Editing TU Wien:Formale Methoden der Informatik VU (Egly) (section)

== Tipps ==
* Die alten Prüfungsangaben durchrechnen bereitet einen gut auf die Prüfung vor. Bei den Blöcken 1, 3 und 4 kommen immer ähnliche Beispiele. Für Block 2 (Satisfiability) gilt das leider nicht. Dort kann eigentlich alles verlangt werden, was Folien und Übungsblätter so her geben. Die optionalen Übungsblätter sind nützlich bei der Prüfungsvorbereitung. Beispiele bei denen Beweise zu führen sind, die in dieser Form in der VO nicht durchgenommen wurden, kann man dabei jedoch auch vernachlässigen (ausgenommen Block 2).
* Hin und wieder ist es sinnvoll, sich vorher sinnvolle Abwandlungen bereits im Voraus zu überlegen. Beispiel: Toy Programming Language im Block: Software Verifikation. In den Übungsbeispielen sind Syntax, Semantik und die Hoare-Verifikationsregel einer WHILE-Schleife zu definieren. Wie würde das bei einer FOR-Schleife aussehen? Oder bei REPEAT?
* 2 Stunden für die Prüfung auch nicht ewig viel Zeit - man muss schon eine gewisse Routine beim Lösen solcher Aufgaben haben, um da mit allem fertig zu werden.
* Ich kann jedem nur wärmstens empfehlen vor der Prüfung ein Buch zum Thema Logic, Theorem Proving und Verification zu lesen! Zum Beispiel: Mathematical Logic for Computer Science Third Edition von Mordechai Ben-Ari (pdf-Datei von Bibliothekswebseite), welches große Teile des LVA-Inhalts von Block 2, 3 und teilweise 4 behandelt. (Oder auch Logic in Computer Science von Michael R. A. Huth, Mark D. Ryan).
* (SS20)
** Block 1: Study the slides and extra material on youtube. Try to understand all the complexity classes and reductions. Also study from excercise solutions and then try to solve past questions.
** Block 2: Read the slides once and then study the exam solutions. Slides are impossible to understand and there is a lot of bla bla. Try to understand the solutions to past questions (like last 10-15 exams). I still have no idea what's going on in Block 2, I just memorized all the possible questions and their solutions. Pray Egly doesn't ask a new kind of question. 
** Block 3: Read the slides and listen to the lecture online where slides don't make sense. The lecturer helped me understand. Solve past questions. This block seems complicated at first but it is understandble.
** Block 4: Read the slides once (dont try to understand whats going on). Only the slides 1 and 3 are relevant. Focus on solutions of past questions. Part a and b is always the same and should be easy points. Part c is also doable.
* (SS20)
** Ignore Block 2 for the beginning and focus on Block 1, 3 and 4 to avoid frustration. Especially Block 4 is quite easy. Study about 1 week per block, start with 1,3 and 4, then continue with 1 week repetition and continue with Block 2 followed by another week of repetition of all concepts and final exam preparation.
** The best tipp to give is to ignore Block 2! Do not bother trying to understand Eglys stuff, I am quite sure he doesn't either ;). Jokes aside: Block 1, 3 and 4 are very much predictable even though sometimes Block 3 tends to diverge a little bit (see exam 16.10.2020). After you have done at least a couple of examples on Block 1, 3 and 4 then start learning for Block 2. It is not really predictable which examples he might give here so if you want a good score on this block you should consider going through all examples on the "Übungsblatt" and on the slides even though this takes some time. However DO NOT GIVE UP. It is more than just doable! I did not have any background in logic nor in complexity theory or any related topic and I was still able to score a "Sehr gut"!
* (SS20/WS20): Teil 2 beim Lernen völlig ignoriert und auch 0 Punkte auf die Prüfung, Teil 1 auf Verständnis gelernt und alte Prüfungen gelernt, Teil 3 die alten Prüfungen gelernt und die Prüfungsrelevanten Dinge auf Verständnis gelernt, Teil 4 nur die 2 für die Prüfung relevanten Slides gelesen (1 und 3) und die Prüfungen durchgegangen und auf Verständnis komplett verzichtet. Hat für ein Genügend gereicht. Aufwand ca: ~2 Wochen moderates Lernen (VO Aufzeichnungen ansehen und verstehen, Prüfungen oberflächlich durchgehen) + ~10-14 Tage intensiveres Lernen (2 Wochen Urlaub genommen, die ~2 Wochen davor waren neben der Vollzeitarbeit). Bei den Übungsblättern habe ich die gemacht die so ähnlich waren wie die Prüfungsbeispiele.
* (SS20/WS20) For all those who are worried: don't let yourself be discouraged by others saying the exam is too hard! I am not an expert in the topic and I would not judge it as easy, but with continuous preparation (recommendably around 1-2 months), it should be sufficient to pass it. RECOMMENDATION: Don't learn old exams by heart! Try to understand - even if this sounds not doable in the beginning, but understanding comes with time. Just take your time and do it. :) 
* (SS20) Some tips for part 2: Skipping it is a valid approach if one doesn't care about the grade. However, if you want to prepare, do the exercise (at least the recommended tasks) on your own and try your best to understand what is going on. Also try to come up with the proofs on your own, in this case you get valuable feedback for the exam's proves. Therefore, try to understand the feedback as well as the sample solution fully. Ask if you are uncertain. Although there are new exercises in part 2 regularly, there are still some patterns: exam exercises tend to repeat once in a similar fashion at the next exam, so have a look at the last two exams. Even if the exam tasks are new, they are often related to the exercises of that particular year. This is not always obvious, as it's not the task itself that is repeated but the underlying technique, proof structure, etc. Therefore, if you fully understand the exercises, you have a good chance to find the correct approach for the exam’s tasks. Learning anything by heart is a complete wast of time for this part (actually for all parts).
* (SS21) I'd recommend absolutely everybody who is not happy with their grade to have a post-exam review. I had to do the exam three times and every time I was wrongfully deducted 3-4 points.
* (WS21) While I did study all blocks one after another (contrary to the advises above) I definietly spend most of the time on block 2 but got 2/15 points on the exam. Other blocks I got between 10-15 points so overall it was enough. However, one can see the deminishing returns with block 2 here so I can understand where others are coming from when they recommend to skip block 2 based on your grade preference/ time budget. For block 2 I'd recommend to do the exercises and hand them in (I believe that was my mistake as I appearently completely messed up the proofs according to Egly Feedback on the exam. I was pretty confident I got it right straight after the exam but that proofed to be false so doing the exercises for block 2, handing them in and getting a feeling for what Egly wants you to do might be a better strategy here). For Blocks 3,4 the past exams were the best preparation for me, at some point you get the hang of it (Provided they don't change the exam structure from the prior 3 years 2019-2022). Block 1 was actually done well in the lecture material so I'd recommend to go through that and solving exam exercises in parallel (They show signs of repetitions after certain years).