Re: PPIG discuss: Programmer education ain't what it used to be
On 15 Jan 2008, at 13:45, Walter Milner wrote: 5. Java is usually offered as a first language because it sounds good and applicants equate enrolling on this program = becoming great at Java = well-paid employment. The fear on the part of providers is that no Java = reduced applications I have heard this assertion several times now, in different contexts. Is this really true? I find this hard to believe. Since Java was heavily used in education, I have worked at three institutions. In one, I was involved in the process of language choice, in two others I am familiar with the reasoning of the choice. In none of them was the argument you mention (it sounds good on the course description) a deciding, or even important, factor in the decision making process. All the debate I am aware of was about pedagogical value, teachability, representations of concepts in the language, and practicality. Marketing did not significantly come into it. Do significant numbers of universities really plan like that? Michael -- PPIG Discuss List (discuss@ppig.org) Discuss admin: http://limitlessmail.net/mailman/listinfo/discuss Announce admin: http://limitlessmail.net/mailman/listinfo/announce PPIG Discuss archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/discuss%40ppig.org/
Re: PPIG discuss: Documentation for large systems
On 6 Nov 2007, at 19:25, Boris Ouretskey wrote: You are welcome to visit www.wikipedia.org and convince yourself that is far away from being myth. That's an entirely different use case. That does not prove anything about wikis for managing projects or creating documentation. There are completely different primary interests of the participants involved. Michael -- PPIG Discuss List (discuss@ppig.org) Discuss admin: http://limitlessmail.net/mailman/listinfo/discuss Announce admin: http://limitlessmail.net/mailman/listinfo/announce PPIG Discuss archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/discuss%40ppig.org/
Re: PPIG discuss: Documentation for large systems
On 6 Nov 2007, at 18:53, Boris Ouretskey wrote: Anyway to document large system it is obligatory to use wiki pages (and a lot of time of cause) and give all the company an opportunity to participate in the process. Wiki? Obligatory?? I don't believe in wikis at all. I know there is (still) a lot of hype around them, but I think it is a complete myth that they work. There is somehow the wishful thinking that the documents (documentation, in this case) write themselves. The hive-mind will fix it. The community (or all the company) will write it. The result, much more often than not in my experience, is a document that nobody takes responsibility for, that has very weak overall structure, and random level of detail over various parts. No guarantee that important information is represented appropriately at all. I'd like to know who to kick if the document sucks. Michael -- PPIG Discuss List (discuss@ppig.org) Discuss admin: http://limitlessmail.net/mailman/listinfo/discuss Announce admin: http://limitlessmail.net/mailman/listinfo/announce PPIG Discuss archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/discuss%40ppig.org/
