[bsder]

> Like how many of your coworkers from top CS schools remember most of the material in their compilers, cryptography, comp bio courses?

Nobody forgets a compilers course.

A "compilers" course is probably the first CS course where debugging is real--and terrifyingly hard. A compilers course converts a programmer from a "null pointers are bad" person to a "null pointers are evil" zealot.

Compilers courses are probably the closest that a CS person will get to PTSD.

[anamax]

Huh?

I've taken a compilers course, at Stanford no less.

I've written a couple of compilers and some near-compilers. (A very fast simulator can be a lot like a compiler.)

I don't think that null pointers are evil. In fact, I like null pointers.

My beef with null pointers is that very few languages support multiple null pointers. (No, mocked objects or sentinels are NOT a good substitute.)

Yes, I want multiple isNull values that can be distinguished but can't be used. (Python's "lots of things are false and you can create more" is arguably the closest.)

[ruang]

Can the Stanford compiler course be self-taught given the online material? What's missing?

I've seen it available on Coursera. And a lot of the current material is available online. But I tried the Coursera one awhile ago and got stuck.

I'm finishing a CS degree but there's no dedicated compiler course here.