Okay, so most of these reviews are people complaining about the workload for this course. Deal with it. From the first five minutes of the very first lecture, Professor Bloomfield makes it crystal clear that he expects a lot out of his students. The fact is that you learn things in this class that you are asked about in advanced courses and job interviews, and I believe successful completion of this course puts a student above the curve when it comes to an intricate knowledge of data structures. And with regard to difficulty/workload, I started my CS major with absolutely zero programming experience and I never felt overwhelmed (except for lab 6, that thing sucked). The prelabs are released on Thursday and are due on Tuesday morning, so the trick is to just get over yourself and start the prelabs early. Same deal with the postlabs, don't wait till Friday morning to start. You probably won't finish, and even if you do, you'll be lucky to get a fair grade. Seriously, it's a lot of work, but its not impossible. Aside from all of the CS things you learn in this class, you also definitely have the chance to fine-tune your time management skills. TL;DR: It's really not that bad.

Extremely difficult class, but you will learn a lot. Necessary for any CS major, and with good reason. You WILL be asked about data structures in other classes and in interviews. You have to divide the work up throughout the week, otherwise staying up every Monday to finish the labs are required. Ask for help regularly, and be prepared to be a little miserable. If you do the work, then the tests are the rest of the grade and they aren't too bad. You will be rewarded for your hard work, especially with Bloomfield. Take it with him.

Bloomfield is the MAN. One of best Profs at UVA. Class has a crazy work load. However, you will use everything you learn in this class in real life.

Way too much work. I could have learned the same amount, which was a fair amount, with 2/3 the work or less. If you have ever seen It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Professor Bloomfield looks and sounds just like Dennis. He is also a prick like Dennis

Hard, time intensive class, but very worthwhile. The labs are a large part of the course, but they are all geared at teaching you what you are expected to know.

Excellent class learned a lot

Class is pretty challenging and time-intensive, but you'll feel like you've learned a lot by the end.

Very difficult, but you'll learn a lot. I walked away from this quite weary from all the hours in Thornton spent on lab reports, but now I know a ton about c++ and x86 so I would say it was a success.

This class was definitely difficult. The lab was the meat of the course, Bloomfield makes his lecture very interesting and really easy to follow. He is also very understanding as well as helpful. I really enjoyed the class, although it was definitely one of the harder classes I have taken.

He is an excellent teacher. The class is hard, required, and in the end, worth it.