Well said, why should computing be consomptive only? We dont just read books... We also write them. Computing should be a more creative activity. i'm not saying xtalk is the final solution... But it does lower the pain theashold enough to bring more people to the only qualitatively different aspect of computing... Programming executable logic.
R. -----Original Message----- From: "Richmond Mathewson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Sent: 5/29/2008 1:45 PM Subject: Is RR too easy? Or too hard? (was) Is RunRev marketed to developers mainly? Too easy? Too difficult? This is one of those things that can go on and on. Having ploughed through all those disgusting command-line languages of the 70s and 80s I really don't care if people want to be "all funny" about Runtime Revolution; let them be; all I do know is: I can have a child of 8 making a "program" (the "s are there for the 'purists'/'snobs'/whatever) inside of 120 minutes [and, parenthetically,I do owe an apology with regard to certain sarcastic remarks made earlier this year about claims as to how rapidly one could write a program in RR]], and within a day have them producing a functioning model of a pocket calculator. This serves a number of purposes: 1. It gets them off the incredibly destructive view propagated by Bulgarian schools that "computer programming" consists of writing MSWord documents, checking your e-mail and "mucking around with" Excel documents. 2. Empowers those kids no end: You should see their faces! 3. Teaches them certain aspects of abstract thinking quite a few years before the psychologists say kids can manage it. 4. Stimulates their sense of curiosity about the world which our common culture and education systems work so hard to stultify and dumb-down. All 4 of which have to be good. Further to that: One's system development cycle does not have to be a long, drawn out process; one can often go from idea to initial prototype in a matter of hours. While it might take quite a while to get the hang of all the capabilities of Runtime Revolution (after 6 years I would like to think I am familiar with about 50% of them), one can do great things in a remarkably short time. As a point of comparison I would like to mention something I "went through" (as in a personal period of suffering) about 4 years ago: As part of an M.Sc in Computing and IT I had to attend classes in Visual Basic 5; which, quite remarkably, told me nothing I had not learnt when studying BASIC 5 in 1976 (!!!!!!!!). After doing the fairly goofy exercises in the lab at the institution I would drive home and, just for fun (well, and a way of coping with the trauma) I would duplicate each exercise in Revolution. Every time I did this the time spent on duplicating the exercise in RR took 20-25% of the time to do it in VB 5 (and, I am not counting the pretty flow-charts, games with yoghurt pots of buttons and so forth that came before I went near any computer). Also, with RR I could see what was happening as I did things; which was not the case with VB 5. Put some of my prejudice down to the fact that I do not like Windows 2000, and to the fact that the lecturer in the practical sessions kept shouting at me because I was using a slide-rule rather than a pocket calculator (made her feel insecure ????), and that she had no manners; but not all of it. Now I know that in some would-be 'elitest' groups the word VISUAL is viewed as obscene, However, I love the word VISUAL, because as a human being I receive 80% of my sense-data through my eyes, and because I had about 15 years of horrid black screens with either black or green letters. Visual Basic 5 (and I cannot comment for 6 or NET) was neither one thing or the other (i.e. VISUAL or a command line language); frankly I would far rather have old-fashioned BASIC (well,maybe after the requirement for the LET statement was dropped). Now Runtime Revolution is VISUAL; I use Runtime Revolution for the very reason that it is: VISUAL, like LEGO, (which was a great help when I hired an architect who started waving 2-dimensional plans at me), KIDS and CLIENTS can see what is being done (not much good if you want to cultivate the image of some magician with mystical powers over the computer) while it is being done: nothing like talking through a problem with a client/pupil and doing some RR on-screen at the same time so that by the end of your chat you actually have something half-decent you can show them! Runtime Revolution is absolutely bl**dy marvellous; I don't know why they seem to be hiding their light under a bushel. At the moment high schools in Bulgaria teach PASCAL; which is plain daft, and, 90% of the kids hate it, get turned-off computer programming, see absolutely no connexion between it and the PCs they have in the living-room at home, cannot understand any connexion between what they are supposed to do (with PASCAL) and the programs they use on their home PCs, and gain very little in terms of cognitive benefit. Much the same elsewhere I think. I am convinced that Runtime Revolution could be widely adopted as the marvellous educational tool it is. sincerely, Richmond Mathewson. ____________________________________________________________ A Thorn in the flesh is better than a failed Systems Development Life Cycle_______________________________________________ use-revolution mailing list [email protected] Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your subscription preferences: http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-revolution
