I finally completed my Master’s degree last week. It only took less than 2 years, quite a bit quicker than the 7 years it took to finish my BS degree (being deployed on submarines and dealing with the aftermath of 9/11 didn’t help). > more <

Found via Slashdot, some professors at NYU have written an article in a software engineering journal about the hazards of teaching students Java as their first programming language. It’s very enlightening, especially when they talk about the advantages other languages have to offer for problem solving. They also talk about how CS, as a discipline, is declining since students aren’t learning the fundamentals needed to actually solve problems; all they know how to do is fit the right part into the project and hope it works. When it doesn’t, they are at a loss to deal with it.

Here’s a quote from the article:

Because of its popularity in the context of Web applications and the ease with which beginners can produce graphical programs, Java has become the most widely used language in introductory programming courses. We consider this to be a misguided attempt to make programming more fun, perhaps in reaction to the drop in CS enrollments that followed the dot-com bust. What we observed at New York University is that the Java programming courses did not prepare our students for the first course in systems, much less for more advanced ones. Students found it hard to write programs that did not have a graphic interface, had no feeling for the relationship between the source program and what the hardware would actually do, and (most damaging) did not understand the semantics of pointers at all, which made the use of C in systems programming very challenging.

It is worth noting that the authors do have an interest in the Ada programming language, being part of AdaCore Inc.  Obviously they make a stand for learning Ada, so there is some bias to be expected. However, some of the ideas coincide with what I’ve learned over the years, especially having taken Java as my first programming course.

Personally, I think I learned more when I taught myself Python. It was the first time I actually understood OOP even though I “learned” it through Java and C++. I guess ultimately it’s whatever continued learning you do that makes you better. School is designed to make you “well rounded” and expose you to different ideas. Learning what’s needed to actually excel in your chosen field is left up to you.

As some of you may have heard, a middle school in Maine recently passed a regulation that allows children as young as 11 years old to receive contraceptives. The children need parents permission to see the health center but, because state law says health concerns are confidential, parents won’t be notified if their children are receiving the birth control devices. > more <

One thing I’ve found living in Hawaii (formerly called the Sandwich Islands by Captain Cook in honor of the Earl of Sandwich) is that the locals don’t admit, much less know, the true history of the islands. I’m sure I’ll get a lot of flack for talking about this but I think it’s something that needs to be brought up. > more <

I finally got a chance to upload my MS degree papers to Google Docs. Below are the links to the new papers. As before, if you want to use them somehow please let me know. Thanks. > more <

After making a comment on a fellow GIDBlog site, I realized that it would make a good topic of discussion. The original comment I made was that, by playing Gran Turismo, I’ve learned quite a bit about cars that I didn’t know before. Obviously, it’s a game so a lot of real life aspects can’t be duplicated exactly, but much of the premise of the simulation is still applicable.

For example, I never realized how much tires affect the car. It makes sense though. The tires are the only part of a vehicle that actually interact with the environment, in this case the ground. Having poor quality tires means your are more likely to lose that precious ground contact. Once you lose good contact, you no longer have control of the vehicle. This means not just when your tires actually leave the ground (like when you go over a cliff) but when you lose any type of traction. If you brake too hard without anti-lock brakes, your wheels will lock up and you lose control. If you go over a “washboard” road or hit a speed bump too fast, your tires will momentarily lose contact with the ground and you just can’t drive on air very well. > more <