The Algorithms Are Brain Opener!!

Hi MSSS Aspirants,

From the last two days, the mathematical brush-up, of the big Oh notation, Asymptotic and Series , before I jump into the world of algorithms, has kept my brain running around like a drunkard in a dark alley. At the same time it has thrown open some rusted windows of the mind and fastened a few screws, here and there!!

Algorithms to me, is like my daily routine! All the things, I perform right from the time I wake up in the morning till I sleep at night is also an algorithm, highly dynamic at that!!

I hope, the MSSS folks are keeping their mind open, with this mind opener!

Best wishes!!

Tips To Maximize Study Time

Hi MSSS Aspirants!!

Greetings!!

As we all are aware that we have chosen the lucrative double edged Work Integrated Learning Program (WILP), Master of Science in Software Systems (MSSS), while being an active contributor to the IT industry. Also, at the same time, it is doubly difficult to remain diligent to the study plan and maintain a regular and slow & steady study routine, not being cocooned in the sacrosanct environs of a College and under constant guidance of the Professors and Peers.

So to keep up with the time, running like a bullet train and days converting into months, I have a few suggestions for the upkeep of a healthy study routine without disturbing the usual work routine.

1. Each semester includes 4 subjects. First and foremost, buy the books in the beginning of the the semester. Books provide mobility and enables take-out-and-study irrespective of locale and timings. Do not forget to keep a couple of blank pages in the middle of each of the books which can double as book-mark as well as notes. Carry a book each day while travelling to the work-place. Utilize the time spend in the local-train and bus to study and complete a couple of pages and if time permits (traffic-jams) a chapter all-together. While returning back, revise the same, as the mind will not be as fresh and agile as it was in the morning! Am I not right ;)

2. Buy/Download the PDF versions of the same books and keep a copy of the same in the office Laptop/Desktop! In the mornings and after Lunch hours, make a habit of working out a few problem-statements/Numericals at the back of the chapters! Also use these PDF versions while travelling to home-town or business-travel as it is not advisable to carry the hefty books to these locations!!

3. As it was said that when Arjun (Mahabharat) was told to shoot an arrow in the eye of the Birdie, he successfully did so only because he was focussed and all the other objects surrounding him were out of the context in his thinking. The same applies here too!! While making time for study, keep the objects of house-hold and work-place out of context.

4. Slow and steady wins the race! Be the tortoise and not the rabbit. Instead of planning to study only in the weekends, please make the work-days the warm-up sessions for the weekends!

5. Prioritise the syllabus over the entire content of the books and study-material. Prepare for the syllabus first and if then time permits, increase the knowledge-base by covering the rest of the topics, not in the syllabus!

Best Wishes!!

Email Access And VU Are Active

Hi MSSS Aspirants!

The BITS-Pilani, Sandesh e-mail account and the Virtual University is now active. Please check with your credentials! I hope studies are going good!

Best wishes!

The Book List Is Out - First Semester

Hi Readers,

Who likes to study? Yeah, show me one who does and I will show thousands others who don't! But there comes a time, when one has to leave behind all the excuses and therefore all the options of answering the question, when are you going to start, exhausts! That time is when the course handouts are uploaded and the book lists are released. Then the ball is on the student's court. Now it is her/his responsibility to make a shot and therefore shoot towards the book-shops to grab a copy of the books in the book-list of the various subjects in the semester.

As I have mentioned in an earlier blog, that the subjects opted for -- in the first semester -- are Computer Networks (CN), Data Structures and Algorithm (DSA), Object Oriented Analysis and Design (OOAD) and last but not the least, Software Engineering and Management (SEM).

And now the book-list is out and here it is!

• CN -- Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach Featuring the Internet, Pearson Education, 3rd Edition, 2005 by Kurose James F and Keith W. Ross.

• DSA -- Algorithm Design: Foundations, Analysis & Internet Examples, Wiley Student Edition, 2002 by Goodrich, Michael T & Roberto Tamassia.

• OOAD -- Applying UML and Patterns: An Introduction to Object-Oriented Analysis and Design and Iterative Development, Pearson Education, 3rd Ed., 2004 by Larman, Craig.

• SEM -- Software Engineering: A Practitioner's Approach, MGHISE, 7th Ed., 2010 by Pressman, R.S..

Now the ball is in our court, and what I wonder is that I have not even considered buying the racket yet!! Just Awesome!!

Best wishes!