Insanely knowledgeable in his field of study and really, really passionate about operating systems. If you just want to pass the class, don't take 170 with him, but if you're invested in learning how Linux *actually* works, his class is well worth the effort. Do not take this class if you don't have a good background in C, and go to office hours!
Atrocious grading scheme. Final is worth 40%, last lab is worth over 30%. I did learn a lot, and my labs were "perfect" all quarter until the last one. I thought I was set, and an extremely minor bug caused me to get a bad score.. there goes 25% of my grade! Lectures were good, but comparable to other good UCSB CS professors. I don't get the hype.
One of the hardest classes that I've taken at UCSB but I learned a lot and found the experience to be worth it. Start the labs early and work with a good partner. This is not a class for procrastinators or people looking for an easy A. Go to Rich's office hours, he has plenty of great wisdom to share.
Be ready to code Linux in 10 weeks. Partner projects cover most of the grading and one final to consider. Good lectures and his notes explain concepts really well.
Super difficult class, but the professor was great. Projects make up a bulk of the class and take considerable time, so start EARLY. Professor was very responsive and explained concepts clearly, just a lot to wrap your head around.
CS170 with Prof Wolski was the hardest class I've ever taken but it was so worth it. I see my computer and OS in a whole new light after last quarter.
Although he's very intimidating at first, I found myself enjoying operating systems more than I thought. He gives off a sort of crackhead energy that can make lectures difficult to follow sometimes. Despite the heaviness of his lectures and the difficulty of his labs, his exams were extremely reasonable and the curve is quite generous.
Best professor I ever had in UCSB. I was struggling in computer science that losing interest of it, but he is one helped me to love coding again. His lectures are amazing and first professor who made me WANT to go to listen his lecture. Class might be tough but if you actually attend and listen, you can definitely do it.
He really wanted to make sure people understood the material, but there is so much material that he can't cover it all. You need a lot of time for this class.
One of the best professors I had at UCSB. The course was challenging but we learned a lot.
My favorite teacher at UCSB. Challenging, but in a productive way. The classes I took with Rich were the cream of the crop. One of the few teachers that made me want to go to class each and every day.
My favorite CS prof at UCSB. He has so much energy all the time. I had my lecture with him from 4-5 MWF, and he was still pounding the coffee and going nuts on the chalk board. A great teacher and a great guy.
You cannot fail this class, even if you make 10% on each project and mildly study for test you get atleast a D.
Class is hard compared to the other comp sci classes I have taken. Some people complain about the projects being very time intensive but I think they are not too hard if you know what you are doing. Wolski is the best cs professor I have had so far. He is very outgoing and into the material. One of the few classes I looked forward to attending.
very hard class, lots of work. I learned alot though and now that its over I realize it was one of the best courses I've taken an ucsb.