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Re^4: Programming and math

by adrianh (Chancellor)
on Aug 10, 2003 at 07:28 UTC ( [id://282571]=note: print w/replies, xml ) Need Help??


in reply to Re: Re^2: Programming and math
in thread Programming and math

I've been exposed to too many "fast moving" CS students in the past years, who are only in it for the suits and the leased cars.

Annoying aren't they!

That said, I still think a good developer will gain a lot from some formal CS education (assuming they don't know it already :-)

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Re: Re^4: Programming and math
by Anonymous Monk on Aug 10, 2003 at 08:20 UTC
    Why "formal CS education"? The students who study CS at a university read the same books we can read...

      I wasn't trying to say that somebody has to go through a university programme.

      However, more "academic" CS knowledge is useful and can make you a better developer. A degree is a good a way of acquiring it. You can also go read the communications of the ACM and read a lot of Knuth.

      My (minor) point of contention is that I don't see a CS degree as a negative. Yes there are poor developers with CS degrees - but there are also poor developers without CS degrees. A good coder will get a hell of a lot out of a good degree programme.

        ...A good coder will get a hell of a lot out of a good degree programme...

        Oh yes, indeed! All of what you can learn in a CS study, being a more or less experienced programmer, will fall on "fertile" ground and thus flourish (pardon the analogy, maybe there's a bit too much of Chauncey Gardner in there ;-) I even would make at least 1 year of programming a prerequisite for being allowed to do a CS study.

        But that's just the problem. Many CS students don't have any programming experience. They're not able to make a connection between their new knowledge and the real world (yet). And by the time they're in a position to apply, they will have forgotten about most of what they're learned.

        Anecdote Alert:
        I once gave a 3 week course in programming (TenCORE LAS if you must know) to a group of 15 ex-teachers who had never done any programming before. Unfortunately, the forces in charge decided that it would be at least 4 months before any of them would be able to use it in the real world. Needless to say, after 4 months I could basically start teaching all over again. Very frustrating. Glad I'm not in the (classroom) teaching business anymore.

        Liz

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