Solid professor, clear and organized lectures. Homework, quiz and labs simple. (1 each per week) Gave extra credit for (basically) free. Don't worry about the final. If you've taken APCS, this class is probably no problem at all. (A bit too simple of a curriculum, perhaps; it's not a lot of content).

Very likeable guy. His lectures were interesting. However, be very prudent when doing quizzes or exams since he is a harsh grader. The material is easy to learn, but he does require you to be very detail oriented and logical. If you aren't careful, you will lose points and there is really no leniency given. Otherwise, a straightforward course.

I liked Matni a lot! He was really lenient on students during the pandemic and he dropped the lowest quiz gradehe also gave us an extra credit opportunity on the labs. I thought the final was pretty easy but still a good review of the course material.

I've had him for both CS 16 and 64, and he is definitely one of my favorite professors at UCSB. His lectures are thorough. While he can be a tough grader, he was willing to provide extra time for the quizzes given the current circumstances. He offers very detailed explanations during office hours.

This class is tough, and Dr. Matni's quizzes are very tricky and you will lose points if you're not paying enough attention to minute details. However, he is very energetic and gives extremely informative, fantastic lectures. I learned so much in this class that I can forgive the strict grading. His style won't work for everyone, but it did for me.

He really does not how to teach. He builds up his non-senses that contradict the textbook.

Great lecturer. The class may be tricky, but the materials were new and fun to me. Go to office hour to ask about hard problems; he'll go over with you.

Overcompensates for the subject matter being easy by making his tests tricky or ambiguous and then grading strictly and subjectively. Answers questions condescendingly. Only redeeming quality is you will actually learn assembly, but avoid him if you can.

Be prepared to lose lots of points due to minor errors. Dr. Matni does not explain things clearly, he will pose questions to your question and expect you to figure it out instead of just answering you. Some hw and quiz questions are chosen purely to trick you and not to see what you've learned, Dr. Matni even admits that himself in lecture.

Failed to set up autograder - Constantly make mistake in slides - Being mean on Piazza - Trick students - Worst professor -

Third class w/ Matni. Def my fav prof in CS dept. Good: -You learn the material for real if you pay attention, no need for youtube etc -Labs are set up well and clearly specify the requirements -Funny and helpful Bad: -Tough if you dont pay attention, but all his classes are required so you really should if you want your degree to mean anything

He thinks making students fail due to not being careful enough interesting. Definitely avoid him

He tricks students... The quiz is not testing how you learnt, testing how prudence you are instead

absolutely the worst professor. quiz and homework are easy but all about word games. he is like the worst elementary school teacher.

One of my favorite professors at UCSB! Since I took a summer class with Dr. Matni, I only had three weeks in his class however I learned more in those three weeks than I have in other 10 week classes. He is very accessible and lectures are engaging and entertaining. Would definitely take future classes with him!

Ive had professor Matni for Comm 88 and 169. I can honestly say hes my favorite professor at UCSB. His lectures are engaging, hes funny, and super helpful. He might come off as tough but if you go to office hours and ask for help, he will go above and beyond. Amazing professor and person! He is a must take as a comm major

One of my favorite professor in UCSB.

Great professor

Ziad Matni is seriously one of the most thoughtful, kind and funny professors especially in pre-comm classes. He posts lectures online, but it is super important to go to class because his iclicker questions are extra credit and he supplements the lecture slides with important info for the tests. Midterm and final are hard, but he is helpful.

Very thorough in his lectures. Grading was fair, definitely not difficult but also not a total pushover. Matni was pretty understanding and down to earth as a person. He seems passionate about his job. He had a few pop quizzes, but they weren't particularly difficult.

Hes pretty average professor, not too hard not too easy. Went to three lectures throughout the entire quarter and ended with a B+. The lectures are posted online and Iclicker was extra credit. Midterm/Final was based off of the lectures making the book optional or you could use it for more information. Tests were easier than Mullin's. Nice guy

If you can, I would def choose him over Mullin. He is very nice and helpful when you go to his office hours. He keeps tracks on who comes to his OH. So go if you can!

Not super nice but he's awesome on his lectures as he explains CS basics very clearly. 2 midterms & 1 final are fair if u do study based on slides. Lots of hw & labs so the study load might be heavy, but TAs & tutors are very accessible & helpful in open lab times. There's an assigned teammate for 1 project & some labs though u can sometimes solo.

His exams primarily focus on material from lecture, making the textbook essentially optional. Some of the labs must be done w partners, which is somewhat annoying since everyone in the class starts with different levels of programming experience. Overall Matni is a solid choice for CS8; he is a very clear (and funny) lecturer