Arturo Salazar

Prof. Salazar's BICS 365 is the best programming course among those I took at SFSU. He is very knowledgeable but he doesn't make a big mystery out of programming. He has lots of code examples and is very willing to explain them in class. In fact, his homeworks are based on the code that's already written, you just have to change it or complete it -- that's a good way to learn.

There are 4 tests which are pretty easy (mostly theoretical questions rather than programming) -- he drops the lowest, so the remaining 3 test are worth 75% of the grade. The other 25% come from the homework -- there are 5 assignments and the lowest is dropped. The homework is where you do the real work; where you really have a chance to program. I found that his HW assignments were very well supported by the lecture materials and even though they required a considerable amount of time and effort (esp. the last ones) the were, in fact, doable.

It's true -- a lot of people drop out at the beginning of the semester -- and, I'm guessing -- proceed to write nasty reviews -- how noble! But if they cared to stick around and make an effort to learn, they definitely would. Learning is a 2-way process; you can't just sit there expecting the professor to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside and oh, so special. Even a good professor like Salazar can't just put the knowledge into your head -- you have to be there, willing to process it, to ask questions, to make an effort. We're not coming to class for our professors, you know. So, let's grow up, shall we? It's a very good class and a very good professor. It's up to you to take it and stay till the end -- if you do, you will be a better programmer.

Professor Salazar truly enjoys teaching, and he expects his students to care as much as he does. He gives extensive class examples, clearly explaining every step, and encourages students to ask questions and catch any errors he makes. He regularly brought in his laptop to demonstrate the programming environment. Tests were challenging, but quite fair. He's quite clear about what topics will be on the exam, and either allows you to bring in a cheat sheet, or full access to your notes and book. On each exam, some students always scored perfect or near perfect, demonstrating that the test was reasonable. Nonetheless, he made sure that nobody flunked who didn't truly deserve to. My greatest criticism is that I don't think we had enough homework. The best way to learn programming is by doing it, and I don't think that the structure of the class forced us to program enough. Professor Salazar is always thinking about how to improve his classes. Just go talk to him during his office hours, and you'll see how much he cares.

Well, if you want to learn C++, don't take his class. He does have great understanding on programming, but he does not know how to inherite his knowledge to students at all! Evetytime he explains something, he says it's easy. But no one understands it without him to explain it deeply since BICS265 is an introductory course for C++. The prerequisite for this class is only BICS263; however, he just assumes that we know already something about what we learn in this class. He doesn't treat students as ones who want to start learning. How the hell we want to take this class if we already know how to program? He needs to know how to teach, and the knowledge level of whom he teaches.