Re: Log parsing exercises for Perl beginner

Here are some links for the various popular learning theories. Also, if you Google 'learning theory' you will get more sites, but they will mainly fall into the same categories.

The problem people have when teaching a computer language or technical subject is the (false) assumption that all people learn the same way. It simply isn't true. Some people require a more active approach; others are adult-type learners that want actual problems and immediate gratification; many Perl coders are self-learners and you only have to show them the manual/pod, etc. From your description you are using more of an adult-learner approach and you are getting feedback that it is not working. My recommendation is that you stop doing that immediately. Walk over and take the materials away and tell your co-worker that you are going to help him/her using a different approach. Then research the different approaches and choose one that better matches your co-worker's learning style.

What happens if you don't do this? Your co-workers will likely hate this language. They will probably also start to dislike you for foisting it upon them.

Lastly, I completely disagree with the use of log files for teaching elementary Perl. Simple data constructs, variable assignment, string manipulation, simple regexes, debugging and getting Perl installled/running are topics of primary importance because they must be used all the time. Parsing large files is not something you will do all of the time, and therefore should not be promoted too early any more than the use of sockets.

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Comment on Re: Log parsing exercises for Perl beginner - reasonable?

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Re^2: Log parsing exercises for Perl beginner - reasonable? by Anonymous Monk on Apr 23, 2011 at 05:50 UTC
Lastly, I completely disagree with the use of log files for teaching elementary Perl. Simple data constructs, variable assignment, string manipulation, simple regexes, debugging and getting Perl installled/running are topics of primary importance because they must be used all the time. Parsing large files is not something you will do all of the time, and therefore should not be promoted too early any more than the use of sockets Depends entirely upon the audience and lesson preparation, and what you're trying to learn, to wit, Seven Levels of Perl Mastery, Ten Perl Myths, Modern Perl Released as Free ePub Pick your path to mastery, the long road, Seven Levels; the short, Modern Perl.	[reply]
Re^2: Log parsing exercises for Perl beginner - reasonable? by mikeraz (Friar) on Apr 23, 2011 at 04:48 UTC
Thank you for the link to the learning styles information. That will be great help going forward. The guy I'm working with specifically requested exercises that would apply to the work we do. So the style of teaching and the subject matter both fit. Be Appropriate && Follow Your Curiosity	[reply]
Re^2: Log parsing exercises for Perl beginner - reasonable? by raybies (Chaplain) on Apr 23, 2011 at 05:23 UTC
Sorry, gotta disagree on the idea that one doesn't parse large files often with Perl. At least in my experience it's been a huge part of what I do... I guess it really depends on the sort of jobs you do with Perl... I see your point though... In many respects, it's not the file that really matters, it's the approach of setting up a datastream and then looping over it, whether it be a file, or socket, or database queries... I think the exercise is fine, but when if he doesn't get it, I agree you've gotta back off and try a more basic approach. The nice thing about an exercise like this one is that it often teaches a lot of concepts at once, and can be extended... by simply tweaking it to add a new feature like Time::Local, or regex, or uniquifying hashes, etc... --Ray	[reply]