A quiet lab from the outside, pure chaos from within–the trains lab. Where trains whir across miniature tracks, and students spend countless hours working away. CS452: Real-Time Programming is a renowned CS course, notorious for its difficulty but fondly remembered for the deep sense of community it fosters among those who take it.
Dr. Martin Karsten, who currently teaches the course, likes to quote a student review from Reddit. “CS452 is not so much a course as a self-discovery journey” the student wrote. “[It] is really about learning how much you're willing to sacrifice in pursuit of winning, even facing certain defeat. You will discover just how far you can truly push yourself. And yet, almost everyone comes up short of what they set out to do. I don't think anyone in my class was totally satisfied with their final result.”
Brian Beck (BMath ’87, CS), an alum of the course and now a retired LinkedIn Software Engineer Manager, still fondly recalls the experience, saying: “I remember the fun a lot more than I remember the stress of it.”
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