Comparisons

	CS 10	CS 61A	CS 61AS
Format	Lectures, with regular guest lectures by well-known Computer Scientists; discussions and labs	Lectures; discussions and labs	Lab-centric; discussions
Time Commitment	4 units	4 units, but people often say this is their most time-consuming course	Variable, you can take 1-4 units over one or two semesters.
Counts toward major?	No. CS 10 does not count toward the CS major	Yes. CS 61A also covers some other majors’ pre-reqs, such as BioE and CogSci.	Yes. 4 units of 61AS is equivalent to any major req that requires 61A.
What if I've never programmed before?	CS 10 is designed for students without previous programming experience.	Despite its fast pace, CS 61A has many different avenues for support, including extra review sessions and tutoring.	CS 61AS has an optional “unit 0” (1 P/NP unit of CS 98) designed for a gentler introduction to CS and programming.
What programming languages are taught?	Mainly Snap!, and a bit of Python during the last 4 weeks	Python. A bit of Scheme (build a Scheme interpreter) and SQL.	Scheme/Racket. A bit of Python (build a Python interpreter) and Logic.
Brief list of topics discussed	Applications of CS (Graphics, HCI, AI, more) 2 Personal Projects Recursion / HOFs Data Science Ideas Internet Architecture	Programming and Big Ideas of CS 4 Projects Recursion / HOFs Hierarchical Data OOP Interpreters Databases (SQL)	Very similar to 61A. Instead of databases (SQL), we teach Logic, but the other 95% of concepts are the same.
Rough class sizes (as of Fall 2014)	300	1200+	100

FAQ

Why does 61AS use Scheme/Racket when 61A uses Python?

Since CS 61A is taught in Python while CS 61AS is taught in Scheme/Racket, shouldn’t I choose 61A so that I learn Python?

By Rohin Shah

People give many reasons for this:

Some upper division students told them Python is better than Scheme/Racket
Python is used more in real-world programming than Scheme/Racket, so it is more useful to know it
There are more people who can help with Python problems than Scheme/Racket problems
Python is easier to learn than Scheme/Racket
If you program in Scheme/Racket you’ll spend all your time counting parens

To address each of the points above individually:

I’d like to note that I know both Scheme/Racket and Python very well. I’ve programmed in both for about 4 years. The typical upper division student has programmed in Scheme for all of 3 weeks in 61A. They don’t know Scheme. As a result, some (not all) of their criticism is unjustified. For example, saying “Scheme is harder because it takes me longer to write programs in it”. Of course that’s true, if you’ve only programmed in it for 3 weeks! That would be true of any language that you don’t have significant experience with. If you are basing your decision based on other students saying “Python is better”, ask those students for their reasoning about why Python is better - it will probably fall into one of the other points on my list.
Yes, it’s true, Python is used more in the real world. And yes, if you only ever got to learn one language, you should choose Python. That said, why do you think you are only going to learn one language? If you are a CS major, that will definitely not be the case, if you are a non-major, it still likely won’t be true if you continue to program after taking 61A/AS. One of the distinguishing features of programmers is that they can learn the basics of new programming languages quickly. Becoming an expert in a particular language takes significantly longer; however, 61A is not going to make you an expert in Python. Not even close. After taking 61AS, if you need to learn Python, you can, and it won’t take you long to get up to par with a 61A student.
Of course, you might still ask why you wouldn’t just learn Python in the first place, and save yourself some effort. My answer there is that it is because Scheme is a good educational language - see the FAQ “Why does 61AS use Scheme/Racket instead of Python?”
This is a valid point, and is a downside of learning Scheme/Racket. That said, the 61AS staff is incredibly helpful. There are typically 20 hours each week where you can talk to a TA in person, and instructors are responsive on Piazza.
I have a particular way of holding a pencil. It’s not the “correct” way to hold a pencil - all my life I’ve had people tell me “You’re holding the pencil wrong, let me teach you the right way.” The first two or three times, I did actually try to hold the pencil right, but it was so difficult. My writing speed halved, my fingers and hand hurt more, and I gave up quickly. I’m sure if I put in the time and practiced, the right way would become natural. Programming is similar - when you learn your second language, you keep thinking “Oh, I really want to do X the way I did in my first language, this second language sucks, it can’t even do that.” What you forget is that learning how to do X in your first language also took a long time, even though it seems completely natural now. As a result, all those people who learned Python before Scheme will likely say “Scheme is unintuitive and hard to learn, choose Python instead”.
Another point is that the people who say this typically don’t know Scheme. See point 1.
If you spend your time in Scheme counting parens, you’re doing it wrong. If you write your Scheme code on paper, then yes, you’ll have to count parens. But you write code on a computer with a text editor - even a basic set of features will eliminate the need to count parens. All I need out of a text editor is the ability to automatically indent Scheme code, and to highlight matching parens. Emacs does this out of the box, and Sublime can be configured to do so as well. “Scheme is about counting parens” is as nonsensical as “Cooking is about turning on the stove” - yes, you usually do need to turn on the stove to cook, but that’s not what you focus your energy on.

Opinions

On Taking CS10

Michael Ball

CS10 Summer 2015 Lecturer, CS10 Head TA

CS10 is, in many ways, unique. A large goal of CS10 is to expose students to many topics of computer science, including graphics, Game Theory, Human-Computer Interaction, distributed computing and some others depending on the semester. There is a sizable discussion about the social aspects of computing and how that affects everyone, which is enjoyable for many students because it’s a different thought process than programming, but is also something that some students may prefer to skip.

CS10 focuses on helping you figure out how to structure programs and solve problems, like any other CS class. The use of Snap! is a really good starting point if you’re unsure about CS or programming but does require some transition to a language like Python, which is done during the final third of CS10. CS10 covers about 85% of topics that CS61A does, but at a bit less depth than 61A. For example, in both classes you learn about recursion and memoization (among many topics) but in CS 61A, you will spend more time analyzing complex recursive functions or implementing memoization whereas CS10 will cover these topics but you won’t be assessed at as deep a level.

People who are motivated by personal creativity will almost certainly find CS10’s personal projects more fulfilling, IMO. CS10 projects certainly give you more free reign, and emphasize the creative aspect of computer science, rather than the technical aspect.

On Taking 61A

Andrew Huang

61A Summer 2014 Co-Lecturer, Fall 2014/Spring 2015 EECS Course Manager, 61AS/61A/61B TA

From my experience, there are a nontrivial number of students with no prior programming experience who have a really tough time with 61A. When I say tough, I mean something like “this class takes more time than all the other classes I’m taking combined.”

Programming experience doesn’t really speak to whether or not you’re prepared, it’s more nuanced than that. Once you have programmed for an extended period of time, you develop this resistance to failure (pressing on despite hardship) which is essential to doing well in 61A. That’s what’s really key in being able to handle this class.

“This class is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” is also a common (but not universal) quip among students with no programming experience. And this is a result not of any single assignment, but the fact that the course is fast paced—there’s a lot to understand and apply, and inherently not enough time to master it all (though taking fewer classes helps).

From this, I would say that whether or not you take this course next semester depends on how you think you would be able to handle a class that may necessarily push your limits and force you confront failure and frustration each week.

General Advice

Rohin Shah

61A Summer 2014 Co-Lecturer, CS 61AS/61B/161/170/188 TA

Go through the flowchart/questionnaire, I've put a lot of thought into it.

If this will be your first semester at Berkeley, try not to do too much. Even if you were valedictorian of your high school with a perfect GPA - there are plenty of students like that in Berkeley. Take an easy first semester to get calibrated to Berkeley, and then you'll have a much better idea of the workload you can manage.

CS10, CS61A, CS61AS

Which class should I take?