So which prat came up with Windows then? And where do they live?
Anyway, this is a cagey subject. Take Clarke, the guy had a million ideas, and somethings bound to end up being useful. It's like saying Nostrodamus predicted something, well maybe if you make that many predictions something comes true. Also maybe it's like saying imagine a future where people have *smaller technology*. Hmmm, lot of thought there.
Don't get me wrong I think some of Clarke et al's work is visionary, and certainly some of it makes for incredible reading. But as for authors or writers who changed or influenced the world we live in? I think maybe you're not looking in the right place.
i think a lot of people here have got the wrong end of the stick. there is a hell of a lot involved in learing computer science, of which programming is a small subset. further to that, object oriented programming is only a part of that, and the java language is just one instance of many.
java is not a language you should use to teach someone how computers work, and assembler certainly isnt a wise choice for your OO course.
at uni i didn't touch OO till year 2. in year one however i did learn about (among other things) functional languages, assembler languages and hardware, logical languages and imperative languages.
when we finally came to object oriented programming we learned small talk. the point is that small talk is a fantastic OO teaching language, and when you know it, you can apply what you know to c++ or java or anything else. there is absolutely no point in wasting time teaching someone a language just because its trendy or there is a chance they may use that language when they leave school.
likewise, learn assembler as part of your hardware couse. unsderstand how ram is built, what a bus is for, how to write a loop, but dont expect to be knocking out some large scale project.
when you know both, go write a compiler, and maybe after that you should know what your on about.
discreet*
[insert comedy tagline here...]
i have to say that i agree with the question to some extent...
no, a co-op should not expect to be working on the latest and greatest product or technology, hell, most grads dont get to work on a version 1.0, and its true that 90% of any engineers day is spent making license plates, eh?
however, i think that if your spending your day making coffee then its a complete waste of everybodies time. i admit i was incredibly lucky when i did my internship, i was given a blue sky project to develop some technology that had been on a back-burner for a few years and none of the devs had time to work on it. but since then ive worked at 2 companies who responsibly take students on, and the start-up im now at is getting its first co-op next month.
obviously part of the reason we are getting an undergrad is because of cost and commitment. i will, however, be trying hard to insure their time here is not entirely spent making coffee, and that they do something that is usefull, both to us and them.
in addition, if its part of a degree course, the university / college has a responsibility to insure the students are getting something usefull out of it.
p (big up the recoil.org massive)
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So which prat came up with Windows then? And where do they live?
Anyway, this is a cagey subject. Take Clarke, the guy had a million ideas, and somethings bound to end up being useful. It's like saying Nostrodamus predicted something, well maybe if you make that many predictions something comes true. Also maybe it's like saying imagine a future where people have *smaller technology*. Hmmm, lot of thought there.
Don't get me wrong I think some of Clarke et al's work is visionary, and certainly some of it makes for incredible reading. But as for authors or writers who changed or influenced the world we live in? I think maybe you're not looking in the right place.
discreet*
i think a lot of people here have got the wrong end of the stick. there is a hell of a lot involved in learing computer science, of which programming is a small subset. further to that, object oriented programming is only a part of that, and the java language is just one instance of many. java is not a language you should use to teach someone how computers work, and assembler certainly isnt a wise choice for your OO course. at uni i didn't touch OO till year 2. in year one however i did learn about (among other things) functional languages, assembler languages and hardware, logical languages and imperative languages. when we finally came to object oriented programming we learned small talk. the point is that small talk is a fantastic OO teaching language, and when you know it, you can apply what you know to c++ or java or anything else. there is absolutely no point in wasting time teaching someone a language just because its trendy or there is a chance they may use that language when they leave school. likewise, learn assembler as part of your hardware couse. unsderstand how ram is built, what a bus is for, how to write a loop, but dont expect to be knocking out some large scale project. when you know both, go write a compiler, and maybe after that you should know what your on about. discreet* [insert comedy tagline here...]
i have to say that i agree with the question to some extent... no, a co-op should not expect to be working on the latest and greatest product or technology, hell, most grads dont get to work on a version 1.0, and its true that 90% of any engineers day is spent making license plates, eh? however, i think that if your spending your day making coffee then its a complete waste of everybodies time. i admit i was incredibly lucky when i did my internship, i was given a blue sky project to develop some technology that had been on a back-burner for a few years and none of the devs had time to work on it. but since then ive worked at 2 companies who responsibly take students on, and the start-up im now at is getting its first co-op next month. obviously part of the reason we are getting an undergrad is because of cost and commitment. i will, however, be trying hard to insure their time here is not entirely spent making coffee, and that they do something that is usefull, both to us and them. in addition, if its part of a degree course, the university / college has a responsibility to insure the students are getting something usefull out of it. p (big up the recoil.org massive)