Re: Structured Coding

First, thank you for reading my books, and please do not read what follows
as defensive, but rather as an attempt to exchange views with a reader (and
thus to improve the next edition).

Before I go on, let me also mention that you can find an errata, a FAQ,
source code and a link to a free private support discussion on my web site
(http://www.LibertyAssociates.com) - click on Books.

The book I am reading is _Programming C#_ (by Jesse Liberty) (hmm, looks
like I should have got it from amazon.com and saved myself $15.00...). I
like the book less than I like the language. It seems like some more
advanced concepts (such as classes, etc.) are addressed earlier than
simpler
concepts (such as arrays and strings). Or maybe he just has a different
opinion on what is advanced and what is not.

It is not that I think that classes are "easier" or less advanced, it is
that I feel strongly that object oriented programming should be taught
classes-first, from the earliest opportunity; and everything that follows
should be within the context of classes and objects. In C# Arrays are
implemented with the Array class, and while they have traditional array
semantics, they also have properties, methods and so forth. So this was a
conscious decision.

Still, I'm finding it fairly useful. Not for a beginning programmer,
though.

Absolutely, Programming C# assumes some experience with a related language
(C++, Java, etc.)


And it sounds like Learning C#_ is not either.

Ah, now that would be a failure on my part. Learning C# was targeted at
novice programmers, and in the next edition we go further to make that
explicit (adding more introductory material as well as quizzes, etc.)

Or perhaps C# simply is not a "first language" at all?

Oh, I think if written correctly (and I accept that so far I may have failed
in doing so) C# makes a terrific first language, if used within the constext
of Visual Studio 2005.

----
Jesse Liberty


.

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