CS50 Problem Set 1 - Mario Walkthrough (Step by Step for Beginners)

[@robo1297]

The jump from scratch to this was crazy for someone who has never coded before. Thanks for the help

[@scarycrow3638]

Ikr its retarded

[@taiao7700]

This was doing my head in lol, cant believe they left out so much info

[@williamarenas1004]

@@taiao7700 Same here, not enough info to do this as a newbie

[@TheFretzone]

Glad it wasnt just me who thought that lol

[@bobbysack254]

thats the thing about university, the info they teach you in class is never enough to be able to do the homework. and its also not realistic to spend hours on one class’ homework because you have homework for other classes. chegg is a necessity….

[@letticegal]

To anyone else that saw the mario PSet 1 less challenge and thought they weren't good enough for to code or they weren't cut out for it- Watch this whole video write the code along with them and then explain it line by line to someone. It makes so so so much more sense when you do it step by step this way, and once you figure out how nested loops work (kinda like a racetrack with the start being the finish line and the nested loops like parts of the track you have to drive through) it makes the Mario more challenge trivially easy. Thank you so so so much for making this video, because without your help I would have never gotten past it. To everyone else trying to do CS50: You've got this, I believe in you.

[@bedstuy89]

you are speaking to me. thank you. needed the encouragement

[@EwanPB]

Man thank you so much for this guide, sincerely. I was so stuck on this problem that I was seriously considering giving up completely on CS50 and learning programming. I know that copying other people's code is a bad way to learn but I think as a complete beginner pset 1 is too difficult, your video has really helped me understand what I've been doing wrong. Thanks again man, you're a legend.

[@CS50MadeEasy]

Glad I could help! Thanks for the kind words :)

[@benjaminatieku-dzandu3610]

Ewan. thank you for much for sharing your frustrations. I felt the same way and now I know I am not alone. Thanks, CS50 Made Easy. I also understood it much better after watching this video.

[@kimmyaguilar5408]

omg I was gonna give up too, I haven't done cs50 in over a week because I was trying to understand it. its frustrating but in the end it'll be worth it :)

[@geoffreychege2632]

I almost put this course on the side. I'm a newbie programming student and I have to say this problem set one makes someone feel like quitting. Thanks for the tutorial. One day when I get good at programming I'm sure I'll laugh at this moment.

[@Diego-ru7nh]

Hey man I just wanted to give you some future encouragement incase you ever felt like giving up. Just remember that learning to code is honestly really hard and takes a lot of personal effort, after all if it was something that was easy to learn everyone would be a programmer. There's gonna be a lot of times when you'll wanna give up and times when you'll think you're too dumb to be a programmer but don't listen to that. All you have to do is keep learning and growing as a programmer and before you know it you'll be able to build literally anything you want to.

[@ericvankampen5619]

I think Harvard should strongly consider paying you as a teacher. You have a true talent for it. I say that from experience because in my previous career I was head of training people and it is no easy feat to make things digestible for others. You have a great ability to explain things in a way that makes it easy for all to assimilate. Sign of a great teacher!!

[@CS50MadeEasy]

Thank you so much for your kind words! It really means a lot :)

[@Ihopeyoureokay]

Thank you so much, I have 0 knowledge on coding, the jump from scratch to this was a bit much , thank you for explaining this so well.

[@CS50MadeEasy]

My thoughts exactly! Glad this helped :)

[@karabum01]

I was stuck on this for like 3 weeks. Thanks for the explanation. The way you explain with the word file is just something us beginner needs.😄

[@7mzhl]

What week is this from?

[@Default_-ij5oc]

@@7mzhl week 1

[@mr_mr]

The explanation you did in the doc around 8:30 is so helpful. Thank you! The nested logic was something I just wasn't catching before this.

[@dhirenvatvani9317]

I guess its simple after all...I can't believe i was stuck for 2 days on this pset. Good job explaining Mr. Mario!

[@CS50MadeEasy]

Haha don't worry, took me a couple of days to figure it out as well. It's a challenging problem set but keep on going! Glad I could help :)

[@CS50MadeEasy]

@@ahmedathir6956 Yes! But the jump from Week 0 to Week 1 is one of the biggest, so don't worry!

[@mohammadmuneeb3922]

Man i thought i was the only who was stuck its been a day😂

[@TheElJoyHunter]

Im stuck there for aweak

[@jojobaggins6501]

@@CS50MadeEasy I need help

[@faye2860]

I just started CS50 this fall and I have no prior computer science experience. This was extremely clear and helpful! I feel like I was able to grasp the concept and not just copy your solution. Thank you so much!

[@funkeediscotek]

Me too, no prior computer science experience. I found that this helped me understand what every part of the process meant. I like that you didn't just assume we knew certain basic things-- because I had some gaps in my general knowledge, which these videos got rid of. Also I like how you patiently and thoroughly explained each part of the process, including the simple math and the google doc.

[@cth95mustang]

Awesome job man! I was really pumped to start taking this course until I saw this problem set. I had followed along with everything, and really felt like I was getting it all. Then they dropped this bomb of a problem as the FIRST one, and I was like, "oh well, I guess I'm done with this course." You explained it very well. I wish other teachers would break down problems like this into manageable chunks, a little bit at a time, to show the concept.

[@joshuaboyell779]

Because the column loop is nested in the row loop, every time row is increased, column is initialized to 0. This is the most important sentence. Thank you for pointing this out so succinctly.

[@youtubeweb3009]

I'm 15 and i just started programming two days ago without any knowledge about programming so i decide to take cs50 course and baammm I'm having a hard time figuring this out but thanks to you sire I've understood it now Also I've watched your other videos and damn Hope this won't make you uncomfortable but I really like you sire you're so cool and you're oozing with intelligence.I hope I'll meet a guy like you. Thank you!!

[@CS50MadeEasy]

Yoo thanks for the kind words! All the best for the course :)

[@youtubeweb3009]

@@CS50MadeEasy Not all heroes do wear capes

[@ahanabhassan6246]

@youtubeweb3009 How's it going bro? it's been 3 years...btw i'm also 15 now and doing cs50😁.

[@youtubeweb3009]

@@ahanabhassan6246 Hi, unfortunately, I wasn't able to finish the course, and, damn, it's been 3 years already huh. I am, however, currently studying Computer Science and on my 2nd year college now. I sincerely hope you'll be able to finish this course, best of luck!

[@chelseajayvosloo-nevin379]

I know this video was posted almost 2 years ago but I just came across it and it was such a blessing. I knew what I had to do for this problem set but I had no idea how to turn what I was thinking into actual code and you just explained it all so perfectly, i feel so much more confident after watching this. Thank you so much ! :)

[@CS50MadeEasy]

Thanks for the kind words Chelsea. Glad it helped! :)

[@ylazz001]

I have been going nuts on understanding nester for loops for a day and a half. This was the clearest explanation I could find. Finally. Thanks, great job

[@MilkyWayjay7]

Thank you for the tutorial! I honestly don't know how people who are just beginning to learn programming are about to complete this course in a reasonable time frame; the lectures cover so much material so quickly and then they just give you a brief rundown of what you need to complete each problem within the set, it's like alright this will probably take me 8 hours to actually comprehend. The week 0 scratch game alone took me more than 3 days to complete just to get my snake game to work properly without outside help from youtube. Anyways this channel helped me digest the problem set within 18 minutes instead of 100 mins so I am very thankful @CS50 Made Easy :)

[@CS50MadeEasy]

Glad to hear! Thanks for taking the time to comment my guy :)

[@boarder9snow]

I seriously can't thank you enough for doing this! Couldn't wrap my mind around getting from the block to the pyramid and how you explained it made things click. Keep up the amazing work!

[@CS50MadeEasy]

Glad I could help!

[@agnesmachowski6840]

You are an AMAZING teacher!!! During COVID lockdown I decided to learn new skills of coding and I took the online CS50 course in order to get some exposure to programming. I have NO programming experience and the Mario #1 assignment was very challenging for me... I cannot believe I actually understand it now, because of your fantastic video!!! Thank you so much. I am looking forward to watching more videos and learning more from you!

[@dustinstratton2946]

So I just have to say that it amazes me that there are people like you who take the time out of there lives to help explain, what is to me a very complex procedure, how to understand these problems. Your awesome.

[@piotr5646]

I will leave the code here if anyone is still confused. #include #include int main(void) { int height, row, column, space; do { height= get_int ("height: "); } while (height < 1 || height > 8); for (row = 0; row < height; row++) { for (space = 0; space < height - row - 1; space++) { printf(" "); } for (column = 0; column

[@skaterman-ml3cw]

bro really really thank you I have been stuck for more than two hours and could not find the problem with my code❤❤😁😁😁😁😁😁

[@zeekybeeky1850]

Mine is still not moving to the right

[@anthonyavila7680]

Thank you for the help, thousands of people have found this extremely helpful including myself!

[@nexustech8669]

Thank You!!!! I was stuck for awhile with two nested loops, little did I know I needed that third to help. The way you break it down and make coding so much easier is fantastic, keep up the great job!!!!

[@pooopymist]

You are so good at explaining these problem sets in detail. CS50 is really great, but they often seem to just hand you a problem and say "Good luck!" Well done!

[@thomasbrittinghamjr.8508]

This was the best explanation that I found on the internet. Well done. Helped me understand the logic behind the code.

[@haruttsormutyan6362]

At least 200 beginners in this comment section were struggling from this problem, thank you so much my friend

[@foncha08]

If everyone explained the logic of everything the way you do, it would be easier to learn these things. Thank you so much!

[@musicsaves71590]

Oh man. Thank you! I had all the pieces but was absolutely frustrated because I couldn't get them to fit together. You explained how these loops work in such an accessible manner. Again, thank you!

[@CS50MadeEasy]

You're very welcome!

[@gswarriors220]

duuuuuude!! thank you so much. i am a project manager and taking this class to transition into a more technical role .. so i have ZERO experience and background. your videos really have helped me understand and continue the course - you rock! God bless you

[@felixlaw8377]

Thanks man, i was getting so frustrated on this first problem set and i was going to give up on this course. but your video really made the logic much more understandable !!

[@CS50MadeEasy]

Great to hear!

[@vaibhav3874]

This was fantastic! I'm speechless-you're an amazing teacher! Thank you so much!!!!!! I subscribed and I'm looking forward to more content!

[@CS50MadeEasy]

Awesome! You're very welcome :)

[@halasus]

I fell like cheating, but I woldnt be able to make it without this video, thanks dudo, you're awsome!

[@chrisjarisch]

Wow! Absolutely brilliant explanation, as everyone else has said. Ive been struggling with this problem for 2 days. I cant even tell you how many articles Ive read on Stack Overflow, Reddit, etc. Ive been sooooooo close....but nothing 'clicked' till this video. Thanks so much!

[@RenatoChiapello]

at First I looked that the video was 18 minutes long and said no way, but you clearly took the time to explain everything so well that it was enjoyable and learned a lot, thank you!

[@lysstech]

thank you very much i'm from Brazil and besides the difficulty of learning in English was not managing to solve this problem on youtube I found nothing in Portuguese missing 2 months to finish my course almost gave up saved my dream today!

[@semple888]

These walkthroughs help me so much, Can you please keep uploading the rest of the weeks of CS50. thank you so much for helping everyone.

[@thenathanimal2909]

I spent about 6 hours staring at this problem and not even beginning to comprehend a solution. I was literally going to try and nest 8 for loops that would trigger and print sequentially depending on the user input; and I had idea how or if this would work. I appreciate Harvard offering this class for free, and the professor in general is extremely good, however I felt profoundly unequipped to solve this by the lectures and notes. I really want to learn to code and so came here to learn the methodology of this problem in order to understand the craft of coding; Thank you so much for your help.

[@glungusgongus]

I havent even watched this video cause I dont want the answer yet but the question is just horrible. Just a not fair at all question to solve.

[@himanshkohli6805]

Thank you so much. The way you went over the problem in the google doc as if you were the program itself really helped me understand.

[@LevyMegami]

This was huge, i felt so demoralized trying to figure this stuff out. The break downs of why each loop is working really helped it click.

[@holysmokes4493]

I was a just step or two away from getting the answer! I'm swearing up and down my room right now. Great video, man. Thanks for the help.

[@nickparsons3194]

You are a legend was really losing confidence already after just starting and getting stuck on the first problem set. The way you broke everything down was super helpful for someone who has never coded a day in their life

[@Oldbloodhunter]

This is really helpful. I'm trying to start my computer science journey and was totally stumped at this part. Thank you so much!

[@Betwazzled]

This information is incredible. Almost every video or guide for CS50 psets just walks you through to the answer without really explaining the mechanics behind it. I'd see a loop and think "okay I'll try and remember that." However, you stop and explain in a bitesize way that is perfect for beginners like me. When you were explaining the rows and columns in the google doc it just clicked for me and I finally understood the nature of the loops. Thanks so much.

[@a.d.c.3553]

I haven't even watched the video yet but THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I have been racking my brains for the past few days trying to figure out this stupid thing. THANK YOUUUUUUU!!

[@karenstoodley1431]

OMG! I have spent about 20 hours on this and searched and watched so many videos, checked GTP for help...finally someone explains it clearly. Thank you soooooo much!

[@tentgerryfarms8650]

did you also just start cs50?

[@3daysgracegirl4ever]

Thank you! This made me able to understand what the program is doing. After watching this and doing the Mario easy version along with the video I was able to do the hard version on my own

[@tayphiri519]

oh nice!!!

[@laurawoodside7529]

This is the best video I’ve seen yet. I love how you break it down in a separate document; it really helped me to understand. Please do more!

[@CS50MadeEasy]

Glad it was helpful!

[@hanieg2236]

Thank you so much for such a DETAILED and easy to understand video! You are an amazing teacher!

[@kuhenelan]

Man it's the mathematical problem that is the crux of this problem. That's what I couldn't figure out. Thanks for this!

[@mikesnow7852]

@Kuhen Elan -- exactly! I knew it had something to do with the "negative" space before the #s, but that math doh!

[@oliviacolton3661]

Thank you so much! Even other videos or sites weren't giving me the correct result. I legitimately could not have done this on my own.

[@f00tm4st3r]

dude, this explanation made it so i could figure out the "more comfortable" one on my own! thank you so much, you're a fantastic teacher :)

[@carolynnovak2089]

Thank you for taking the time to walk many of us through this. It's been extremely helpful!

[@CS50MadeEasy]

Make sure to comment any questions you have, I will do my best to respond to all questions! Also feel free to like the video if it helped you, and subscribe for tutorials on other problem sets :) If you feel like you need private tutoring to complete the course quickly or just need some extra help, feel free to fill in the form at cs50madeeasy.com or email me at [e-mail] for enquiries :)

[@CS50MadeEasy]

you don't really need to fill the pseudocode.txt file, if you're inclined to write pseudocode, you can even do it on notes or word!

[@shubs.]

CS50 Made Easy Really? When i try to type in the basic commands nothing comes up. Do you have a social media account where i can contact you and show you pictures so I can show you the problem?

[@timpumpkin3922]

Am I allowed to use this for help, I want to know because I don't wanna look like I'm cheating

[@nevaehwalker5052]

Thank you!!

[@cjnwogu1425]

Everytime i try $ make mario I receive "make: *** No rule to make target 'mario'. Stop.

[@melodiediaz6401]

This was so good! You are a great teacher. Keep the videos coming! Just FYI for future comment readers, the 2024 specifications no longer require the "greater than 8" part

[@genesisasmr6874]

my man's a genius, thank you so much, it actually has so much sense but somehow I couldn't figure it out by myself

[@eppingdb]

Thank you very much for the insights on "how to think." More than just a how-to-do, it opens a new way to see and face the problem in order to find the solution. Great work!

[@davidnovruzov4673]

finally someone explained clearly, thanks MAN.

[@mateuszbaszkowski1429]

man, thx a million. I was struggling with this for two days, and couldn't figure out how to put the formula in the code. now it makes sense. Thanks to u now I'm going to do Mario.more hopefully on my own.

[@CS50MadeEasy]

Glad it helped!

[@Iskaera]

I for the life of me couldn’t figure out why it kept adding an extra space but then when I switch from a while loop to a for loop it worked fine the first time. Thanks man this helped days of frustration 😂

[@EugeneHKrabs-rr6em]

Im here because im in ap comp sci and want to get into cybersecurity, ive only ever coded in scratch before. Im currently cooked but i believe in myself!

[@vibiririri]

I wasn't having any issue with the nested loops, it was the fact you could use subtraction in the statements within the for loops which is what had me. Thank you so much!

[@fayehand6090]

I have been struggling to understand how the nested loop works but you made it really simple to understand, thank you so much!

[@CS50MadeEasy]

You're very welcome!

[@keziahmallick6756]

Bro i was straight up not gonna solve this without your help. Thanks man

[@mouniralabiad3468]

What a teacher👏 honestly, if i didnt find this video i think i would've been stuck forever

[@Cccccc-y9r3v]

I’m sure this is nothing to someone who understands code, but this is insane for someone’s 1st code problem

[@usyntest7034]

3:30 - making the pyramid 12:30 - converting right aligned pyramid to left aligned

[@YoIntangible]

i don't get the way he found it i had gotten to this point on my own # ## ### but i was lost from 12:30 onward

[@josephgallegos7690]

honestly you saved my brain from the last few hours of processing, thank you for your help!

[@kis4kiana]

you are so awesome holy I've been stuck on this for a week, EDX should hire you!!

[@CS50MadeEasy]

Thank you for the kind words! Haha maybe someday :)

[@williamj7343]

Thank you so much, Rahul. I've been burning brain cells trying to figure this out. Your video was so straightforward and so helpful. Thank you so much!

[@ericvankampen5619]

Thank you very much for taking the time to make this video. I have lost my job because of Coronavirus and decided to make use of the time during lockdown to learn coding. Was about to give up because I couldn't find any useful resources online and I find the Harvard course quite esoteric in it's choice of teaching method. When I succeed at making my career change I will be thinking of you! Thanks for the help.

[@CS50MadeEasy]

Yoo thanks for the kind words, all the best!

[@lauraandrade5966]

I already finished the problem but watching this made me understand so much more. You're an amazing and clear teacher thank u legend

[@CS50MadeEasy]

No problem, glad it helped! :)

[@Litehamer]

Like many others I a am a complete beginner with no prior knowledge at all. Problems 1 was so far beyond e I thought I must have missed a couple of lectures. I am not sure if I am missing some reference material but I didn't get any of it. I purchased a laptop as I didn't;t have a computer and went for the highest spec I could hoping this would be the first of many courses etc. I was on the verge of selling it on eBay and giving up as I couldn't see where to start let alone finish. I didn't want to copy a solution from the internet, as that wouldn't increase my understanding. However, your guide was great and by the end of the second review I fully understood what lines were doing what. Thank you for the amazing work. I may just keep this laptop and study on the commute as planned.

[@beatrizhelena4528]

I started right, but in the "for" I LOST MYSELF and didn't know what to do. U saved me, thank u.

[@jrupp2823]

thank you rahul. i did the left align pyramid no problem but the right aligned one was making me reconsider all of my lifes choices

[@pranavramaswamy5319]

well done. scratch to this was hard for me - zero programing exp.

[@miadoesmanythings]

Literally had multiple breakdown bc of this pset. You are a LIFESAVER!!

[@Koyomi9]

It is indeed frustrating

[@fuzzylogics139]

Thank you so much for the calm step by step explanation sir! As someone who loves working on computers, finally started this course and now at week 1 (since 2 weeks, of which I re-watched the lecture 3 times plus the shorts AND the Section video) I am crashing into the fact that all I learned in math-class, now 3 decades ago.. was how to be invisible to the teacher.. But I will persist. Even if I have to cry and hollar my way through! After 3 days of thinking about this problem, I was getting there.. But at some point, just stuck-stuck. So I finally thought: you know what, if I was in a physical University I would go ask my peer or teacher for help by now. I mean it really is just like learning a new language. You're not going to learn what the word for "chicken" is unless somebody tells you it is "Poulet" in French, right? No shame my fellow students in the comment section!

[@hokaloah100]

Thank you so much! I am a 44 year old beginner and alot of this sounds like Greek to me. But this video was well explained. I'll probably have to watch it a few times to get it down but while you are explaining everything, I have no problem following along

[@rosemarie2661]

I came here because I was stuck, but it was nice to find I was closer than I thought! Thank you for clarifying :)

[@CS50MadeEasy]

You’re welcome 😊

[@LittleSunshineGrace]

Thank you very much. I was having a very hard time figuring out how to solve this but your video had helped me better understand it. Everything makes sense now.

[@CS50MadeEasy]

Glad it helped!

[@southmcwow]

I was struggling on this one a lot. Your explanations made it all make sense so now when I'm sitting here looking at the code I wrote, I can actually understand the why to it displaying the pyramid. Thank you.

[@strizzyallen959]

I have been stuck on the for loops and how to incorporate them to get this pset to work for a couple days and im glad I found your video. Thank you!!!

[@JoeJoe-vn8lf]

You do an excellent job explaining the process of writing code for this example. It made it easy to understand and follow. I am new to programming and this helped me a lot. Thank You, Please keep up the good work

[@CS50MadeEasy]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@srishtimiglani6733]

Thank you SO MUCH for making this video. Almost gave up on the CS50 course and I'm so glad I came across this. The way you explained it all and broke it down into small bits was super helpful. Thank you!!

[@thebass2798]

thanks for the help man.. you got me through the problems i was having and your voice puts me into a trance...its really strange but enjoyable

[@foodgreat]

Thank you for making the video😊

[@clevebissoon2354]

Bro that for loop explanation is AMAZING!

[@riffslayer1319]

Thanks for the help man, I was beginning to think I'm too dumb for computer science, but this gave me some hope. This is the first time writing anything outside of the "Hello, world" staple, and its not intuitive for a beginner.

[@trangbui4034]

I just finished mario more comfortable after getting stuck almost 2 days on both problems. But every effort turns into worthy moments. I’m so excited for the next following challenges...

[@southmcwow]

Wanted to comment again with thanks for explaining how the for loops are working. I've been really struggling with grasping them and it was making me not actually understand how the code is working. I've been taking notes as you explain the for loops and it just clicked. The breakdowns you do are so incredibly helpful. Thanks so much.

[@asadularif9660]

the way you are trying to visualise the loop is incredible 😊

[@alyssa7337]

Thank you so much for this! You’re an excellent teacher and explain things so well.

[@CS50MadeEasy]

You're very welcome!

[@amaliadayle5137]

Amazing tutorial! Thank you so much you are an excellent teacher and made it so much easier to understand.

[@CS50MadeEasy]

Happy to help! :)

[@GeneralBanana1]

Thank you so much. I had been struggling for so long and your video was very informational and helped me solve many problems I had.

[@notre_damn]

Seems so simple after your explanation. Appreciate it.

[@yeeroy]

Thank you so much for breaking everything down and even explaining step by step by something is the way it is. You're a great teacher! Really helps those of us out who are trying to make a career change and have no CS background at all :)

[@jetsetchlo8519]

This tutorial made it so much easier to understand. Thank you!!! I watched other tutorials, but they were so confusing.

[@CS50MadeEasy]

Glad it was helpful!

[@streamungodlyhour676]

I was really becoming frustrated with this problem, i just gave up and searched for a tutorial and im glad I found one!!! Thank you!!! I understood it easily after u explained it!!

[@mistachu5216]

You're the best teacher ever😄 You have so much patient in teaching us.

[@Rs-zc2xw]

Dude! You are amazing and such a "life" saver. I did quit this program back in August of 2021 but it just kept nagging at me. I'm trying to pick it up again. Thanks a million!

[@alexandercorreatangarife7438]

Thank you very much. The video is very clear and easy to understand. Greetings from Colombia

[@harrisonliang326]

Great video, thank you so much. Was stuck on this for 2 days.