This professor knows what he's talking about. No question will stumble him.

Good compiler design class.

Very messy notes.

Easy grader, grades things on a HUGE curve, VERY smart, he knows his stuff, but lectures were very fast paced and confusing, still, I learned a lot.

Wesley is a rather autistic individual who somehow ended up teaching. His lectures are quite scripted, but he is more than willing to stop and answer questions (interrupt-driven). Most people seem to enjoy his classes, though I found them merely mediocre.

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Very knowledgeable, very responsive to students questions. Challenging material and assignments. Somewhat lacking in social skills.

Very machine-/computer-like man; can lecture easily for 1.75 hours without stopping. Somewhat unapproachable, but definitely knows material and can answer any question. Has an archive on the web all his old tests, and he recycles questions. ;-)

good professor, you will for sure like the curve in the class.

He and Petersen trade years, consistantly winning the department's student voted teaching award. Ask him how far out he knows Pi, 3.141592653...about 100 digits, that'll give you an idea of how well he knows his programming languages.

curious fellow, incredible teacher

Great lecturer. Somewhat conventional of a teaching style.

this guys really really knows his stuff. his programs are very difficult yet doable as long as you stay in the lab for a couple of days straight. he give pretty good directions as to how to approach the programs. i still recommend him greatly !!

If he's teaching it, he probably knows it better than anyone. He answers student questions on the newsgroups faster than anyone. The programs are tough, but the instructions he gives are specific- just do what it says, and it'll get done.

He should change his shirt more often :-)

Very impressive. He seems to know many programming languages and by know I mean speak. He can be difficult at times but in the end if you do your part you will really learn your stuff.

One of my favorite teachers so far. This guy is amazing. His programs are challenging, yet he gives very good guidance and answers questions on the newsgroups very quickly. Definitely knows his stuff. Challenging, but you will learn a ton.

12B is a tough course, no matter who you take it from. Mackey is probably the best at teaching the course. He knows his material as well as anyone and is very thorough and clear at explaining it. The programming is tough, but that goes for the rest of cs.

Hard classes, but you will LEARN. It will be crammed down your throat and you will be a good programmer or you will die! Take Mackey if you actually want to learn how to be a programmer, if you don't take him you are missing out if you think you are good.

Possibly the best at teaching the class. Programs were hard but very helpful. The tests where relatively easy. However his lectures were long and boring... I couldnt understand what he was talking about until i read over my notes.

Hard class. Outstanding instructor. The projects done in this class are worth putting onto your resume, although be prepared to work your *** off.

Take it from a 6-years UCSC CS student, Mackey is the BEST CS professor at UCSC. If you want to learn anything, go to Mackey. He knows every computer lang like you wouldn't believe. As a grad, I regret not taking more of his classes.

Mackey knows about every subject in Computer Programming. He should be a professor and not a lecture. Everyone (students) makes jokes about him, but everyone loves him for his talent.

Great professor!!! Very knowledgeable.

Mackey rocks. Presents a staggering amount of material, so you'll have to choose what to leave on the table. Knows his stuff, friendly, helpful, enthsuastic. He's an ubernerd in every sense of the word, but that doesn't mean he's not wonderful to work with. He's also helpful outsode of class.

I didn't really know how to program when I first took 12b.. but he changed that. Ended up doing very well in the class and majored in CS as a result... was previously going for math degree.

quite frankly _the_ best CS teacher @ ucsc. if you want to prove your mettle, take his classes! only prof to teach compiler design! assigns functional RL projects that are worth the time you have to invest, unlike in other CS classes. tests are okay, and always designed for 70mins of class time

Mackey is a machine. He is easily one of the best programers at UCSC and his class is an onslaugt of programing. Be perpared for long assignments and Perl, but if you have any problems Mackey's really open for office hours and the TA's picked for this course are great.

The best teacher ever! Don't think anyone could ever beat this one. If you want to learn computer science, this is the teacher you want to learn from. It's not easy, but it is worth it.

The man is a machine. He has incredible knowledge of the subject matter and his courses are very well planned. His teaching style is good as long as you make an effort to learn on your own time. Highly recommended. Oh, and he's anti-Microsoft to a fault. You've been warned.

Mackey has to be a computer from the future. His knowledge on ALL subject matter is beyond amazing. His assignments are time consuming but worth the time they take. Definitely one of the best instructors at UCSC. Highly recommended.

Mackey is a machine. The workload and grading policies are a bit brutal, but you'll come out of the class having learned a lot. He's an amazing teacher with more knowledge about computers than I thought humanly possible. Definately take his class, but be prepared to work.

I think he's really a computer program projection; in either Java, C or PEARL.

Everyones gotta love Mackey.

He basically taught the class as well as I think it could have been taught. =)

There really isn't much to say that hasn't already been said here. This is hands down the best computer science professor I have ever had the privledge to be taught from.

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Good teacher, but not the type for talking outside of the subject of class. Very ...not social. Crazy t shirts. He is a very good teacher and I recommend him

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Don't take this rating page at first value. First off 12B students are notoriously whiny. Mackey is easily one of the best teachers on the whole campus. He is right up there with pang and tantolo. His classes are very informative, and I have found them invaluable when advancing on to other; believe it or not, more difficult classes.

You might be able to get something out of his lectures if you can stay awake or soak in the info easily. Take notes, then get TA help, and everything will fall together. Tests are relatively easy compared to programs. Do the past tests he gives you; they really help. And he gives a very generous curve. Not as bad as you might think.

In a word or two, Mackey is the -man-. His programming assignments provide you with everything you need to know to complete them. I never attended section, except for the midterm reviews. Midterms are fairly straight forward compared to the programming assignments (they require much less rereading/thinking). Lectures are helpful, but fast!

Mackey is the man. Sure he's quarky and very monotone/machine, but he's very effective. He teaches you so much in so little time. Labs and Assignments are well defined and reletively easy; I never went to section! Tests are short and fair, and very reminesent of previous exams, which he makes available. Take a class from him. Now.

I had mackey for 12B, 104A, and now 104B. Everyone here who says he is bad has no idea what they are saying, and probably aren't very well suited to programming. Mackey is hands down the best computer science professor I've ever seen. You learn to appreciate more fully his effectiveness after taking CS classes from other professors.

One of the best professors I have had, hands down. He knows EXACTLY what he is talking about. Never skip lecture; everyone is jam packed with valuable info. The key to doing well in his class is to VISUALIZE what is going on. Always try and draw pictures of what is going on. This will make learning data structures a lot easier. Awesome teacher.

Don't be discouraged by the crazy-death assignments and labs. If you go to class and study like a student should you'll do well.

Its great to see that Prof. Mackey is still teaching at UCSC - I got my CS degree in 2001. More than any other Prof, he helped me get the skills I needed to be successful as a software engineer. Use his office hours! He is very willing to help students that show interest. He's got a ton of good stories if you get him talking!

Mackey is definitely a professor you either love or hate. Personally, I think that he's great. He gives us a lot of good information in lecture, and never minds going off topic to help those who need clarification. His assignments come with enough starter code that you only have to program the part that he intends you to learn about.

Mackey is a great professor if he is interesting in the stuff he is teaching. He may seem horrible in 12A/B but he is excellent in the upper div courses he teaches. Very archaic, and definitely is the weeder for engineering classes.

My first reaction when hearing him lecture was "ROBOT". Never did anything to change that. But the lectures meshed really well with my learning style (your mileage may vary). Pay attention and you'll catch his funny (albeit nerdy) jokes.

Wow. Prof. Mackey has not changed much over the years! I had him in three of my CS undergrad courses at FIU over a decade ago. The man had been an inspiration and thanks to him I now have a PhD in CS and work in both industry and academia. Folks, learn from him. He is a real University-level Prof. with lots of experience.

I've now had class with Mackey for 12B, 109, and 104A. He demands a lot from students, but I learn more about programming from his classes than any others, by far. Many people get frustrated by 12B, but the truth is that the class is as hard as it needs to be -- if you can't pass 12B, you definitely don't belong in the major. It only gets harder.

go to lectures and listen to him you will get very useful information about the assignments. he does not curve a lot on the tests but if you do his old exams it will be pretty easy to get high scores. he also has curve on assignments.

Wesley Mackey is CompSci Jesus. He is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the subject, and he puts a great deal of effort into instruction. In terms of difficulty, some of the courses he teaches can be pretty tough, but he grades fairly. Easily one of the best professors I've ever had.

Great professor! If you start your programming assignments early you'll be okay.

Prof Mackey is a good teacher and although he gives hard asignments, you learn a lot. He's also very helpful if you go to his office hours.

Mackey is a proper hacker, and he answers EVERY email he receives. He has probably written more lines of code than I have read lines of English. Respect.

Wes Mackey is a boss, and an excellent Professor. He will take his time to answer any of your questions (by e-mail or office hours). Don't listen to the Mackey haters. People hate because his class is difficult; the material is hard to grasp, and takes time to understand, but such is com sci. Take him before he retires, you will learn a lot.

There was so much material covered in this class that it was overwhelming at times. I guess this is why Mackey lectured at such a fast pace. Some of his assignments asked for a bit too much, but otherwise it was a good learning experience. Be sure to get a good book on data structures to look at occasionally (I recommend Robert Lafore's).

Embrace Unix/Vim and you'll be fine. I did all my work on the unix timeshare, and I knew nothing about the command line going in. The reference perl programs should be your best friend for his assignments. Mackey is an oldschool hacker from the C days, and it's important to understand just how awesome that is. He drones, but I suggest listening

I have taken all Mackey's classes, from 12B to grad class in compiler design. BEST TEACHER! His programming assignments are great! I learned much from doing those and studied old Exams. I regretted of sleeping through all the classes because of lack of sleep from his assignments. His class, you need to spend lots of time with a compiler and VIM.

Great professor, extremely knowledgeable on the subject he's teaching. Midterms are from old exams.

Very good at answering questions sent to the class mailing list. The assignments were good at teaching the topics they covered, but the requirements were sometimes a bit vague.

this has to be one of the most time consuming classes at ucsc, but I have never learned more from any other class. He is a very boring lecturer but try to pay attention and dont fall behind. Tests are easy just study old exams

I learned a ton in this class! It was hard, but, I went to lab 2-3 times a week, went to office hours about 2ce a week, I tried to go to MSI when I could..there are to TON of resources. And wow I have never made so many friends in one class! Others feel the same. Mackey is very welcoming in office hours to explain things. LOTS of material.

By far the best computer science professor at UCSC, in my opinion. I never attended lecture, but he didn't judge when I continuously showed up to his office hours for help. His classes are mainly focused on the assignments (if you do them, you'll do file on the exams). His assignments are beautifully designed to teach you the material and more.

Mackey is the best teacher I have had the pleasure of learning from. His lectures may seem dull. Learn to learn from them, and they will be a great way to learn about the course material + a bit extra. He's very active on the course mailing list for anyone who needs help. NOT RECOMMENDED FOR ANYONE LOOKING FOR AN EASY 'A'.

Absolutely amazing. This guy is the Bruce Lee of coding. He will put you through the fire and judge whether you're worthy of being a CS major. I hope this guy never retires because this school needs him to separate the wheat from the chafe.

Memorize old exams, and go to his office for help on programming assignments. You will get an A+.

Old school unix geek. You will never learn more than from Mackey. You will learn the ins and outs of the languages, good programming practices, and useful coding techniques and platforms. He hates Windows and encourages Unix because it is far superior in every way as a developer tool. He can be boring as a lecturer, but he is not without humor!

If you are a cs major, take as many classes as you can with him. He will force you to learn the ins and outs of programming, which is key for a future in cs. I am now preparing for interviews at major cs companies, and everything he taught is proving to be useful. So take any class with him, work diligently, and your future will look bright.

Mackey is a legend at the UCSC school of engineering. It is rumored he is a machine. His clarity gives it away. Everything he writes on the board runs correctly. Another example, when writing code he enunciates the correct names of symbols such as '#' and ''. Advice: Follow the directions on the programming assignments; they are precise.

The class itself is a fairly boring introduction to several programming languages. You'll probably not even see some languages ever again. Prolog? What? But then there are languages you will use. Without experience, though, the differences in C++, C#, and Java will probably be lost on a thirdfourth year student. Mackey is his usual self. Precise.

The class was competently taught and organized, and the tests and assignments were all fair, but being in lecture was worse than watching paint dry. Maybe it's just because I already knew most of the material from high school, but Mackey stands out to me as THE most boring professor I've ever had. Not a bad teacher per se, just an unremarkable one.

Amazing teacher. Lectures may be a bit boring, but he knows what he's doing. Assignments and labs are great at teaching you the material and his tests contain questions that you should know for technical interviews as well! I'd definitely take another class with Mackey!

Make sure to ask him specific questions, Mackey will be able to answer anything clearly.

No extensions. Work on assignments ahead of time. Just reading about programming assignments may require some acrobatics. Professor is very very knowledgeable and can answer any questions you have, just ask specific ones. If you have questions about the assignment, read the man page before posting anything. He hates Microsoft, just saying.

Mackey is an absolute legend in the CS department. If you are a CS major, you should try your hardest to take as many classes from this man as possible. His lectures are long and boring, yes, but his assignments will teach you how to code well, and the information you learn in this class is pivotal to future success in the major and in industry.

When I had mackey his lectures were kinda brutal but he has this question system set up and it is super helpful especially seeing he is incredibly knowledgable when responding to questions. One thing is his finals tend to be on the harder side

First Mackey class. Overall it went pretty well. The first few assignments were nerve-wracking, but in retrospect they were all doable. The first three assignments are essentially the same degree of difficulty, just with an increase in workload. Last 2 assignments were much harder, but same difficulty. The tests are challenging, don't blow them off

Took class over the summer. If you have had a Mackey class before, you know the drill. Only complaint was that having to learn C++ in an advanced class while listening to Mackey, who practically speaks in code, in 8 weeks is HARD.

This was the first time I took a class with him. The midterm has both free response and multiple choice. The multiple choice is the most difficult part, as it comes mostly from his lectures, so you can't miss any. The first 3 assignments were not as difficult as the last 2. His lecture style is pretty clear, but he talks a bit too quickly.

Best professor I've ever had. It seems like he knows everything there is to know about computer science and more. He's one of the few professors I've had that doesn't treat his students like idiots, as he makes you actually study and research, and really work for your grade. You get smarter just by standing close to him.

Difficult programs dont recommend if you aren't a C or C++ pro. Study past exams for midterm final. 5 programs.

I went in with no C++ experience, just a thorough C background. Pretty standard Mackey class; 5 slightly cryptic assignments worth 10% each where he gives you most of the code already, then 2 tests worth 25% that are mostly copy-paste from old exams. Class is super easy to get an A/pass, since he curves the midterm, final, AND the overall grade.

Guy's a robot, but at least you know what you're grade is going to be. No surprises. Pretty great professor. Gives a lot of resources.

He just goes over all his own codes and shows how these codes work in his lectures. His assignments ask us to fill in blanks to his codes(may be data structures, algorithms, etc.). A 2-weeks-period is quite enough for each assignment if you go to his lecture or look up sources online. There are 100+ people registered but only 10% attend his class.

Really solid class for cpp programming. While the first two assignments were daunting, they gave me an insight as to how complex programs are designed and implemented. I learned a lot for sure and the lectures were great as he went over code and pointed out the more obscure features of the language.

My first class was CMPS-012B with Mackey and his concise teaching style, challenging assignments and tests, and no-nonsense style worked well for me. I and those in my cohort took as many classes from Mackey as possible including the standard CMPS-104a but also CMPS-104b and delaying CMPS-112 until he taught it.

Mackey is very smart & has a lot of knowledge about computers. His lectures, however, are boring as he goes through every line of code. Half of your grade is based of how well you do on five programming assignments, with the rest being the midterm & final. He also gives out a really generous curve at the end of the quarter.

He throws at you asssignments for you to figure out yourself and learn yourself. Show upto lecture and take in the Mackey lectures even if you dont understand them GOTO CLASS. He will challenge you, and you will learn if you try your best. Exams are easy if you review all exams and practice alot and go through the word dump before the tests.

This class is more difficult then his CSE111 course. You learn 5 languages: Scheme, OCaml, Smalltalk, Perl, & Prolog. Each of these languages will have their own assignment which will test your abilities to learn and use a language with different types of data structures. There is one midterm and final, and he also curves the class generously.

be persistent with your questions until you gain understanding cos this train is going with or without you on it. 4 languages.. 10 weeks, you're not expected to become an expert on them, but understand what makes them diffferent (dropped prolog since going remote) Gives starter code (immensely helpful for completing assingments) & posts old exams.

People give Mackey a hard time but knows his stuff. If you want to be a software engineer you need to be ready on working with people like him, and on projects like his. Don't: Expect to get a lot of 1 on 1 time with him. Do: Try to get him to talk about Bill Gates Don't: Watch his terminal without the assistance of drugs Do: Use Youtube. A lot

Mackey's 111 taught me so much about C++, and it helped me grow fonder of it. His lectures are a little slow, but his lecture notes are amazing and very insightful. He is extrememly patient with students and questions, and he is always accessible outside of class on ed discussions. His exams & assignments are both fair as well. Overall great class!

I deserve an A, but only got A-. The TA who graded my midterm got some problems. The midterm makes me have no chance to get an A. I got nearly full credit for all my other stuff.