From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: fc89c,97188312486d4578 X-Google-Attributes: gidfc89c,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,97188312486d4578 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: 1014db,6154de2e240de72a X-Google-Attributes: gid1014db,public X-Google-Thread: 109fba,baaf5f793d03d420 X-Google-Attributes: gid109fba,public From: anh@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (TRAN PHAN ANH) Subject: Re: What's the best language to start with? [was: Re: Should I learn Date: 1996/07/30 Message-ID: <1996Jul30.104616.123188@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 171202520 references: <01bb7da1$323102a0$96ee6fcf@timhome2> organization: University of Kansas Academic Computing Services newsgroups: comp.lang.c,comp.lang.c++,comp.unix.programmer,comp.lang.ada Date: 1996-07-30T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: In article <01bb7da1$323102a0$96ee6fcf@timhome2>, "Tim Behrendsen" writes: > > 1) How well they understand what's *really* going on; the best > programmers have a solid foundation. > 2) How well the can take a problem they've (probably) never seen > before and generate a solution. [snip] > Bottom line, a student cannot fundamentally understand an > abstraction until they understand the abstraction > in terms of the fundamental components of programming; again: > Move, Arithmetic, Test, Branch, and Logicals. > > CS is currently taught the way you describe. Why do you think > it's so hard to teach abstractions at the elementary level? > It's because the students get so wrapped up in the fancy > terminology, they don't see that its really all smoke and > mirrors, and the concepts are very, very basic. If it's > expressed in fundamental ways, it's very easy to see what > abstractions are really saying in *real* terms. Hoola...clap clap clap...:-) What's the reason for abstraction? We abstract in order to hide details. But if we do not know what the details are, how in heaven can we abstract them 'away' ? :-) Anh > -- Tim Behrendsen (tim@airshields.com)