hakz

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Makro said:
Csci is more maths oriented right? How bad is it if you don't have the Recommended subjects? I.e. 3U Maths. I've only got 2U Maths.
well having 2/3unit would be good, but hey its not a big deal. I know two friends who are in there 2nd year of comp sci and did general math at high school
 

Makro

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I have 2 unit, which I do fairly well in. I'm asking if it's just insanely hard comparatively.

Also where's the best place? or the best few places?

thanks, again.
 

Hakz

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Makro said:
I have 2 unit, which I do fairly well in. I'm asking if it's just insanely hard comparatively.

Also where's the best place? or the best few places?

thanks, again.
At UOW the only pure math subject for comp sci is Discrete mathematics. There is also statistics which i also did, but is alright if u do ur work for it.

Well UOW's informatics faculty is well known by Industry and is a up to date faculty, especially the IT/IS sections which also includes comp sci.

Good luck
 

Makro

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Any other Unis to toss up between so I can have a closer look at the courses? UOW was the one I initially have thought of.
 

Hakz

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Makro said:
Any other Unis to toss up between so I can have a closer look at the courses? UOW was the one I initially have thought of.
Well the only other uni that interested me was UTS. They offer B.Sci(IT) and i think also a B.IT.
 

Ben1220

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How much Maths is involved in these subjects?
Is it possible to go through doing General Maths? I have all the background knowledge from Software Design and Development so i really do know how to code basically in PHP and VBA but how will i go without 2U maths?

Is the Maths requirement literal or just for the problem solving basis?

that really depends on the type of course.

A Bachelor of Science with a major in Computer Science, or a Bachelor of Computer Science is completely different from a course in IT

Computer Science actually has little to do with computers, its much more theoretical. A good quote I heard once was "Computer Science has as much to do with computers as Astronomy has to do with telescopes"

You can think of Computer Science as astronomy, the study of what actually happens inside a computer, while IT is the study of telescopes, how to make them, how to use them, Of course this is simplified but its important to realise that there is a pretty big difference between the two.

Some areas of computer science can almost be considered a branch of mathematics, ie theory of computation, analysis of algorithms ect... computer graphics also requires maths.

Computer Science is also, not just about programming, knowledge of programming languages and how they work are of course an area of computer science, but computer science isn't really just about teaching people how to program. Of course lots of the theoretical computer science stuff like discrete maths, theory of computation, complexity classes ect are all very usefull in software development, such as finding more efficient algorithms for certain tasks. Learning how to be a good programmer however is not what computer science is all about, its a science, its much more simular to applied maths then information technology, as long as you think of it as a science you won't get any nasty unexpected surprises when you start learning about algorithm analysis in a lecture hall in the maths department with a lecturer who has no idea about computers or operating systems or the other stuff that people tend to associate with tech savy people.

While this is true about the academic field of computer science, in practice many degrees in computer science have a focus on software engineering and programming, and although maths is usually still required to at least a first year level, there is more of an emphasis on software designing and testing ect, this isn't really computer science, and is more about training people to have a job in the IT industry as opposed to giving them knowledge about an academic field of study, but depending on your interests, you may prefer this.

IT courses focus more on what you would expect in a computing course, how to use computers, I don't know much about what you learn in an IT course, probably stuff on visulisation of data, databases maybe, systems maintainence or malware removal ect, very little use of maths past highschool algebra.
 

rajagiri

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if you want to good knowledge from maths search good center and learn easy
 

Makro

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If you're wanting to become a programmer, which course would you be looking more at..? That post blew everything I had in mind.
 

Ben1220

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A good programmer? Computer Science or Software Engineering. Although it is possible to learn the syntax of programming languages by yourself or at a tafe course or something, computer science is essentially the chemistry of information, and it will make you exponentially better. Eg more efficient algorithms, appropriate use of the different Programming paradigms depending on the context, average programmers probably get stuck using the same kind of style all the times, where as good programmers will adapt to the situation.

Yes there is much much more to computer science then just programming, but knowing the theory makes you a better programmer/ software engineer in the long run. Its not for everyone though, in fact its probably not even for most people. If you want to focus more on the front end, web design ect, you don't really imagine yourself doing more then standard software or simple web apps, or if you don't enjoy maths then you could probably manage with some more technically/vocationally based degree where you learn more about programming techniques and specific technologies, from somewhere like swinburne.

Something like this maybe: Bachelor of Computing at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia

although thats at the upper end of what I'm talking about, a little more emphasis on design/testing and something on algorithm analysis and that could pass as software engineering...

Expect a fairly standard/average programming career though. Eg getting payed 6 figures to optimise google's search engine or something like that would be out of the question. It depends on what you find enjoyable.
 

ntrinh

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Yes there is much much more to computer science then just programming, but knowing the theory makes you a better programmer/ software engineer in the long run. Its not for everyone though, in fact its probably not even for most people. If you want to focus more on the front end, web design ect, you don't really imagine yourself doing more then standard software or simple web apps, or if you don't enjoy maths then you could probably manage with some more technically/vocationally based degree where you learn more about programming techniques and specific technologies, from somewhere like swinburne.

Something like this maybe: Bachelor of Computing at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia
I agree with you Ben. If you hate maths, choose a course with more vocationally based degree. Swinburne does offer great programming course so there is only 2 math subjects involved and they are not hard at all. After the first year, you will start really focus on programming. You could choose electives subjects to do network security programming or game programming. They are all very exciting stuffs.

Swinburne

You can also check this out: Bachelor of Information Technology at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia

Good luck!
 

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