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=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,FREEMAIL_FROM autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,c64d9530c3e1629c X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: 1014db,c64d9530c3e1629c X-Google-Attributes: gid1014db,public X-Google-Thread: 109fba,c64d9530c3e1629c X-Google-Attributes: gid109fba,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-07-25 13:52:59 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!newsfeed.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!nntp.abs.net!uunet!dca.uu.net!ash.uu.net!nntphub.cb.lucent.com!news From: David Rubin Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.c,comp.lang.c++ Subject: [OT] Re: teaching programming Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 16:48:29 -0400 Organization: Lucent Technologies, Columbus, Ohio Message-ID: <3B5F309D.E34716C6@hotmail.com> References: <1e94da97.0107250923.4af8ff6d@posting.google.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: misnomer.wh.lucent.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.73C-CCK-MCD EMS-1.5/4.72 [en] (X11; U; SunOS 5.6 sun4u) X-Accept-Language: en Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:10573 comp.lang.c:69819 comp.lang.c++:77623 Date: 2001-07-25T16:48:29-04:00 List-Id: davi lima wrote: > I'd like to know what a language for teaching programming should provide? It depends on the level and intent of the course. If you are teaching a language, obviously use that language. If you are teaching algorithms, it doesn't matter what language you use. If you are teaching programming concepts (functions, scope, OOx, interfaces, type systems, imperative vs functional, etc) then choose a language or languages which support all the topics you want to cover. Choose a simple language for a beginner course like Scheme or Limbo which have garbage collection and simple syntax rules for argument passing (as opposed to C or C++ where students have to worry about pointers, addresses, and memory management). For an advanced course, choose a language which student's are likely to know; one that is used previously in the curriculum. If you are teaching a course in preparation for a test like the US ACT tests (IIRC), use the same language which is used in the test. Most importantly, choose a language which complements your textbook! As an example, my courses used Scheme in the programming languages course which was mostly about interpreter construction (now uses Java), C in the compilers course, Fortran in the computational mathematics course (now uses matlab), C in the networking course, C++/OpenGL in the computer graphics course (also one with Java), C++ in the intro course, and your language of choice in the cryptography course. david -- If 91 were prime, it would be a counterexample to your conjecture. -- Bruce Wheeler