No subject

Semester 3-6: C++ (required)
                    Lots More Java (all optional)
                    PHP/Perl/JavaScript (optional, all taught in one unit)
                    More C (optional, some unix work, systems programming)
                    etc, etc, etc...

Many people by the stage I'm at (semester 4) have trouble grasping
fundamental OO principals such as the difference between a class
and an object. Just about everyone has forgotten most of the C they learnt
and all the assembly and all the memory theory like stack, heap and
what happens when a function is called. It's rather confusing learning
about a stack as a data structure when you have dim recolections
of The Stack =)

Quite a few of the staff know the problem and are trying to find a
solution. Dr Nicola Ritter who teaches C++ and Data Structures
is a big advocate for C++ for 1st year students. Though nobody
has found a complete solution yet.

On Thu, 18 Sep 2003 03:48 pm, Ben New wrote:
> ><aside>
> >Murdoch may start with Java now, but I don't think they should (I
> >started with Pascal there)... I've seen way too many confused CS
> >students trying to understand procedural programming stuck into an OO
> >language. I would suggest teaching C for the basics and technical
> >concepts (a stack to a java programmer is just a package you import)
> >then switching to Java later.
> ></aside>
>
> Ohhhhh.... don't get me started!!!
>
> I've been helping some CS students, first years, and they are doing C
> and Java in the same semester...  Not only that but the C course has
> actually started doing assembly now as well, I think they are doing that
> from now (week 8) until the end.  They have no idea wtf is going on!
>
> That's what you get when you put IT in between Business and Law instead
> of between Maths and Science!

lol it's worse than that, after a recent refactoring Computer Science ended
up as part of the Arts division. I guess it almost makes some sort of sense

Paul
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