Re: 4 beginner's questions on the PL Ada

["Peter C. Chapin" <PChapin@vtc.vsc.edu>]

On Sun, 11 Aug 2013, Emanuel Berg wrote:

> Especially when you are new to a language, you can't "learn by doing 
> it", because your toolbox is all but empty. You need to study what other 
> people wrote. Examples are better, much better, at this stage, than 
> plowing a reference manual. When you have achieved some level of 
> fluency, the reference is great to have on you desk, though.

I admit that I haven't been following this thread closely so I may be out 
of touch with the points being discussed. However, as an educator I wanted 
to point out that it isn't really about code examples vs written 
explanations. Both tools are useful when it comes to deepening one's 
understanding. Written explanations tend to be more general but a good, 
concrete code example can help the mind form a useful model for a concept 
and lead a person to a more abstract level of understanding.

Also when it comes to written explanations there are certainly more 
resources than the reference manual for a language. In fact, books about 
software design and engineering without regard to any particular 
programming language can often make one a better programmer in any 
language. Isn't that the point of such books?

Finally the way a person learns a new language depends greatly on that 
person's background. It's a very different process for a person who 
already programs extensively and knows several languages than it is for a 
person who has never programmed before.

Peter