This is an archive of Berkeley's CS 61A as it was before the switch to a Python-based version in 2011. It's here as a resource for people who find my old lecture videos online and enjoy them.
The course title is taken from the book Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs by Harold Abelson and Gerald Jay Sussman with Julie Sussman, still the best computer science book ever.
This semester-long course was organized by weeks; each week included three lectures, a discussion section meeting, and a lab meeting, as well as weekly homework. As a rule of thumb, the lab exercises were meant to be straightforward and not time-consuming, while the homework was harder. Students reported spending anywhere from zero to 40 hours/week on the homeworks, but with a strong mode at 4 hours/week. My lecture notes are here, along with solutions to the homeworks and labs.
The course reader was in two volumes, because the skinny first volume changed each semester, mostly because of dates of lectures and assignments. The fat second volume was unchanging, so could be bought used.
| Start Here | Textbook and Readers | Programs |
|---|---|---|
| First-day handout (PDF) | Online SICP textbook | Library programs |
| Install STk (Scheme) | Simply Scheme online | Programs from lectures |
| Course Reader vol 1 | Solutions to homeworks and labs | |
| Course Reader vol 2 |