lion LMUCS

Resources

Tips from the CS Professors

The professors wrote this! Really! Read it! It will help! https://lmucs.github.io/resources/resources.html

FAQs

Can I only contact the TA who grades for the class I have a question about?

No! All CS TAs are general TAs, so you can ask any one of them for help. Upper division TAs are expected to help lower division TAs. Please keep in mind that no one is an expert at everything.

When should I contact my professor vs. a TA?

  • Ask your professor if you have an assignment-specific question (i.e. “When is this assignment due?” or “How should I submit my answer?”).
  • Ask a TA when you have a coding-specific or more general question (i.e. “I can’t figure out why I’m getting this output…”, “How would you approach solving this problem?”, or “I can’t wrap my head around this concept we learned.”).
  • If you’re not sure, go ahead and ask a TA! They can redirect you to a professor if necessary.

If I have further questions, where can I go?

If you have questions about the TA program that aren’t answered here, you can contact any of the TAs above at the email addresses listed as well as on Slack or Discord, or you can contact the lab manager, Masao Kitamura, at masao.kitamura@lmu.edu, or on Slack.

LMU Student Resources

Public Learning Resources

Notice: follow your professor/course guidance on when AI usage is allowed.

Claude Code

CLI coding interface by Anthropic https://code.claude.com/

Codex

CLI coding interface made by OpenAI/ChatGPT https://chatgpt.com/codex

Cursor

An AI-first alternative to VSCode: https://cursor.com/

GitHub Copilot Chat

https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=GitHub.copilot-chat

Free, with the GitHub Student Developer Pack: https://education.github.com/pack

ChatGPT - https://chat.openai.com/

Here are some things you do with ChatGPT:

  • Paste in full error messages and ChatGPT may give you the exact answer.
  • Paste in your existing code and ChatGPT may write an improved version
  • Ask it generally what you want to do (write a for-loop in Java)
  • Continue the chat conversation for improved answers!

Google - https://www.google.com/

Google is your best friend! A lot of programming is just knowing what and how to search for the answers you're looking for.

Attempt to search specifically for your question

  • “how to write a for loop in java”
  • "how to get the class of an object in java"
  • "how to change a string to an int in python"
    • "what does public static void main mean"
  • Attempt to search for the exact error you’re seeing. Copy and paste!
  • “non-static variable cannot be referenced from a static context”
  • "TypeError: unhashable type: 'list' "
  • "cannot convert object to primitive value"

Remember that it's okay to copy code from the Internet as long as you give credit to the original source! Stack Overflow - https://stackoverflow.com/

Usually Google will link you to Stack Overflow, but you can also search/browse Stack Overflow directly.

Remember that it's okay to copy code from Stack Overflow and other sources as long as you give credit to the original source!

Chegg (paid, 3rd party, not affiliated with LMU) - https://www.chegg.com/

Some students have reported having good results from using Chegg to get help with their homework.

Remember that it's okay to copy code from Chegg and other sources as long as you give credit to the original source!

GitHub Student Developer Pack

The GitHub Student Developer Pack is free for students:

  • This includes Github Copilot: your AI programming helper!

https://education.github.com/pack

Also, CoPilot for Xcode! (mobile dev, iPhone / Swift)

https://github.com/intitni/CopilotForXcode/

And VIM emulator for Xcode: In Xcode, go to Editor > Vim Mode

Useful Blogs

University Resources

LinkedIn Learning

Many courses are available free to the LMU community via Linkedin Learning:

For example, here’s a search for all Javascript tutorials:

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/search?keywords=javascript

LMU Build

Build your own website, database, and more using LMU Build!

https://lmu.build/

LMU Handshake

Find jobs! https://lmu.joinhandshake.com/

Department Resources

Organizations and Events

Association of Computer Machinery (ACM): Aidan Dionisio, Jason Douglas Recitations: Aidan Dionisio, Aidan Srouji, Natalie Lau, Jason Douglas Interview Prep Workshops: ACM Club ICPC Coding Competition Training: Kira Toal

Workstations and Servers

Our labs have a selection of Mac, PC, and Linux workstations and servers.

  • iMac 27” Workstations

Laptop and Mobile Device Checkout

We also have a limited number of laptops and other devices (mobile, tablet, phone, VR, voice-recognition, etc.) available for checkout depending on the need for your project/circumstances. Please contact the lab manager for more details.

Other Devices

We have a limited supply of other devices for your projects, learning, and enjoyment.

  • Surface Hub 2S
  • Nintendo Switch
  • Poster Printer

Game Hosting

  • Minecraft Server

Software and API Licenses

We occasionally purchase software licenses for various projects and to test new approaches to development. Here are some licenses we’ve purchased in the past:

  • Material UI Pro - Professional UI components for frontend development
  • MapBox API - an alternative to the Google Maps API
  • Alpha Vantage Finance API - https://www.alphavantage.co
  • Various Material UI and Figma templates

Learning Services

Similar to LinkedIn Learning (which is paid for by the University), we will occasionally purchase individual courses or subscriptions from leading online course providers including the following:

  • Coursera
  • Pluralsight
  • Udemy

Note: To reduce expenses, we may cancel any licenses, subscriptions, or services at any time depending on usage.