What's wrong with HelloWorld.Java

prostoalex writes: "Daniel H. Steinberg posted an article on O'Reailly's OnJava.com discussing the difficulties and current problems with introductory Java in the classroom. The textbooks used in colleges are mostly the rewrites of C/C++ textbooks and thus start with HelloWorld program without really dwelling on object-oriented nature of Java and why it is important. In a nutshell, OOP even nowadays is treated as somewhat innovative concept in the classroom, mainly because of educators, who were taught C. Hence links and description of Rethinking CS101 Project."

Comments

Introduce JUnit as a means of grading

[jefflinwood]

In my intro to CS class, we used a test harness to determine whether or not our code worked correctly. This was a C++ class on the Mac, though.

JUnit could be used to create a test harness that "plugs" into the code the students write. The professor or TA could define an interface that the students have to implement.

I think beginning computer science for majors is backwards, anyway. Intro to engineering classes at CMU for freshmen were all taught as practical, hands-on, applied courses that focused on real problems. My civil engineering class built bridges, visited dams, and visited construction sites. My chemical engineering class analyzed actual plant failures (things that go boom!) to determine what mistakes the engineers made. My intro to cs class was all theory, with one interesting project where we added AI into a 2D simulation. There wasn't a lot of practical information to take away from the class at the end of the year beyond a "Learning C++" book.

Re:Java != OOP, C++ != OOP

[Tablizer]

Designing, or better yet, THINKING in OO terms is not something that happens overnight. This is precisely also the reason as to why 90% of large, pure OO projects either fail or start to degenerate into something that needs revamping every so often, only because the programmers who built the application did not take the time to properly analyze the problem and come up with the most natural solution possible. A natural solution is possible, but only at the hands of professionals, who understand what OO is all about

A fitting excerpt from my anti-OO webpage:

OOP technology has generated more confusion than almost any other computer technology. For example, many OOP "experts" claim that most companies are either not using OOP properly, or are not taking advantage of OOP. Experts also say that there is a long learning curve before many people grasp the power of OOP; that its benefits can't really be taught, at least not understood, from a book. It has almost become like Particle Physics, in which only a small elite group appears to understand it properly, and everybody else needs years of meditation and practice.....

Ironically, OOP is sometimes billed as "better fitting the way people think". Years of meditation and study to learn how to "think naturally"? I am thinking of setting up a $60-per-hour consultancy to teach sports fans to drink beer and belch in order to "optimize their recreational satisfaction".

....Further, there is a lack of consistency in modeling techniques by OOP celebrities. Methodology-of-the-week is commonplace. The lack of consistency makes it tough to make any generalizations about how OOP goes about modeling useful business applications. An OOP consultant may have to be well-versed in dozens of OO methodologies to be able to walk into a shop and perform any useful work any time soon.

(oop.ismad.com)