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I’m quite surprised they are still using c++. I thought most schools switched to java by or in the first half of the oughts.
I’m quite surprised they are still using c++. I thought most schools switched to java by or in the first half of the oughts.
What does it even mean for a school to 'switch' languages? When I did my bachelors it was straight up a new language in each class, at the discretion of the prof in charge. Intro class homework was in Java, data structures was in C++, operating systems was in C, digital logic design was in Verilog, bioinformatics was in Python, ...
Professors don't like having to waste time in their classes teaching a language, so there's a strong pull to unify as much as possible, so you can be 100% sure that your students have some form of knowledge before they get into your class.
So, the "switch" would be changing that big block of core, required classes.
I would like to point out before this discussion moves too far along that UCLA does in fact have an introductory programming course which is taught using Python: http://web.cs.ucla.edu/classes/enroll/97/ Students that are unfamiliar with programming are encouraged to take this course before the C++ course.
I’m quite surprised they are still using c++. I thought most schools switched to java by or in the first half of the oughts.
What does it even mean for a school to 'switch' languages? When I did my bachelors it was straight up a new language in each class, at the discretion of the prof in charge. Intro class homework was in Java, data structures was in C++, operating systems was in C, digital logic design was in Verilog, bioinformatics was in Python, ...
So when they switch languages, they mean moving all this curriculum to another language at once. The higher level courses don't change.
on lower-level implementation details related to how machines interpret code – knowledge that non-computer science students are unlikely to use after they graduate. Yeah, the world really needs a load more developers with no idea how computers work. We don't see any of those in interviews already.
Tl;dr: agreed that low level computing fundamentals are helpful to every developer, disagreed that intro classes are the right place for them.
Similarly, most high schools offer introductory programming courses. I would expect almost every CS major to have taken these classes prior to being admitted to the major.
If you didn't take those courses in high school, there are avenues to acquire that knowledge before taking the CS required courses.
on lower-level implementation details related to how machines interpret code – knowledge that non-computer science students are unlikely to use after they graduate. Yeah, the world really needs a load more developers with no idea how computers work. We don't see any of those in interviews already.
on lower-level implementation details related to how machines interpret code – knowledge that non-computer science students are unlikely to use after they graduate. Yeah, the world really needs a load more developers with no idea how computers work. We don't see any of those in interviews already.
on lower-level implementation details related to how machines interpret code – knowledge that non-computer science students are unlikely to use after they graduate. Yeah, the world really needs a load more developers with no idea how computers work. We don't see any of those in interviews already.
Knowing more and deeper information is usually a good thing, but students don't need to learn it all at an introductory level which I think this article is focusing on.
There is a lot that is factually wrong with this article. Python is not easier because it is an interpreted language. C++ is interpreted too. In fact, python does compile, hence the pyc files. I could go on like this for a while but the point is, the author doesn't know what he or she is talking about. That doesn't mean python shouldn't be used, but that this article fails to make the argument.