__/ [ Hadron Quark ] on Monday 14 August 2006 15:54 \__
> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
>
>> __/ [ John A. Bailo ] on Monday 14 August 2006 15:32 \__
>>
>>> [H]omer wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> My first few weeks at Uni, we didn't even go anywhere *near* the
>>>> computer lab. We were taught to understand the *principles* of
>>>> "problem solving" - i.e. breaking down tasks into abstractions, using
>>>> syntax diagrams and plain English.
>>>
>>> My first "computer" course was in numerical analysis and data processing.
>>>
>>> The professor never taught a line of code.
>>>
>>> He examined algorithms and taught us the limits of math in a digital
>>> environment. He used pseudocode to illustrate the principles, of say,
>>> sorting.
>>>
>>> We had to do programming tasks every week, but it was up to us to choose
>>> the language, and the hardware for implementation.
>>>
>>>> <snip rest />
>>
>> Your professor was a smart pedagogue. Programming is syntax-depedent.
>> Concepts and skills cling to one's mind for understanding of a paradigm,
>> as well as improving problem-solving skills. See the foundation of one of
>> the fathers of Computer Science.
>
> Actually, the choice of the language can and does totally change the
> structure of the program. Moving between languages also includes a
> paradigm shift.
>
>>
>> http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/books.html
>>
>> From practical exercise to 'art'. One-to-one sessions that we had as
>> undergraduates involve nothing but classic lateral thinking riddles. It
>> was strange. But, in the long term, these seem more valuable than
>> memorisation of keywords and API's.
>
> I woudl agree that any good programmer can generally move between
> languages : albeit resulting in inefficient and non "standard" code
> which often falls down due to his inability to spot potential weaknesses
> in his chosen data representations for that language. I good LISP
> programmer is not going to walk into assembler or C for example.
True to a degree. Returning to this case of lateral thinking and solving of
puzzles, this is probably intended to, among other things, to improve the
ability to spot awkward bugs and reason about code. These skills are
generic. Language-specific skills can be harnessed quickly by reading some
books, as well as through experience. But the former skills remain tricky to
gain.
>> There's a slogan that goes with the game Othello: a minute to learn, a
>> lifetime to master.
>>
>
> Like anything in life.
Aye.
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