[Edu-sig] Programming for the fun of it

[Dennis E. Hamilton]

I would add that the ability to trouble-shoot software and confidently
demonstrate a bug is an invaluable skill at the current level of tolerated
quality.  It provides an area of mastery that has the user be confident in
their instruments and their ability to accomplish there purposes with the
tools at hand.

Some knowledge and practice with programming helps to dispel the urban
mythologies that arise around computer behavior and what is supposedly
happening "in there."  Having enough sense to verify whether a virus report
is a hoax before forwarding it to all ones loved ones is a good mark of a
confident user.

-- Dennis

AIIM DMware Technical Coordinator
AIIM DMware http://www.infonuovo.com/dmware
ODMA Support http://www.infonuovo.com/odma
------------------
Dennis E. Hamilton            tel. +1-425-793-0283
mailto:orcmid@email.com       fax. +1-425-430-8189


-----Original Message-----
From: edu-sig-admin@python.org [mailto:edu-sig-admin@python.org]On
Behalf Of Alan Gauld
Sent: Friday, July 10, 2893 15:44
To: Don Hansford; edu-sig@python.org
Subject: Re: [Edu-sig] Programming for the fun of it


>> * Fix the software you use
>
>Only if it's Open Source :-)

We've already seen this stated but its not true.
Most software packages nowadays contain macro capability
and in the case of MS Office those macros are written in
a programming language - VBA. Thus knowledge of programming
frees the Office user of the restraints of the received
code and allow them to "fix it" in the sense of writing
their own versions of buggy features.

So no, Open Source, wonderful tho' it may be, is not the
only case where this topic applies. (And anyone who has
written any sreerious VBA code knows that it is most
definitely programming in the general sense! :)

Alan g.

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