The class wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either. The course was (mostly) well-organized, and the content is very comprehensive. The professor and TAs seem to genuinely care about the class. In particular, the professor was super active on Piazza, and he'd often reply to my questions in an hour or two. Needless to say, if you put in the effort, you'll learn a lot.

But if you're a CS major who doesn't give two quacks about hardware like me, I would recommend against taking this class. Prof. Srivastava covered material rather rapidly during lectures, and I sometimes found them difficult to keep up with. He was often rude to students (especially over Piazza), and for the first half the quarter he only gave a single 3-minute break during the 2-hour lectures. Also, the assignments were super unforgiving. A small error in your circuit could be the difference between 100% and a failing grade for a design assignment (the 2nd DA wasn't easy to test properly either). The quizzes were multiple choice and often poorly worded, so I got a lot of points off for stupid reasons. Like others have said, the class doesn't have a whole lot of work until the last two weeks, when you get hit with a design assignment and a week-long final.

To sum it up, if you're genuinely passionate about designing circuits, I think you'll be able to look past the flaws and enjoy this course. But if not, be prepared for frustration.

Avoid this professor for digital circuit design whatever you do. He will end up assigning a quarter's worth of work in the last two weeks before finals. I don't know whether I have had a professor that is so inconsiderate of other people's time and schedules. The first eight weeks of this class is relatively little work; so little work actually, that you will forget about this class' existence. His design assignments have very strict guidelines that will not allow you to solve things in a simple and intuitive manner. Also, you should wait a couple of days before starting the design assignment because his initial upload will be filled with errors that other students will patch up over time. On the other hand, he lives on Piazza and to some that might be a good thing. However when he replies to questions, he will NEVER give you a straight answer. In fact, you will end up more confused and lost than you were before. You are better off taking it with another professor. He is very knowledgable but the teaching part is just not his thing. He's a good guy but he thinks that his class is the main focus on our schedule: it isn't. The quizzes are difficult not because of the content, but because the timing. Do not listen to the reviews below because it is a major misrepresentation of the class due to the fact that it was when covid initially happened. It is a rare case.

Overall, Professor Srivastava is a great lecturer who truly cares our learning.

Amazing class. Professor Srivastava made lectures highly interesting and provided us with a very solid foundation of digital logic. There is a lot of content, and while the course does start out slow, it picks up pace quickly in the second half after the transition to state machines and datapaths. The labs are tough yet very rewarding, and Professor Srivastava's lectures and advice will help approach them. Overall, Professor Srivastava and this class have piqued my interest in digital logic.

I thought this course was fair. It's true that the projects were very long and can take hours and that the professor was a little degrading on Piazza. I feel like he got frustrated when students didn't come to or watch lectures and then asked questions online that were already addressed in the lectures. (During lecture he is much more receptive to students' questions.) I don't agree with his behavior but I can understand why he acted that way. However, the professor did provide opportunities for students to improve their grades. He allowed students to resubmit projects (including the final) for a chance to receive a better grade and gave everyone a week to do it even after spring quarter started. Additionally the late day policy with 8 free late days was much appreciated and helped lessen the workload for the projects. Going to discussion was also very helpful and helped me understand some of the content that I didn't quite get in lecture. It definitely helped me out on the quizzes. Overall, this course was difficult but can be done if you put in a lot of work.

Avoid taking this class with this professor at all costs. There were only 2 HWs for the entire quarter and you would never guess when he's gonna release it. The quiz is very time-limited and he expect you to understand all the nitty-gritty details. He released the first design assignment during midterm week, which I think is very inconsiderate and the last 2/3 weeks of the quarter he basically expect you to do 2 design assignments. I would much prefer it if we have weekly hws and structured quizzes and design assignments. This class is all over the place. Don't take this class if you are taking more than 3 classes, avoid this professor!!

The course itself is very interesting and the content is much different than anything I have seen in academic setting. With that being said though it is very challenging and you can plan having multiple long nights with this one. Mani is a very nice guy, I went to office hours when I was struggling and he was glad to help out. My only complaints would be that I got lost in lecture frequently, and that the professor is not loud enough, but this was likely only because he taught in a huge lecture hall with few students. He can also get tracked into talking while looking down at his computer and writing annotations to the slides in which case you can't hear him much at all.

All in all, the content is pretty enjoyable as far as technology goes, but the workload is going to be tough. I know some other people who have taken this class with a different professor and never had the same issue. Credit to Mani, though, he does do a ton to make sure students can get help if they need it and offers resources through the internet which are extremely valuable. Also seriously recommend getting the book, many of the examples in the slides come right from there.

I took M16 with him. The biggest thing I would say is get ready to put in work. For a this rivals as one of the most time intensive lower div classes I have taken, I would even compare it with the workload from EE 110 and classes like that.

I very much enjoyed the class, but this is because I liked the material. He does cover a lot of material so if you want to learn take him. If your looking for a easy class I would avoid it.

He's not a bad guy, but the way he teaches this class is radically different from other professors' ways of doing so. There is a great amount of content to learn in this class in comparison to other M16 classes, and he is generally difficult to approach.

The content isn't difficult, but there is just too much to learn at one time. The homeworks were all notoriously difficult and extremely time-consuming, and the Logisim projects he gave us were extremely tough. I remember him extending the deadline for one project for another weekend and people still not being able to understand and do it.

That being said, you will gain a lot of insight if you happen to survive and pass this class, but I would not recommend you take it under a busy schedule. Overall, the absolute hardest class and professor I have ever taken in my years at UCLA.

One of the hardest classes I have taken at UCLA ever. M16 is supposed to be easy but his classes are incredibly difficult. He gives homework packets that take 8-10 hours and some were too thick to staple.

His tests were incredibly difficult, tricky, and require you to figure things out on the test. He gives design projects that are the most difficult things I have done since Project 3 in CS32.

That said, he is very effective. My friends who took this class previously didn't know how to do my first homework set, they never had to do design projects, and they were confused why my class was so difficult. Afterwards you will completely understand the subject, but you will also lose a chunk of your sanity.