Fisher, Gene  

Although c++ can be a very challenging subject, professor fisher was very good at recognizing student's problems and helping them throught their programs. I recomend this professor to any firstime c++ student. In addition to his willingness to help his students, he is also a fair grader in that you can still get substantial partial cretit even if you don't get the program to compile.

Fisher is one of the best profs I've ever had. His teaching style is so laid back, and he still gets his point across. He makes learning so easy and fun. There was no need to go to lab, since he explains everthing so clearly in lecture. His exams are cake, and he even gives partial credit for anything that you attempt to do that could possibly make sense. I wish he taught 102 and 103!

Fisher is a good professor for 102. He explains everything clearly and is incredibly helpful during office hours. The thing though, is that does not know how to balance assignments and tests. Either a program will take waaay too much time, or you won\'t be able to finish it, OR it will take almost no time at all. For example, our final program was completed by 1 out of >60 people. He put 50 hours into the assignment. But say the fourth program took most people only a couple of hours and everyone finished it... One more example: on the midterm, everyone was done before the period was over, and everyone (all >60 ppl) got an A on it. On the final, no one finished, but it was curved: my D got curved up to a low A/high B. The difficulty in that class was really schizophrenic... usually pretty easy, but it had its moments...

I agree with the last rating. Fisher is a good computer science professor and REALLY knows his stuff. However, the difficulty on his programs and tests were inconsistent. The midterm was surprisingly easy so most did not expect the final to be so hard as it was. However, his curve did help my final grade. In office hours though, this guy is of incredible help and can really help you clear up code that you\'re stuck on.

The class was too laid back, which resulted in a turn in of more than one half assed assignment. The quizzes, midterm and final are all open book, but that doesn't mean you can just thumb through your notes for a quick answer. Instead you'll have to take what you learn and apply it in new ways. If you didn't enjoy linked lists from 102 you won't enjoy a majority of this class. Grading is generous however, as long is code looks like it works you'll get a lot of partial credit.

This is the first C I have recieved in my entire life. I hope that says something to all of you out there watching their GPA. Do not take him--this class was a nightmare!

there's a difference between Gene Fisher and Gwen Fisher. I had Gwen Fisher for calc, and she's a bitch. It was her first quarter here and she actually told us that she wants to be known as having the hardest tests at cal poly! Although she does curve very generously. I got a 36/100 on a test and after the curve I got a C. I wouldn't suggest taking her if you don't like hard tests and hard homework that is collected every week. I spent most of my time in the math lab getting tutors to help me on my homework. The questions were so hard that the tutors would wonder why she assigned something like that and often times would have to give up on a problem. but I would suggest going there because that's that the only thing that got me a passing grade. And she never answers any questions in class either. DON'T TAKE HER! IT'S WAY TOO MUCH WORK!

This woman from Wisconson should have stayed away from California. Not only were her lectures lengthy and boring, but they were no help. I felt dumber after attending any of her lectures. I haven't ever gotten a grade besides an A in math, and this teacher hit me with complicated tests composed of confusing questions not seen in any of the homework assignments. Don't take this teacher unless you want to be heartbroken.

Not sure who this evaluation is supposed to be for, but if you're wondering about Gwen, look elsewhere. She's a redhead from the midwest with attitude. Drove me crazy all quarter. Oh yeah, and she tried to be funny be telling little jokes, that were pitifully stupid. It's like she tried to compete with us...a bunch of freshmen. Grades really tough so she had to curved huge. Avoid her if you at all possible.

Gene is a former porn star turned CSC professor - a smooth ride in my opinion. A good teacher, nice guy, fair grader. If your looking for more of a challenge, take Stearns. It's hard not to get an A in Fisher's class.

Dr. Fisher is a really great teacher. Not only does he really know the material, he is excited and enthusiastic about teaching it. He is extremely and fair and lets you know exactly what he expects of you. There is no textbook and 70% of your grade is the project, which he lays out for you and gives you feedback every week. 30% of your grade is the final which is just a little addendum to your project that is not hard but fun. This class is a lot of group work, but when you are done it is all worth it. Fisher is loads of fun.

There's only so much you can do with the material in this course. Fisher hands out a thick stack of paper every week, and then fills lecture reading it. Why everybody thinks this is so great is anybody's guess. Some days, during lab, he'd announce that he didn't have enough time to look over our projects over the weekend, and as a result, group meeting would have to wait. This often eliminated the promised group leader meetings, leaving some groups scrambling. A few groups had to meet with Fisher during office hours to get advising on how to finish their project.

Dr.Gene Fisher is a very cool professor. The CPE 205 material is not very interesting, but he tries to make is as interesting as possible by throwing familiar ideas, concepts and examples. He doesn't require a textbook, and he gives a lot of handouts which are useful as a reference for the functional requirements and specification of the project you work on. The projects are realistic, and it's a different experienece working in a team (if you already don't have any). There are two quizes, which are not tough at all, and even if you screw up those, you can still make up your grade to get an "A". The workload is just right, and I never felt frustrated with the load at any point. There are a lot of requirement analysis and GUI stuff to do. But if you don't get lazy, it's a piece of cake. I think the quality of the work you do counts positively towards the grade. You never have to go to his office, but I visited him a few times, and he was really helpful. You can also ask him questions during break. His ideas and suggestions are precise, clear and straight forward. If you follow some of the above mentioned suggestions, you will actually enjoy the class, and earning an "A" is a breeze considering that Dr.Fisher is not a hard grader. Final was kind of lengthy, but hey, I pulled an "A"!

What can I say, the man's The Man. A very relaxed atmosphere in class and during group meetings. Always willing to speak with students to give help. Check out his office, it's awesome.

Fisher is a really great professor. He presents all the material in a laid-back way that is really easy to get used to. He is refreshingly pragmatic, and isn't into weird coding standards and the like. If it works, he's happy. The amount of work required for the class is signifigantly less than what I've heard the other professors (especially Stearns) requires. Overall, a fun, laid-back class that taught me a lot.

Did they name Fisher Science after this guy? Probably not, but he needs a building in his honor. Okay, I admit I got glassy-eyed through most of the lectures, but how exciting can software engineering get? I actually learned stuff in the class, because it was a lot of hands-on work, and because my group kept beating on me to do more of it. At any rate, he does a really good job of going over problems in office hours. He's a really cool professor with a great sense of humor, which is an absolute must when I have to give presentations in a class. Expect to get a workout on the huge term project, but the final is a piece of cake if you weren't giving your group the big one. I suppose it's there to make sure nobody is slacking off. Other than that, he's one of the more relaxing professors I've had, and he doesn't even mind if you snooze in class. How good is that? Fisher rocks.

Fisher is an excellent teacher. Class was extremely laid back. He gave you the project and you knew what had to be done by the end of the quarter. He didn't harass you at all. I would say i learned a lot about everything that goes on behind coding. One suggestion is not to get behind during the quarter. It is really tough staying up all night writing logic. The final was long, but not too difficult. I would recommend Fisher without any hesitation.

Fisher Rules..... He is really down to earth and highly approachable. His lectures tend to be very boring, but the subject matter is usually the culprit. One word of advise, the key word for this class is "group work" which means a bunch of idiots paired with one person or two if you are lucky that are willing to work. If you are one of the ones working, go to his office and let him know early so he can kick your gruop members in the a$$. Anyways... i highly recommend Fisher for any class he is one of the best CSC professors i've had

Professor Fisher is probably the best csc professor here at cal poly. He is a very very cool guy. His lectures can be a bit boring, but it is not his fault, the material isn't too exciting. He was always willing to help during class and office hours. 205 and 206 was totally mellow even though 206 was a heavy workload. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND professor fisher for any computer science course.

This guy is awesome. Laid back guy who lets you work at your own pace, as long as you get the work done. In 205 we had nothing but the project and the final as our grade. I have to admit that having no quizzes and/or midterms sometimes makes you slack off a bit, but he does evaluate your work throughout the quarter using milestones and gives you a "soft grade" which states your current progress, but in no way counts towards your final grade. In 206 we did have a midterm and final. But beware, the 206 project sneaks up on you like crazy. The first 5 weeks you do almost nothing but learn stuff, then the next 5 weeks are like HELL. We did almost all the programming the last 5 weeks(last 3 weeks for me). Try not to get behind otherwise you won't know what hit you.

Fisher is definitely the one person I'd recommend taking CSC/CPE 205 from. I've heard many people talk about the other instructors who teach the class, and Dr. Fisher was definitely better than all of those. He grades fairly easily, makes you do less work, but all-in-all, you're more willing to learn the material, because it isn't such a drag. The lectures are boring, but it really isn't Fisher's fault. The soft-grading lets you put things off for a week or two if you have heavy loads in other classes, but make sure to keep up in the class, or you just won't make it. As said in other reviews -- visit his office at least once. You'll understand when you see it.

he's a good instructor. I didn't really like the lectures because i didn't like it +), but he really tries his best to explain every little thing that you need to know. He's very helpful with office hours. Highly recommend him for 205 and 206

First off, to all of you who suffered through one of Gwen Fisher's classes, THIS ISN'T HER PAGE! Now, onto Gene's performance teaching 205. Overall, I enjoyed Fisher's class. He is very enthusiastic and has an almost manic speaking quality, with an unusual cadence that you will notice very quickly. He is a very nice guy, mostly laid back. This class is not that tough if you follow his directions. The project altogether comprises almost 2/3 of the grade in this class, with lab quizzes and the midterm and final making up the rest. The great thing about the project is that every other week you get a soft grade which tells you exactly what to do to bring up your grade. The class generates a lot of paperwork, but the workload is not too intense, and the work is sort of fun--although he says that there's no programming, you will do some in his pet language, RSL. This was the most unsatisfying part of the course, since in the real world UML is used and we could have used more instruction on that than the language he invented. Nevertheless, it was overall a decent class, and Fisher sure as hell beats Dalbey.

Gene Fisher is a nice enough guy, but god, his lectures are boring. He also has a little trouble clarifying things the first time around. If you get him for software engineering, make SURE to draw detailed pictures of what you're thinking about, because odds are you and he and NOT on the same level. Don't guess. Don't assume. Assumption only leads to pain and anguish. Other than that, as long as he knows you're putting a decent amount of effort in, you should be perfectly fine with him. There's no book for the class, which is a plus, and he lets you use all your notes on tests, so there's really not a lot of stress involved in those areas.

if you are taking 205 or 206, get this guy

Fisher's one of my favorite teachers here at CalPoly. He knows the material up and down, grades very faily, and has managed to turn a pretty boring subject in to a great two-quarter project that is the very definition of "learn by doing". He's very well organized and will not waste your time, ever. I learned a LOT about software engineering and 206 is going to be great. Take Fisher or take no one.

It's not hard to get a good grade in this class. Fisher is very generous when it comes to grading. It might seem like you don't do much in the beginning of the quarter, but once week 6 comes around programming will take over your life. A large part of this course requires independent learning because the CSC 100 series doesn't teach you everything you need to know.

good

Even though software engineering is pretty boring, I actually looked forward to Fisher's class. I could go on forever espousing his many heroic traits- the winning smile, humorous demeanor, easygoing style, etc. To put things in as short and sweet terms as possible, if you didn't get Fisher, you didn't get the cool deal.

Take fisher for all classes. This guy is the best teacher i have had at Poly. He is laid back and just wants you to learn. He doesn't try to trick you. Go to office hours and talk to him, his office is pretty cool. He is awesome

Great great teacher for a crazyass fun class. Always there for ANY kind of help. You got any troubles with anything and he'll help sort shit out for you. A lot of guidance and direction and very approachable. Great grading system. He uses a soft grading system so that if you have a 70% in week 5 you can get a 100% by redoing or making up the missing parts of your project. Tests are great. They actually test you on what you need to learn in this class and if you do what you're supposed to be doing it should be no problem. Coding part can be a bit hefty at times if you've had no experience in GUI. But once you learn that shit the rest is alright. Of course there is that last wave of mad testing in week 10 but for the most part it was never too overwhelming. Totally made my time in his class worthwhile and beats the shit out of Dalbey's teaching method anyday. Highly recommended.

Dr. Fisher is a cool cat. I took both 205 and 206 with him and doubt I could have had a better experience with anyone else. He is all about process so if you stick with his methodology and put in the hours that these courses require you should do fine. His lectures and examples on the MVP design pattern were especially critical in 206. Dr. Fisher's tests aren't hard if you do everything you're supposed to do all quarter but be prepared to scribble for all 3 hours.

Dr Fisher was probably not the best professor I have had for Computer Science, but he was definitely up there. This class was taught in a straightforward, fair way, and I really enjoyed the project we did and the team I worked with. The only complaint I had about this class was that I didn't learn too much (because I knew most of it already). But that said, I am definitely looking forward to taking classes again with him in the future.

Gene Fisher's SE courses are, in my opinion, the best you're going to get among all the teachers who teach the class. He's no Jaime Escalante, but he presents a very methodical, very professional view of Software Engineering which is far closer to the programming industry of tomorrow than a couple of guys in a garage spending all day coding. Lecture is mostly optional, since he gives you all the lecture notes in class and they're available on the web, but often he gives little hints and pointers that will be helpful when you're in the thick of things. I didn't find the workload of his 206 class at all intimidating--no overnighters spent here. A few tips--if you took him for 205, try to get your group to use your spec, so that you will know everything. Try to know which aspects of the project are going to be easier to implement and nab one of those. Yes, telling the future is no mean feat, but a reasonable guess is all that is needed. Try to get ahead early in the quarter so that when crunch time comes, you'll be able to relax. And if something seems difficult to implement at first, it probably is, so get Fisher to cancel it out--he's usually very accommodating in that regard. Aside from the project, there are only two other items important to your grade: the midterm and the final. I have to admit, of all the tests I've taken in my days, Fisher's are my favorite. They're actually fun, and they test you on what you've been doing instead of pointless trivia. No book for the class, no hassle, and extensions on the project milestones if you can provide a reasonable excuse for why it can't be done on time. I think his ratings are low because some peoMy spiel done, please enjoy this class.

The previous rating says it all. Fisher is methodical, professional and does't overwhelm you with unfinishable assignments. He is laid back, and really easy to talk to. If you do the work, which IMO is very much reasonable, you will get an "A" in the class. Midterm and final were long, but not very difficult. They were 90% like the sample he posted on his website. Yeah, if you are in a good group, that helps. Even if you are not, but still you do the work, Fisher recognizes that and he will reward you for the work you do. I highly recommend Dr.Fisher for both CSC 205 and 206.

Fisher's been a good teacher to have for 205/206. He uses the Traditional software design approach which means you'll spend a lot of time working everything out before you actually do it. Just make sure to keep on top of things so it doesn't all come down on you at the end of the quarter. Aside from that, fisher is has very clear and straightforward lectures but they can get a bit dull at times. He gives you good notes that cover just about everything, by the end of the quarter you'll have a small reference library to go and look at. Overall Fisher's been on of the better professors I've had at Cal Poly and I'd defiantly recommend him.

Gene Fisher's SE courses are, in my opinion, the best you're going to get among all the teachers who teach the class. He's no Jaime Escalante, but he presents a very methodical, very professional view of Software Engineering which is far closer to the programming industry of tomorrow than a couple of guys in a garage spending all day coding. Lecture is mostly optional, since he gives you all the lecture notes in class and they're available on the web, but often he gives little hints and pointers in lecture that will be helpful when you're in the thick of things. I didn't find the workload of his 206 class at all intimidating--no overnighters spent here. A few tips--if you took him for 205, try to get your group to use your spec, so that you will know everything. Try to know which aspects of the project are going to be easier to implement and nab one of those. Yes, telling the future is no mean feat, but a reasonable guess is all that is needed. Try to get ahead early in the quarter so that when crunch time comes, you'll be able to relax. And if something seems difficult to implement at first, it probably is, so get Fisher to cancel it out--he's usually very accommodating in that regard. Aside from the project, there are only two other items important to your grade: the midterm and the final. I have to admit, of all the tests I've taken in my days, Fisher's are my favorite. They're actually fun, and they test you on what you've been doing instead of pointless trivia. No book for the class, no hassle, and extensions on the project milestones if you can provide a reasonable excuse for why it can't be done on time. I think his ratings are lower than they should be because some people confused him with Gwen Fisher, the Math Department's resident sadist. My spiel done, please enjoy this class.

CSC 205 and 206 with Fisher are easy and fun.

Fisher is the man for 205/206. His lectures are pretty boring, but software engineering seems like it would be pretty boring in lecture form regardless. Tests are open note, and there is no book for the class. He is an excellent guide in the design and implementation process, and I've heard that he's great as a senior project advisor as well. Definately take him for this series, even if it requires a priority.

206 was much more fun than 205. We got to get dirty with a lot of code. Fisher is a great professor for 206. I had him for 205 too. Midterm and final exams were easy. Major portion of your grade comes from the work you do throughout the quarter. If you do a reasonable amount of work, and convince fisher that you did, an A grade is guaranteed in this class. BTW, do not slack.

Gene Fisher is a great guy, and does a good job at keeping the (admittedly dry) subject of Software Engineering. While I thought we should have actually started writing code earlier, he did a good job at keeping us moving along in the process. His grading scheme was reasonably fair, even if there wasn't a whole lot of numerical evidence for it. The midterms and final were really easy.

Unless you have a very demanding group or one that doesn't do anything, this class isn't particularly difficult--it's just a lot of work. Since this class is 308 and 309 crammed into one, it's pretty fast-paced and very work-intensive. Lectures are fairly dry and oftentimes they feel like I'm not learning anything since I can just look at the lecture notes, but this might be a result of having to rush through two quarters worth of material. Fisher sets up the milestones fairly well so that the project gets done on time, and some milestones are significantly more work than others, but mostly it depends on your group. The midterm and final were both open computer, so they weren't too hard. Honestly though, I'm not too sure how the grading worked. I got near 100% on everything we got back all quarter, and according to the syllabus I should have breezed into an A- at least, but somehow I got a B. Not gonna lie, I'm kinda pissed about it, but other than that the class is fine.

I'm giving Fisher the benefit of the doubt because the quarter was highly experimental. He was actually very understanding of our team's tears and sorrows and was attentive to complaints. That said, his lectures are incredibly boring, and his online resources are way too disorganized for how much we have to check them. The first half of the quarter is a breeze. The second half of the quarter is cruel and unusual. Try to stay ahead of schedule.

I took CSC 308 (used to be 205) with fisher because he was the only one teaching it, but I can tell you now that I dont care who else teaches it, you should take Software Engineering I & II with Fisher at all costs! This class was the greatest, a lot of work, but its not difficult work, you just have to stay on top of it the whole way or it will bury you. Lectures were very dry, but Fisher did his best to keep it interesting. Midterm was easy, Final was also easy. Basically if you have been doing your work all quarter, the tests are a breeze because they ask you to do the same things on a much smaller scale. Dont get behind in your work and you can get an A easily.

Welllll, what can I say about Professor Fisher? Not too much actually. He's a fairly steady professor. He has this course mapped out to a T which is nice, but his lectures can get a little dry with PowerPoint slides. However, the material is relatively interesting, and Fisher himself is a fairly interesting guy. Basically, Fisher is important where it counts: the midterm and final are easy (in fact they dont even count for that much of your grade), and he talks to you like your a normal person and explains the material very clearly. It seems to me the grade in this course is essentially based on how you do on the project. It's a lot of tedious work, but it's nothing terribly hard, and it can be fun at times. Take Fisher for 308...besides, I've heard horror stories about Dalbey.

Fisher is a good teacher overall. I have to say the subject (Software Engineering) bored me to tears, but all in all it was a useful experience and there is quite a bit to learn. 308 HINT. Don't allow feature creep, push back on him. Oh, and don't over complicate the requirements and specifications, this proposal has a snowball effect.

Cool class, did a lot in visio.. basically that was about it...a lot of writting specification documents and steps on how to use a tool (program). You have to learn a language called RSL which sucks at the end since you have to write Pre and Post conditions(you will know what i mean). I did put a decent amount of work into this class but i crammed them into single days of work before it was due so cant complain with the grade. A couple of presentation with your team about your tool. Pretty fun class and cool Prof. Take him if possible definitely over the other guy (check rating).

CPE 308 and CPE 309 are both royal pain in the butt. Both are group projects, and both cover some of the most boring aspects of this major. Despite my dislike of this class, Fisher is an alright professor. Not great, but not bad. Pros: He lets your group choose any technology they like for projects in 309, and he\'s somewhat flexible about this for 308. The projects he assign, while in a very boring application domain, make for a decant learning experience. He somehow manages to come with stuff that is like nothing else. Cons: You will not write a line of code all quarter. I\'m serious, Fisher\'s 308 is all paperwork. He is apparently quite a believer in the Waterfall model where you write ALL the specifications before you even write single line of code. There are times and places for this approach, it just seems that the domain of software isn\'t one of those. I specifically don\'t like his UI centric way of designing software. Something about it just bothers me somehow. It\'s not wrong per se, it\'s just another thing I don\'t like about the class.

In this class, we do as software project as a team (which is continued in 309), and it's both fun and provides you with teamwork experience. There is a lot of writing and documentation. Dr. Fisher is good at setting up milestones for your team. The project is mostly what the class is based on. The lectures could be interesting from time to time, but usually it was too much information thrown at you. The tests were open note and most people do fine on them. Overall, the class was easy but time-consuming, especially for the written work.

Okay so this guy... how do I start. Lecture is very boring to me cause I learned most of this stuff at my internship and I was able to read the class ahead of time cause of the online notes. But concerning work, this guy was easy. He didn't really pose much of a challenge and our group got stuck with the "hardest" project. Luckily it gave us more material than the other groups and we did very well. In fact we were ahead in terms of actual project development. I am not sure what 309 holds, but it shouldn't be much harder. You don't code much in this class so take another one as well. Have fun and make sure to set meetings and get your part of the project done. -IF66

Welllll, what can I say about Dr. Fisher...again? He's basically the same awesome professor he was for 308. Class format is exactly the same as 308: massive project, and a meaningless but lengthy midterm and final. Still, after this quarter I think I have an even greater appreciation for what Fisher brings to the 308/309 series. This is technically an "easy A" class, but you must do something to get that grade. And don't worry if you don't have your testing done when the project is finalized, he doesn't care that much for this class. All in all, a great professor for this class, and extremely helpful with any student problems, whether they relate to the class or not.

Fisher is an awesome professor. His lectures could be dry at times, but he was very helpful during office hours. I feel like I learned a lot in his class and would definitely recommend taking him if you can.

Fisher is a great professor. His lectures can be fairly dry and boring sometimes though. CPE309 is a lot about teamwork and when it came to meeting with Fisher about projects during lab and in office hours he was very helpful. I feel like I learned a lot in this class, mainly outside of the lecture. Take Fisher for this class if you can.

Gene is awesome. Nice guy, very knowledgeable, good teacher. He also knows everything about computers ever. ever. Go to his office hours and watch him use emacs and you'll see what i mean. Take him if you have the chance.

Gene Fisher is in my top 3 professors. He walks a good balance between giving you work, but not stuff that'll take whole weekends and require you stop sleeping. His tests aren't incredibly difficult, but they can kick your ass if you don't come to class. So yea, go to class. You'll want to go anyway, Fisher is filled with amusing stories and I somehow managed to learn through them as well. Sadly Fisher is gone this year, but if you're a glassy eyed freshman or Sophomore, I recommend Fisher as the prof to follow around and take ALL his classes.

In 309, you work on projects specified in 308. There is coding, but you have to design your program in a certain way with different modules. This is good experience to have when you become a real software developer, and job interviewers may ask questions related to the design process. 309 still has plenty of documentation. In many ways it's similar to 308 so it's not difficult.

Hi guys IF66 again. Okay, like I said in an earlier post (which should be right after this one). Nothing much has changed in Fisher's description. The lectures are still boring and you need to get your work done. But you will be programming more this quarter and if you don't want to drag down your team, do your damn work. I'm not joking 90% of this class is practical, not theoretical like 308. Make agendas, complete the milestones early, get them corrected and get that A. Fisher is the easy A. Good Luck. -IF66

If you're reading this, you probably have to take 308 and 309. Bottom line: it's fine to have either one with Fisher. I do have mixed feelings about the two quarters I spent in Software Engineering though. In one sense, these classes give you a huge amount of practical knowledge that will be completely applicable to a career in software development. They can also be a total pain. Fisher is a super cool guy, and he definitely knows what he's talking about, but lectures tend to be dry, and you often get the sense that the material could be covered twice as quickly. The most significant, influential factor in these classes, however, is your project team. Say prayers or make offerings to the gods of group projects or something, because you'll be relying on and spending a hell of a lot of time with the same five people for ten (or twenty) weeks. I was on solid teams, but it's still tough to constantly be concerned with others' schedules and work as well as your own. Try to do what you're supposed to do and be a good team player; hopefully you'll be fine. Other than doing project stuff, just look over Fisher's notes before the midterms and finals, and the tests aren't hard. You can get an A no problem if you put in a reasonable effort.

All Gene Fisher EVER does is read over his handouts. I went to class expecting the lecture to clarify some questions I had about one of the assignments, but all it was was continuation of the reading of the handouts. The programming assignments in this class seemed very poorly executed -- just about nobody finished one of the assignments due to its apparently unexpected size. And, for reference, Fisher said "particular" twenty-two times during two hours of lecture once, and did his nose snort thing 202 times in one lecture.

It was my second time taking 330, and this time I took it with Prof.Fisher. After having taken both 205 and 206 with him, I already knew that he is a nice and cool guy, but I didn't know that he is really good at languages and compilers. He explains the material really well, and his lectures were pretty interesting. His assignments were tough, but there was a curve. The midterm was easy, but the final exam was a little tricky. Still it was worth taking 330 with Fisher than any other instructor. I hope he teaches this course more frequently.

What can I say? This guy is the best CSc professor I

Fisher is probably the best professor in the CPE/CSC department. He does a wonderful job of teaching C that makes me wonder why he doesn't teach 101 to stem the tide of everyone trying to transfer out of the CPE major as freshmen. The programs are challenging, but that's to be expected for a 300 level course anyway, and they are definitely worth it in that you know far more after finishing the programs than when you start them. Fisher gets nothing less than straight A's across the board from me.

Best CSC teacher i've had at Cal Poly. Presents material clearly and is very available as well as understanding. 357 is the kind of class you have to work for but he will be there to help you in any way. Ask him for help during lab or office hours with a program and often he will debug a lot of it for you and send you off on the right path instead of just telling you to look it up.

I echo the positive reviews for Fisher. 590 is the grad student seminar that's supposed to get you thinking about your thesis. I found the class to be quite valuable in focusing my ideas and it greatly improved my thesis. If you're going after an MS in CSC you'll have to take this class, but Fisher makes the class worthwhile.