He is very sarcastic and funny. Really knows his stuff and makes the lectures interesting. Class is difficult but manageable. Make sure you get a good partner for the projects because you will have to work with them all semester.

Really funny and enjoys teaching. He has a lot of office hours for questions which wsa nice. The tests can be hard but if you go to office hours to clear up questions and review the slides and projects you can do alright on the tests. Also make sure to pick a good partner becuase the projects can take a while to do if you don't have a good partner

This professor once wrote a personalized email to me, answering a very specific question I had... at 2 am the night before the final. He answered my question and wished me good luck. That's all you need to know.

fun teacher. had him for 2321. told alot of jokes. has spanish accent but can still hear fine. not an easy professor but you'll definitely learn

This was the first time he taught this class. He tried his best to make himself clearly in the class. But he always made mistakes. He was willing to help everyone. And his office hour was really useful. He gave a curve.

Great lecturer. He's clear and humorous during lecture. Very likely to help after class and gives good feedback. If you follow him during lecture, everything shouldn't be hard. Highly recommend.

Best lecturer I have ever met so far. He is humorous, handsome and inspirational. He explains things very clearly during class. Would definitely take again.

Very nice and funny guy. The only person on earth who can put 5 sarcastic jokes into 1 sentence. Has a sadistic side as well. A bit tough, but the lectures are never boring. I would strongly recommend!

He cares about what he teaches and makes the material fun during lecture. Best part, if you do not understand what is going on during lecture, then he will help you during his office hours.

This was a difficult class, but Diego made the lectures entertaining and the grading was pretty fair. I would definitely recommend him as a professor. The first exam was tough, but the class was curved and I learned the material well.

Great professor; one of the best I've had at Ohio State. Funny, engaging, and knowledgeable. Teaches in a straightforward manner, and assignments and midterms are very reasonable. Would highly recommend.

Have his own sense of "humor"... Also in sw2, I think to get good grade you need to look the slides before class because he goes through the content really fast. Fair exam content, a little harsh on projects. Also there is an about 3.5% curve on my session.

He makes some awesome jokes. I promise if you make it to the Red/Black trees section of the course his jokes will not disappoint. Unless youre PC, then youll cry.

Nice person, has fun with teaching. Grading leans towards the tough/rigorous.

The course was incredibly hard. He was helpful during office hours and pretty funny in class but I am sure there are other good professors that grade more leniently that you could take.

Funniest professor I've ever had--made this difficult class bearable. The class isn't easy by any measure, but with him, you're at least prepared for the tough exams and homework. And he's also really accessible for office hours or via Piazza to answer questions. Homework is time-consuming, but isn't impossible like some other CS classes.

Diego is a great lecturer. He doesn't use the slides very much during class. Rather, he knows the material very well and is very prepared. He does lecture pretty much from memory on the chalkboard. Despite his joking about "staying young by drinking students' tears after exams," he cares about his students and is available outside of class to help.

tough grader

Zaccai is a funny guy. There are easier professors, but there are also harder professors (supowit). Zaccai is not an easy grader, but he's definitely fair. The content of the class was varied and I enjoyed it overall.

Zaccai is one of the best professors in the department. His lectures were hilarious and he knew the material well. The exams are tough, but fairly graded.

Professor Zaccai is great. Even with transforming to online lectures (COVID), the quality of lectures was still good. Tough grader, the in-person exams are lengthy and unforgiving, but doable. Class supposedly has a nice curve though. Projects aren't hard if you understand the material. Overall made dry material very interesting.

Excellent lecturer and enjoyable class. The written exams are quite difficult and his grading is difficult, but the content is similar to the practice exams. Overall, good but difficult class.

Overall super nice guy and a really passionate teacher; would definitely recommend/take again

Incredibly charismatic and engaging lecturer-- funny, too. He did a really good job even with everything online and clearly cares about education. Grading was sometimes a bit rough (2-3%+ on exam for a single MC question), but he more than makes up for it in other areas!

Diego was a hilarious and perhaps the most helpful professor Ive had at OSU. He gives great feedback and is incredibly helpful. The downside of Foundation 2 with him is there are A LOT of assignments to include programming assignments. They were very helpful, but if you arent ready for the extra work you might be better off with another professor

The exam averages were pretty tough this semester (think 60-low 70s) depending on the tests. Other than that, Diego is extremely bright and a star, IMO. He is funny and cares about his students. He is sarcastic in a manner that reminds me of Greggory House, but he makes time for all of his students which is unlike Gregory.

Diego is super fun and an overall amazing professor. His humor is an acquired taste sometimes, but you can tell he does care about his students (even when he jokes around saying that he collects students' tears.) A solid choice for Software II and Foundations. However, everyone can agree that the use of Proctorio is TOO much!

Zaccai has very rough quizzes, but it is definitely possible to do well, if not very well, in all of them. He takes the time to edit his asynchronous lectures, so they tend to be short and sweet as effective compliments to the slides. He has a great sense of humor, and he definitely handled online class far better than others in the CSE department.

Professor Zaccai actually cares about his students. He has a very funny personality and he's very personable. The class is not the easiest, but Professor Zaccai ACTUALLY cares about his students so you can always ask him questions and 99% of the time he will be very helpful in helping you understand.

Very cool and nice professor. He is willing to help you at any cost if you ask him questions. Very funny and has a nice personality. He truly cares for his students that he reminds them not to copy from GitHub. He will reach out to people who dont understand the material and help them out. I am truly SORRY for the people that makes you not happy.

He has many respects from other students. Easy to get a long with and you can talk to him about anything really. He's humorous as to everyday in class he will say something hilarious. Easy on the inside and will answer any questions on anywhere honestly. I realized he's open with people and shares info about himself. Overall, I recommend him.

Diego is pretty chill and you can talk to him like your regular average friend. He talks and mess with students in a very nice way. Diego is outgoing, so don't be shy. He's very energetic and cool. I wish I had him in my foundation 2 class. I'll miss his sense of humor and a professor like no other.

His class isn't that hard. If you study for his online quizzes and do well, then I'm pretty sure you can get an A in his class. The projects are easier and they are done with a partner. The homework is just for effort so you can just try your best and will get full credit. The labs/Piazza are just for participation and the most easiest points.

He's pretty knowledgeable on the content matter and knows his stuff. Zaccai will try his best to explain things for you to understand. Loves to joke around every once in a while. I recommend him to take for every course, he will make you enjoy. He always has something to laugh about and learn from him.

Diego is sweet and kind and I love him. His irony makes this class fun and enjoyable. Diego is very comfortable and easy to talk to. He is relax guy and just wants to have fun.

Diego is caring and social. He calls people out in class and you can start a conversation with him. Very approachable and kind. If you like easy professor and want some enjoyment, then pick him because he will best suit you for that.

Hes lenient and curves his class. Make sure you study well and hard for the quizzes. Diego is fun to interact with and he likes to mess with students on Piazza and Discord with his jokes. I think hes different than the other professors and hes one of a kind. Make sure to ask him questions if needed. he will sometimes lecture in Spanish for fun.

Diego is by far the best professor I had on OSU so far. Diego is accommodating and helpful and willing to find alternatives if you have busy schedule. Unique guy that loves to connect with students. I enjoyed my time in his class.

Very easy to get a long with. Answers most of your questions. Advises people about the class. Not really a strict professor. You just need to know what you are doing and there shouldn't be any problem.

Such a good professor. Willing to help at any cost. I am so sorry for cheating and sincerely sorry for making you write coam case for me and I am truly sorry for making you spend time write my coam case. Hope you can forgive me for using GitHub repository homeworks. Stay safe, happy, and humble. Thanks.

Dr. Zaccai is one of the better, if not best professors in the CSE department. His lectures get you where you need to go, but he's always willing to explain in detail if you have any questions and genuinely cares about his students. Tests can be tough and project grading can be strange, but he usually curves to make up for it.

Man uses Linux over Windows. Zaccai is the real deal

Cool guy! Only catch, really hard tests. Take only if you already know a lot of things in advance

Don't let his sarcasm scare you; he genuinely cares about his students and his humor will grow on you. It's not often that you have a professor who can provide insight that is useful outside of the classroom either, so attend class. Lastly, the material can be difficult depending on your prior knowledge.

Zaccais lectures were a true joy to attend, he had a great energy about every subject and I regret not participating more. The class is tough, but just attending lectures and office hours as needed will get you through it. Ignore all comments about drinking students tears online, every interaction I had with him was fantastic.

Had him for software 2 and really enjoyed him as a professor. Probably the funniest instructor I've ever had and uses that humor to help keep students focused. Also super knowledgeable in general, really glad I got him as a professor.

Diego is extremely knowledgeable, funny, and caring. His dry sense of humor can make him intimidating, especially in a large group setting, but he was nothing but kind when answering questions and interacting with students individually. His exams are challenging but the overall class is set up to be graded very fairly, and he usually curves!

Very knowledgeable prof with a good sense of humor. A little intimidating at first, but he's super nice and is always willing to clarify and answer questions. Definitely speak up in lecture or go to office hours when you need clarification. I do wish he would make the midterms easier since this class is rough grade wise.

I enjoy this professor a lot, he makes content that would be hard to pay attention to more engaging by cracking the occasional dad joke.

I think Prof Zaccai was very funny and entertaining and great at teaching the material. My only real complaint is that the exams were for the most part very very difficult. The class was curved though which helps. (unrelated - Rate My Professor needs to increase their word limit!)

Nice guy and a decent lecturer. Exams were very diffcult however, and there was not much curve.

Professor Zaccai is first and foremost a teacher and cares about the success of his students. He makes the dry slides of the OSU Software sequence bearable and always clarifies when students are stuck. The exams are tough, but the class is curved to compensate if the grades are especially rough.

Was skeptical at first because of his humor, but was actually a great lecturer. Keeps content entertaining and is always willing to explain more complicated topics in depth.

The version of 3341 he teaches (Michael Bond's curriculum) is really difficult, but I feel like I learned a lot from it. Keeps lecture interesting and worthwhile to go to. Cares about students and is easily accessible outside of class. Projects are graded objectively on how many test cases they pass, so it's easy to get a low grade if you mess up

Diego is one of the best lecturers I've met. He makes boring slideshows funny and really tries to connect with his students. He's a tough grader but you'll learn a ton by talking things out with him.

Great prof! Exam medians for my section were 64-73, but imo the questions were mostly fair. I am salty I did not get an A- tho. :( I believe that the curve is only to ensure that the class median is a B-/B, so do not expect much of a curve. Number 1 advice: show up to class and go to office hours.

Zaccai is funny and gives good lectures, but the course is really hard. He moves quite fast in lectures with the notes and the TAs grade quite harshly with the homework. The exams are difficult too. He does provide some online material which is decent, but lectures and office hours are crucial. Good professor but get ready to do a lot of work.

Similar sentiment to other review. Excellent teacher -- if you are looking for a professor that will genuinely help you learn concepts and show you real industry application of them, this is your guy. Also hilarious. However, exams and grading were definitely rough -- my first non-A here at Ohio State. Felt that studying provided marginal returns.

He is such a fun professor and he makes the class laugh every lecture. The main downside is that his exams were difficult (more than other sections) and graded very strictly. Otherwise, I had a great time in his class. His prerecorded lectures have questionable audio but they're pretty good. Still remember when he crashed the groupme for his class

Midterms were challenging but in my opinion Software 2 is an inherently difficult class. Amazing professor and lecturer. Very accessible during office hours/after class and genuinely wants to see his students succeed.

Funny professor, knowledgeable and really good at teaching the course material. A bit of a tough grade but still fair. He is secretly evil tho, I still rock with him, but he has malice in his soul.

He's a pretty fun professor and he actually cares about the material which helps. I would say that his class is on the more difficult side, but you should be able to get by if you actually put in some effort. You will get screwed if you don't pay attention (learned that the hard way). He will also foreshadow something on the exam, which is helpful.

Handsome and brilliant like Ed Snowden, his soothing voice on the Softwear 2 sleeping aid link is the only thing that brings me peace on my lonely, restless nights. His calm tone wraps around my insomnia like a warm blanket, offering the only solace I've found in the quiet lonely hours. He keeps saying he's mean but tbh he's a darling of a person!!

good professor. person who wrote the review before this one is a little strange.

Exceptional lectures- engaging, barely uses the slides, and explains the concepts well. Genuinely shows character, often voicing opinions on various topics which is admirable. Tests are difficult, but fair. That said, a couple FRQs on MT2 were borderline memorization territory, so make sure to know Projects and data structures inside and out

Diego Zaccai is a funny teacher, though sometimes his sarcasm can be seen as demeaning. However, Diego genuinely cares about his students. Projects are difficult, and TAs are very nitpicky; however, this is just because the class is difficult. The curve helped; I ended with a B-, and after the curve, it was a B+.

Excellent professor. During lecture, he explains concepts clearly with lots of examples and can answer any questions you may have. Make sure you get with a good group because you are stuck with them for the whole semester and group projects are a huge part of your grade and have a very strict rubric.

Don't listen to the people that say he's unfair and mean. Professor Zaccai is hilarious and clearly tells you the exams will be similar to the projects. He makes boring slides into a comedy act and is genuinely a really good teacher and connects with all his students. Personally, my favorite professor I've had at OSU.