On Fri, 27 Dec 2002 04:47:44 -0600 Steven Lembark <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> One problem with python is that you can't grade the > students properly if they don't all use the same editor > as you do :-) It also teaches bad habits, like burying > multiple levels of unseen data into your classes; same > problem with Java and C++ (in various forms). > > Eiffel or smalltalk it might be worth a shot if you want > to really teach OO, but there is certianly a lot less > pain in Perl for the same amount of work. I have the impression that many colleges/universities don't want to "waste time" teaching multiple languages. Whether the professors realize it or not, the administrators can't see the point; and it's the administrators that control the money. Another side effect that I've seen is that students coming out of any program believe that they have been taught the "one true language" and the "one true paradigm". It is difficult to convince them that the real world is not like school. Getting them to change languages can also be amusing. G. Wade -- "any technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from a Perl script." -- Programming Perl, 2nd ed.
