Re: Any research putting c above ada?

["M. Prasad" <prasadm@polaroid.com>]

Richard A. O'Keefe wrote:
> 
> eachus@spectre.mitre.org (Robert I. Eachus) writes:
> >   But in reality it is the responsibility of the students to get the
> >knowledge that they need.
> 
> I've just had a student in my office who was extremely annoyed.
> He had submitted his assignment electronically in two parts,
> and his second submission had caused his first to be deleted,
> hence his low mark.  He was *outraged* at the suggestion that
> he ought to have read the on-line manual for the electronic
> submission program.  I pointed out that he _ought_ to read the
> manuals for _all_ the programs he used, and he was vehemently
> opposed to that view.  In his view, he was paying us money,
> and he shouldn't have to read _anything_ that wasn't in the
> printed handouts.  It was a very upsetting meeting.

He was right.  Very few pieces of software *require* reading
of manuals these days.  Software is now user friendly,
and users have come to rely upon it.

If you insist on using your own home-grown software for
actual serious work upon which people's grades might
depend, you should spend the time and effort on getting
your software up to the current standards of reliability.
Otherwise, take submissions on diskettes or paper.  Students
should be graded on the work they did.