Open Source Computer Science Degree

Open Source Society University

Path to a free self-taught education in Computer Science!

Contents

• Summary
• Curriculum

Summary

This is a visualization of my personal learning goals and progress. My curriculum doesn't exactly match the OSSU curriculum as I've streamlined the advanced topics and omitted some foundational ones I'm already confident in.

Curriculum

• Open Source Computer Science Degree
• Contents
• Summary
• Curriculum
  • Intro CS
    • Introduction to Computer Science
    • Introduction to Computer Science
  • Core CS
    • Core programming
    • Core math
    • CS Tools
    • Core systems
    • Core theory
    • Core security
    • Core applications
  • Advanced CS
    • Advanced programming
    • Advanced systems
    • Advanced theory
    • Advanced Information Security
    • Advanced math
  • Final project
• Maintainers of OSSU

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Intro CS

Introduction to Computer Science

An entry-level course taught by David J. Malan, CS50x teaches students how to think algorithmically and solve problems efficiently. Topics include abstraction, algorithms, data structures, encapsulation, resource management, security, software engineering, and web development. Languages include C, Python, SQL, and JavaScript plus CSS and HTML

Topics covered: computation imperative programming basic data structures and algorithms and more

Courses	Status	Repo	Final Project
CS50's Introduction to Computer Science	Not Started	n/a	n/a

Introduction to Computer Science

This course will introduce you to the world of computer science. Students who have been introduced to programming, either from the courses above or through study elsewhere, should take this course for a flavor of the material to come. If you finish the course wanting more, Computer Science is likely for you!

Topics covered: computation imperative programming basic data structures and algorithms and more

Courses	Duration	Status	Repo	Final Project
Introduction to Computer Science and Programming using Python (alt)	9 weeks	In Progress	n/a	n/a

Core CS

All coursework under Core CS is required, unless otherwise indicated.

Core programming

Topics covered: design for testing program requirements common design patterns unit testing object-oriented design static typing

Courses	Duration	Status	Repo	Final Project
Object-Oriented Design	4 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Design Patterns	4 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Software Architecture	4 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a

Core math

Discrete math (Math for CS) is a prerequisite and closely related to the study of algorithms and data structures.

Topics covered: discrete mathematics mathematical proofs basic statistics O-notation discrete probability and more

Courses	Duration	Status	Repo	Final Project
Mathematics for Computer Science (alt)	13 weeks	n/a	n/a	n/a

CS Tools

Understanding theory is important, but you will also be expected to create programs. There are a number of tools that are widely used to make that process easier. Learn them now to ease your future work writing programs.

Topics covered: terminals and shell scripting vim command line environments version control and more

Courses	Duration	Status	Repo	Final Project
The Missing Semester of Your CS Education	2 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a

Core systems

Topics covered: procedural programming manual memory management boolean algebra gate logic memory computer architecture assembly machine language virtual machines high-level languages compilers operating systems network protocols and more

Courses	Duration	Status	Repo	Final Project
Build a Modern Computer from First Principles: From Nand to Tetris (alt)	6 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Build a Modern Computer from First Principles: Nand to Tetris Part II	6 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces	10-12 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Computer Networking: a Top-Down Approach	8 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a

Core theory

Topics covered: divide and conquer sorting and searching randomized algorithms graph search shortest paths data structures greedy algorithms minimum spanning trees dynamic programming NP-completeness and more

Courses	Duration	Status	Repo	Final Project
Algorithmix Toolbox	4 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Data Structures	4 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Algorithms on Graphs	4 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Algorithms on Strings	4 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Advanced Algorithms and Complexity	4 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a

Core security

Topics covered Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability Secure Design Defensive Programming Threats and Attacks Network Security Cryptography and more

Courses	Duration	Status	Repo	Final Project
Cybersecurity Fundamentals	8 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Principles of Secure Coding	4 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Identifying Security Vulnerabilities	4 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Identifying Security Vulnerabilities in C/C++Programming	4 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a

Core applications

Topics covered: Agile methodology REST software specifications refactoring relational databases transaction processing data modeling neural networks supervised learning unsupervised learning OpenGL ray tracing and more

Courses	Duration	Status	Repo	Final Project
Databases: Modeling and Theory	2 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Databases: Relational Databases and SQL	2 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Databases: Semistructured Data	2 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Machine Learning	11 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Computer Graphics	6 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Software Engineering: Introduction	6 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a

Advanced CS

After completing every required course in Core CS, students should choose a subset of courses from Advanced CS based on interest. Not every course from a subcategory needs to be taken. But students should take every course that is relevant to the field they intend to go into.

Advanced programming

Topics covered: debugging theory and practice goal-oriented programming parallel computing object-oriented analysis and design UML large-scale software architecture and design and more

Courses	Duration	Status	Repo	Final Project
Parallel Programming	4 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Compilers	9 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Software Debugging	8 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Software Testing	4 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a

(*) book by Blackburn, Bos, Striegnitz (compiled from source, redistributed under CC license)

Advanced systems

Topics covered: digital signaling combinational logic CMOS technologies sequential logic finite state machines processor instruction sets caches pipelining virtualization parallel processing virtual memory synchronization primitives system call interface and more

Courses	Duration	Status	Repo	Final Project
Computation Structures 1: Digital Circuits alt1 alt2	10 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Computation Structures 2: Computer Architecture	10 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Computation Structures 3: Computer Organization	10 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a

Advanced theory

Topics covered: formal languages Turing machines computability event-driven concurrency automata distributed shared memory consensus algorithms state machine replication computational geometry theory propositional logic relational logic Herbrand logic game trees and more

Courses	Duration	Status	Repo	Final Project
Theory of Computation (alt)	13 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Computational Geometry	16 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Game Theory	8 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a

Advanced Information Security

Courses	Duration	Status	Repo	Final Project
Web Security Fundamentals	5 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Security Governance & Compliance	3 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Digital Forensics Concepts	3 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Secure Software Development: Requirements, Design, and Reuse	7 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Secure Software Development: Implementation	7 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Secure Software Development: Verification and More Specialized Topics	7 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a

Advanced math

Courses	Duration	Status	Repo	Final Project
Essence of Linear Algebra	-	Not Started	n/a	n/a
Linear Algebra	14 weeks	Not Started	n/a	n/a

Final project

n/a

Maintainers of OSSU

• Eric Douglas: founder of OSSU
• Josh Hanson: lead technical maintainer
• Waciuma Wanjohi: lead academic maintainer
• Contributors