Monday 14 December 2015

The fascinating world of Computer Science!

Many of you aim for CSE branch in a good college. For several of us, getting CSE is a motivation for JEE preparation. I was from ICSE board and by the end of standard 10th, I knew basic C++/Java programming because it was a part of our curriculum. I enjoyed a lot and I always loved to write code (though very basic ones). I always wanted CSE. IIT Bombay was a later choice though.
In this article, I will talk a bit about Computer Science - the dream branch of every JEE aspirant.

Having spent 2.5 years at IIT Bombay, doing various CSE courses, I feel that my choice of Computer Science was a perfect one. The subject interests me a lot and I am really happy with my choice.

Ever wondered what happens when you login to your Facebook account?
WARNING - geeky stuff ahead! Quit now if sleepy :D

You cannot imagine how much of hidden stuff happens when you press your login button.

  • Your computer tries to connect to the DNS server which helps your computer identify the IP address corresponding to the Facebook domain. Even this process is complicated. If the domain name to IP address mapping isn't available in your DNS server cache, it tries to connect to several other DNS servers to know the mapping. This may involve as many as 8 message exchanges across various parts of the world and it truly happens in the blink of an eye! All of this is taught in the Computer Networks course, and trust me, it was an amazing course!
  • Your login details are confidential. They cannot be sent over the channel (wire/wireless) as a plain text. So, everything is encrypted using a secure cipher suite. This ensures not only privacy of your message (no one gets to know your password), but also integrity of the message (no one can alter the message packet). All of this is taught in Cryptography and Network Security course.
  • Your message packet containing your login details goes to one of the several severs of Facebook. The servers work in a coordinated fashion for load balancing. Remember, billions of people use Facebook and if all of them login at the same time, a single machine won't be able to handle the load and so, several servers are needed. Your data is secure with the servers. Additionally, your data is distributed across several servers. These concepts are taught in Operating Systems/Distributed Computing. Several cloud computing concepts are also involved here!
  • Then your login details are verified at the server end. How amazing it is that you are identified so quickly in the database of about a billion (1,000,000,000) users in the blink of an eye. Also note that Facebook doesn't have your password! It just stores a hash of your password. Storing passwords will be dangerous because a breach of security at the server might leak all the passwords and so, the passwords are hashed and then stored. All of these concepts are a part of databases course.
  • When your search for stuff on Google, a lot of Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing is involved. Imagine how smart the computers are that they are able to distinguish between "I can do it" and "Gimme a soda can" - Artificial Intelligence it is!
Such are the things you will be learning as a Computer Science and Engineering Undergraduate. Trust me, CSE is an amazing branch. You will get to learn a bunch of geeky stuff, obscured from the rest of the world :D

IITB fact - IIT Bombay allows your to take ANY course you want in ANY department.
IITB CSE fact - In 4th year, there are no compulsory courses. You can decide what you wanna do! However, you have to choose a fixed number of courses (wasn't that obvious?)

We have an extremely flexible curriculum at IITB. We have a minor programme under which, you can get a Minor degree in other department if you complete 30 credits (around 5 courses) in that department. We also have an honors programme under which you can get an Honors degree if you complete 30 extra credits in your own department. You can take any course in any department and tag it as an institute elective/additional learning course. You are also allowed to audit courses (watch a course, don't give exam!).

Study hard! You gotta crack IITB CSE!

28 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Truly motivating Aman thanks a lot :) :)

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  3. What are some bitter truth of IIT-B??

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    1. There isn't any bitter truth of iitb. There are hitter truths about life which you'll learn when you grow up. I'm still learning :)

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  4. How much questions I should solve everyday to get rank under 50 in jee 2017?My concepts are cleared till date but haven't practised problems.

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  5. can we do two courses together like computer and mechanical engineering both at a time

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  6. can we do two courses together like computer and mechanical engineering both at a time

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    1. No you cannot. You can, however take up a minor in any dept you want! :)

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    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    3. IIT Kanpur has this concept of dual majors in which you can major in 2 disciplines simultaneously

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  7. Can you please tell me which books are good for numericals types que in phys and chem.

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  9. Hello sir, i am confused between taking computer science or aeronautical engineering? I am interested in both but more in aeronautical....... Which will be more better if we see it in future terms and opportunities?

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    1. Since this is January, I take it that you're yet to appear for competitive exams.
      Why bother now? Why not fight for the best and decide later?

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    2. Thankuu sir....... And yeah a word for u.... That u r doing a great job..... U r definitely inspiring us a lot by ur blogs.......

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  10. Bhaiya I need to ask you a question which might seem trivial but is very important to kniw: if a student Mr secures AIR 800 in jee advanced can he apply for iit kharagpur mechanical engineering which has an opening rank of 908?

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  11. P.s though this is January I need the data for a person securing the above rank but wanting to know what I asked

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  12. P.s though this is January I need the data for a person securing the above rank but wanting to know what I asked

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  14. Bhaiya I am a jee 2017 aspirant.I did not study properly in my 11th.I attend VMC coaching on tue thu and fri (3:40pm-8:00pm) and school(7:15-2:30).How can I plan my 12th to get a good rank in advanced ? I am interested in CSE branch.
    Pls help

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    1. Remember the old saying..?
      God helps those who helps themselves.
      Well it's the same case for you as well.

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  15. Thanks Aman, your words are very motivating. Keep motivating the aspirants.
    (P.S.- I am a JEE 2017 aspirant myself and I have been benefitted from your advice and motivation.)
    Keep motivating !!

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  16. Hello Aman ,
    I am Samridh Joshi an aspirant of JEE 2016. Only 2 months roughly are left as you know for the advanced and I desperately want a rank in top 50 to get into IITB CSE . Can you please guide me on final strategy and finishing touches in these 2 months .
    I shall provide a short information about my current stats
    I think I am capable to achieve the target . I am an ntse scholar KVPY 2015 AIR 5 , NSEC and NSEP qualified InCho too qualified this year . I study in fiitjee as you did and in Lucknow Centre (not quite far or different from kanpur ).
    Syllabus completed in November
    Fiitjee all material exhausted except RTPF .
    Almost done rank booster of resonance .
    My only problem is careless errors and I am asking for what is the strategy to polish up to the level best in these 2 months . Please help me out.
    PS . Very less time is left so do reply early .

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  17. thanks bhaiya!
    It gives me a lot of motivation!!

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  18. Dude, you are everything i wanted to be. the difference is you realised it earlier and worked hard to make i reality, and i am regretting my past choices.

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