What are some of the basic elements that i should know going in to Computer science in order to mater it?

Question

anonymous · Answer

you have  to know algorithims and data structures. most of comp sci isn't about writing code, but deducing the steps to solve a problem.

anonymous · Answer

yep algorithms and data structures, everything in programming is derived from variables, if statements and loops. Then the rest comes from putting those together.

anonymous · Answer

sorry I should have said conditional statement, not if

anonymous · Answer

Good knowledge of "Software Design". Many algorithms have already been written / tested / debugged and are in libraries. Just about every conceivable data structure as well. Knowing some software metrics such as: cohesion and coupling are a better place to start. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coupling_%28computer_science%29