UNIX/scripting/programming courses?

[gaf at blu.org (Jerry Feldman)]

On Tuesday 11 October 2005 12:06 pm, Mark J. Dulcey wrote:
> Oh, come now; Java isn't all that bad, especially not as used in a
> typical classroom. The biggest problems with Java, to my mind, lie in
> the complexity of the class libraries used for enterprise applications;
> most classes taught in Java never touch those. Think of it as C++--;
> that is, C++ with a few of the more difficult bits taken out. It's easy
> to transition to C++ after learning Java; the syntax will already be
> familiar, and you're used to the idea of classes and so forth. But you
> will have to get used to the whole business of managing storage.
>
> Besides, Java has one HUGE advantage as a classroom language, especially
> in a commuter or continuing education school where most students will be
> doing their assignments on their own computers, rather than on computers
> provided by the school. No matter what sort of system the student has
> (unless it's a real antique, in which case no other language will be any
> better), you can count on Java being able to run on it. Also, the
> programs that the student develops will be compatible with the
> instructor's system, and thus possible to grade.
>
> It's hard to think of another language for which this is equally true if
> the students are writing programs with a GUI. C and C++ have annoying
> cross-compiler and cross-platform incompatibilities, so classes in those
> languages usually have to mandate a specific type of computer and a
> specific development environment, which is tough on students who might
> have to go out and buy a new computer to participate in a class.
>
> If you remove the GUI requirement, scripting languages like Perl and
> Python also come close. But most academics disdain scripting languages,
> so they're not going to use them in a beginning programming class.
I can't help but agree with you. Java was designed specifically to eliminate 
some of the messiness of C, such as an int in Java is 32-bits, a long is 
64-bits where in C an int can be either 16-bits, 32-bits, 64-bits, or more, 
and a long can be 32-bits or 64-bits or more. And, both C and C++ use 
pointers and allocators that the programmer must take care of where Java 
has its own garbage collector. While it has pointers, the programmer does 
not concern himself about allocated memory.

Note: There is a C convention called LP64 where in is 32-bits, long is 
64-bits and pointers are 64-bits. 

-- 
Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org>
Boston Linux and Unix user group
http://www.blu.org PGP key id:C5061EA9
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