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Followup On Java As "Damaging" To Students

Posted by kdawson on from the many-are-called-but-few-are-chosen dept.

hedley writes "A prior article on the damage Java does to CS education was discussed here recently. There was substantial feedback and the mailbox of one of the authors, Prof Dewar, also has been filled with mainly positive responses. In this followup to the article, Prof. Dewar clarifies his position on Java. In his view the core of the problem is universities 'dumbing down programs, hoping to make them more accessible and popular. Aspects of curriculum that are too demanding, or perceived as tedious, are downplayed in favor of simplified material that attracts a larger enrollment.'"

2 of 626 comments (clear)

  1. SLASHDOT SUX0RZ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

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         goatse damaging to students

    1. Re:SLASHDOT SUX0RZ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

      Not as damaging as a summer at the geek compound. The year was 1999. I had finished up my second year of college and was excited to be selected as a slashdot intern. The pay was low. None-existent would be more accurate. But I got a VA Linux PIII computer, a generous food allowance, a room at the geek compound, a line item on my resume, and a chance to do something fun and exciting.

      The first week, I wrote perl utilities to analyze the database -- something that would be a straightforward query in Postgresql or even SQL server, but required programmer intervention due to mysql's inability to handle subqueries and the poor optimizer. That weekend, Eric Raymond came to visit. We celebrated with pizza and jeagermeister. I thought ESR might be an asshole, but he was friendly and down to earth. A little too friendly, in fact, as he started rubbing my crotch under the table while we ate. At the time, I was hammered and didn't know what was happening (I think my drinks may have been laced, too). The next thing I remember, it's Sunday afternoon and I'm lying in the bathroom, covered in vomit with my pants down around my ankles. As I stood up, I noticed the caked on shit that covered my legs and I felt a burning pain in my asshole.

      To this day, I don't know what happened.