Chris Gill
3 courses · 19 reviews
Courses
All Reviews
Lots of review was created 10 years before. Professor Gill do not teach C++ now(or some semesters?). He teach graduate level course Rust. Graduate students probably not care about ratemyprofessor points. However he gave good lab instructions that is renewing. Rust is definitely a hard language to learn but conveys high level system safe ideas.
4/22/2025
It looks like most of Professor Gill's ratings are for 131. I didn't have him for 131, but I thought he was one of the best professors I've had for 332. It was a heavily lab based course and the book covered everything you needed, but he always offered good insights and extra material. Also he's really nice, and very helpful in the lab setting.
9/3/2015
He's not the best at explaining new concepts. His class is a lot easier if you come in with some experience with OOP. But his labs & studios, which are comprehensive and walk you through all the concepts, are very helpful, and the exams are fair.
8/2/2012
Gill is awesome. It's true that he knows the material very well and speaks abstractly, but you can interrupt with questions and he'll answer. Only my friend and I did this in class, even though he encouraged it. Maybe that's why some people have trouble, so be sure to ask if you're lost. He's a very happy and helpful guy, and fun to talk to in lab.
4/18/2012
Gill is impossible to understand. When he lectures, 90% of his words are jargon that only experienced programmers get. The studios are helpful but get hard fast and are intimidating since you can't learn from the professor at all. The labs are ok.
4/3/2012
The studios are helpful as far as learning the material goes, but they get hard fast and going to class doesn't help because of how confusing Gill's lectures are. 90% of what comes out of his mouth is jargon that only experienced programmers understand. I try to pay attention but I have no idea what he's saying.
4/3/2012
Studios can be boring - but are helpful if you take them seriously. As a lecturer he isn't great at making the material super exciting(especially when he starts talking about the STL) but you can tell he has a passion for it. I recommend doing some supplemental reading for the class (free tutorials). Exams aren't hard if you have a good note card.
4/19/2011
Really knows what he's talking about with C++. He always came to class prepared. The labs were kind of fun, and exams weren't hard at all if you showed up to class. I think he's a great professor.
8/15/2010
He gets a lot of criticism, but if he's teaching a small class like this one, and you're fairly good at computer science, you will like him. His tests are much more reasonable than Ken Goldman's are, that's for sure. Labs aren't THAT bad.
11/17/2005
We did the same lab 5 times in a row, just using different syntax each time. Horribly, horribly boring, and his lab descriptions are very unclear. Lectures are not worthwhile, since he just reads straight from his PowerPoint slides, which he posts on the web anyway.
11/10/2005
Holy crap, is he ever bad. I had an enormous amount of trouble, as he couldn't explain anything worth a darn. BAD PROFESSOR
7/9/2005
The lab instructions did not make sense. Class was not worth the time. He did not know the java syntax, but mystically we were supposed to know it.
12/29/2004
I stopped going to class after the midterm. It didn't matter. I didn't learn anything in class anyway. There was no textbook for the class, which was ridiculous, since Gill didn't teach anything in class either. SO glad the semester is over!
12/23/2004
He's very large and very jolly, but that certainly doesn't make him a better instructor. I have to read some parts of his labs 12 times before I can comprehend them. His TA's don't even like him.
12/8/2004
I havent been to this class in months. There is no point in going, because I a third grader could teach me better than he could.
12/7/2004
Considering that people who knew how to program prior to taking this class have trouble with it, it's amazing that someone like myself (no prior Comp Sci instruction) manages to pass with his awful and unclear teaching style. His assignments/tests/quizes vary greatly in differently for no reason.
12/5/2004
Scatterbrained teaching style while repeatedly covering the same material. Still manages to lose inexperienced programmers with poor explanations. Posts new information on labs the day they're due. Labs are simply exercises in debugging since they require no original thinking or problem solving.
11/30/2004