Amr El Abbadi

34 reviews
Respected Amazing lectures Group projects Inspirational Skip class? You won't pass. Clear grading criteria Gives good feedback Tough grader Hilarious Test heavy Graded by few things Get ready to read Would take again Caring Lecture heavy Accessible outside class
Past quarters
CMPSC 138
0 / 150 Enrolled
Automata and Formal Languages
Amr El Abbadi 4.3
M W
09:30 AM - 10:45 AM
42.6% A
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CS171 . A Month Ago

Professor El Abbadi is a joy to have a class with. He genuinely cares about the material and is great at answering questions. His lectures are quite interesting, and the class is mainly project based which helps you learn. TAKE HIM IF YOU ARE ABLE!!!

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CS171 . 2 Months Ago

please please please take this class with Professor El Abbadi before he stops teaching it. It is incredibly clear how much he cares for his students and his material - the class is interesting, and you can expect fair (not too hard) items on his quizzes. He is passionate when teaching and responds very quickly on piazza. Great guy, great class!!!

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CS171 . 2 Months Ago

One of the top CS classes at UCSB. Assignments are fun, lectures are enjoyable, and midterm/final are replaced by quizzes.

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CS171 . 1 Year, 7 Months Ago

This class was extremely enjoyable, although it was a decent amount of work I still found the material and lectures digestable. Abbadi is super enthusiastic and makes lecutures interactive. The projects were the best CS assignments I have ever had and you write everything on your own and can choose the language to do it in. AMAZING, must take.

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CS171 . 1 Year, 7 Months Ago

I have never felt as passionate about a class as much as this. I hate learning a bunch of abstract concepts that I feel like I'll never use again, but the structure of the class forces you to put the concepts you use into practice, which makes you understand them on a much deeper level. Straight up sparked the joy in learning in me that I lost.

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CS171 . 1 Year, 7 Months Ago

Great class that actually made me care about distributed systems. The projects were genuinely difficult for the first time in college I enjoyed every single obstacle that I encountered while doing them. 4 quizzes in total instead of a final/midterm allowed me to stay on top of the material periodically rather than cramming and helped for retention.

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CS138 . 3 Years Ago

A pretty solid prof who is excited about the material, gives good examples, and is very responsive to questions during lecture. Attending lecture is very important though, and I made the final much harder for myself by missing the last few.

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CS171 . 3 Years Ago

Took 171 with Amr last Spring. As an alum, I can easily say he was my favorite professor. I often struggled to connect with the material in my cs classes, but Amr made the topic of distributed systems engaging and just fun. Even projects seemed more like solving riddles than actual homework. Undisputed GOAT.

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CS130A . 3 Years Ago

Loved this professor. Programming assignments are challenging but very interesting. Tests are tough but completely fair. You learn how to use a lot of data structures and it can get a bit confusing. Take good notes (especially on time complexity), do the homework, and start the projects early and you'll do fine.

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CS130A . 3 Years Ago

Amr is such a great guy, and he is super passionate about the subject. The programming assignments and tests were pretty difficult, but I feel like I learned a lot from this class. Overall, I would highly recommend.

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CS171 . 3 Years Ago

During my journey through UCSB's undergrad, I have had very few CS professors that have showed me the true joys of learning; Professor Abbadi is one of those few. If you see that he's teaching a course, take it. Go to lecture and start the PAs early. His tests are hard, but not unfair. Overall, one of the best in the CS department; top 5 easily.

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CS171 . 3 Years Ago

Great professor. Projects involve a lot of moving parts in your code, so get started early to catch bugs (because there's going to be a lot)

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