On Thu, 2011-12-22 at 08:42 -0800, Dick Wall wrote: [...] > I am a pretty experienced Scala developer now, with about 3 years behind > me, and I start the Scala REPL to try stuff out every day I am developing, > often several times a day (assuming I don't just leave it running > constantly). REPLs are far from pointless in real life, and I would not > want to use a language without one. Prior to Scala, I used to use Python > every chance I got and I used to (and still do) fire up the python shell at > the drop of a hat to try out some idea or other. A REPL may not appear to > be all that useful to you, maybe because you are used to using languages > that don't offer one, but that doesn't make it true for everyone else. [...]
I would suggest though that REPLs are far more useful to people who already know a language for doing experiments, than it is for teaching people. My experience is that teaching using a REPL rather than file/execute leads to confusions that get in the way of learning. I believe the GroovyConsole /IDLE model far superior to REPL for teaching learning. Sadly though it seems REPL use is assumed to be the way all books should be presented for teaching people to use a language with a REPL. I always prefer books that eschew the REPL, at least initially, for teaching. I am a fan of REPLs for quick experiments, but ignore them for teaching, which seems to be the antithesis of the standard orthodoxy on teaching. -- Russel. ============================================================================= Dr Russel Winder t: +44 20 7585 2200 voip: sip:[email protected] 41 Buckmaster Road m: +44 7770 465 077 xmpp: [email protected] London SW11 1EN, UK w: www.russel.org.uk skype: russel_winder
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