> -----Original Message----- > From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ted MacNEIL > Sent: Friday, January 11, 2008 1:06 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: Computer Science Education: Where Are the > Software Engineers of Tomorrow? > > > >And one of the biggest "problems" with OOP is the use of > object libraries. For __beginning__ students, using OOP > usually means just "wiring together" a number of pre-existing > objects, or maybe just > extending an existing object. WITHOUT REALLY KNOWING HOW THE > OBJECT WORKS! > > Unfortunately, using existing objects is one of the selling > points of OOP. > It's supposed to make programming easier and faster.
For an experienced programmer, this is a boon. But it totally defeats the purpose for a beginner. They end up knowing very little and create crappy code. In C, programmers just use the "qsort()" function to sort stuff. And it is not optimal in all cases (I prefer heapsort, in general). Of course, in today's "who cares? Just give me an answer right now!" mind set, this may be a good thing. It also reduces programming from a "craft" to something more like an assembly line worker. Which is also "good" in that it means that programmers are "cheaper" and "easier to replace", thus giving them less value to the company. -- John McKown Senior Systems Programmer HealthMarkets Keeping the Promise of Affordable Coverage Administrative Services Group Information Technology The information contained in this e-mail message may be privileged and/or confidential. It is for intended addressee(s) only. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, reproduction, distribution or other use of this communication is strictly prohibited and could, in certain circumstances, be a criminal offense. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender by reply and delete this message without copying or disclosing it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
