re: Python Programming: An Introduction to ComputerScience
Kirby writes -
VB sucks.
This part I agree with, and any outrage attaches to this, more than to any presumption regarding the impropriety of proprietary programming languages.
For education related purposes - I argue these issues are one and the same, or certainly correlated. I would not make the same argument for business purposes. VB is useful in business. So are lots of other inanities. I happen to consider myself a businessman. So I say this without rancor. Art
For education related purposes - I argue these issues are one and the same, or certainly correlated.
I don't see a need to link these issues. A given open source language could suck or be inappropriate.
I would not make the same argument for business purposes. VB is useful in business. So are lots of other inanities.
I think VB is becoming less useful. MSFT is trying its best to bring along a generation of VB programmers, but if you're just starting out, might as well use C# against the .NET framework. It likely has a brighter future. Or Java.
I happen to consider myself a businessman. So I say this without rancor.
Art
I still think it'd be better to do some simple cgi programming with Python, against some database. Basically, I'm thinking LAMP deserves more airplay. But WAMP is another option (Windows, Apache, MySQL, Python/Perl/PHP). My ideal CS-for-business type class is more into overview in any case. We look at streamlined implementations of these things ("cave paintings") as grist for the mill, to help us extrapolate to real world cases, which are almost inevitably more complex. A business person should know about Enterprise Java, .NET, LAMP, SQL and XML. It's also good to have a handle on open source (history, where it fits in to business models these days). Kirby
I think VB is becoming less useful. MSFT is trying its best to bring along a generation of VB programmers, but if you're just starting out, might as well use C# against the .NET framework. It likely has a brighter future. Or Java.
Yes. Annecdotes.. A longtime VB business [forms/database] programmer I met recently is very wary about VB.NET and everyone he speaks with now [including me] recommends Python. He said that he felt Microsoft has been very misleading with their langauge naming. By his account VB.NET is not the old VB6. I only dabbled in VB6 about 5 years ago cause I wanted to use some ActiveX components in a Director Lingo project. Drop in Super Calendar Widgets and IPWorks! Very cool - both packages saved me tons of time for proof-of-concept. I honestly did not have the skills to create those even if I had the time.. And when I found the http://www.vbxtras.com/ site it was quite exciting. So I caught the 3rd party module bug, but disturbed by the deeper proprietary inderpinnings of MS and MM I searched around for open cross-plaform replacement system and found Python. Happy day :-) - Jason
participants (3)
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Arthur -
Jason Cunliffe -
Kirby Urner