Prof Floryan is a fantastic lecturer and professor. It's clear he cares about his students' well being. The class is very challenging, but the quiz grading policy (with 3 opportunities to pass them) is extremely lenient. I definitely had to prioritize this class over all of my other classes, and it takes a LOT of effort just to pass the class, but it is definitely doable if you actually like computer science and are willing to put in the work. This was the first proper difficult class I've taken, as in the hardest class I have taken at uva thus far, but it definitely taught me more than any other class i've been in here. It's extremely useful, and I actually found the programming assignments to. be fun. Its defintely better to have a friend or friends to go through the class with since homeworks can be collaborative. Struggling through it with other people makes it easier. Completely recommend this class with Floryan.

TL;DR: class very hard but amazing prof. hws are great but quizzes are not. the end.

I'd say DSA 2 is prolly one of, if not THE most important class in the CS major. Floryan is an outstanding professor - he is extremely knowledgeable, always on top of his shit, and is an amazing lecturer. This class tough. Like properly difficult. But it's also my favorite class this semester. The class content is VERY interesting, and the way I see it, I think you know you picked the right major if you end up enjoying this class.

The class topics can get pretty hard (very much a jump from DSA 1), but you are definitely prepared sufficiently to be able to tackle the difficult homeworks. I really enjoyed the coding homeworks - all you are given is a pdf containing the problem statement with a sample input and output (no starter code, which is very different from DSA 1), and you are given complete freedom when implementing your solution. The written homeworks, however, can sometimes be pretty challenging (I'm looking at you, DP written HW).

Class logistics: 8 modules, either 1-2 HWs per module, and 1 quiz per module. All HWs are due at the end of the semester, but Floryan provides recommended deadlines for each HW (it is VERY important to stay on track and not fall behind and drown at the end). HWs pass/fail, with 80% being a passing grade. Quizzes are Fail/Pass/High Pass, where fail = <70%, Pass = 70% - 89%, High pass = 90%+. As of now, you have to high pass ALL eight quizzes for an A in the class, but Floryan insists that he will make changes at the end of the semester based on the class averages. You do have 3 chances to take all 8 quizzes to try and boost your quiz scores as high as possible.

My biggest gripe with the class are just the quizzes - they're straight up just hard, but I think retake policy is really nice and gives you chances to boost your grade.

Overall, if you put in consistent and dedicated effort into the class, you are very much set up for success. The moment you start to fall back and the HWs start backlogging is when things can get nasty so PLEASE STAY ON TRACK.

Incredible professor. The class was definitely tough and time consuming, but Floryan really tries his best to make the content understandable. I didn't agree with the grading scale because it was a little harsh, but I really enjoyed the course.