Evaluation Comments
Course:Compiler Design
            (CSC-448-810)

Quarter:Winter 10/11
Time: ::: - :::
Location: Distance Learning
James Riely PhD

Associate Professor
jriely@cs.depaul.edu
Instructor homepage

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Summary     1       2       

What are the major strengths and weaknesses of the instructor?


2.   Professor Reily is a great teacher. I was planning on taking this quarter off until I saw that he was teaching this class. He has a deep understanding of his subjects, and communicates in a relaxed and accessible style. He makes class fun. His one weak area is in getting assignments graded and back to students in a timely manner.

What aspects of this course were most beneficial to you?


2.   Knowing how the code I write gets transformed into what gets executed by the computer completes my view of what I do. Prior to taking this course, I had a firm grasp of programming, software engineering, and how the code actually executes on the machine. Now I have concrete knowledge of how the code I write *becomes* what gets executed on the computer, and how what I write affects what gets executed.This class should be required for any undergrad or graduate degree in CS.

What do you suggest to improve this course?


2.   The book is fine, and I think it makes a good basis for the class. Given the time constraints of a 10-week quarter, I think the concept of a framework for building a compiler is a good idea. It allows the students to work on the parts they need to learn without having to worry about building the entire system. However, the framework needs to align more closely with the material presented in the book. If it did, I think the students could probably build more of the system themselves, and would definitely suffer far fewer headaches.

Comment on the grading procedures and exams


1.   Grading took far too long, unreasonably so. But this seems to be the standard at DePaul, unfortunately. Where is the department->professor oversight on this issue??
2.   Grading was fine, but really slow.

Other comments?