Re: Question for Java Gurus

From: Chris Smith (cdsmith_at_twu.net)
Date: 05/18/04 

Date: Tue, 18 May 2004 13:26:25 -0600

Galen Boyer wrote:
> > I suspect that the difference lies in how fundamental we think
> > those concepts are. [...]

> This is analogous to java programmers thinking they can code
> database applications without understanding the underlying
> database. Oh, I'm sorry, the JVM is the only world one needs to
> know.

Well, I'm sure you won't be surprised to find that I disagree.

What we're talking about in this case are two different ways to provide
the same information to the JVM. One is rather more convenient because
it makes use of both persistent knowledge about the subject matter
(which JAR files and classes correspond to which libraries) and GUI
interfaces (adding things to a list rather than redefining an
environment variable). The other works, but is rather arcane.

And we're talking about an educational environment: which things should
be taught. The motivations for teaching a concept are (a) how relevant
it is to the teaching goal, and (b) how necessary it is for the student
to make progress. Clearly, setting the CLASSPATH environment variable
is neither the point of teaching programming, nor necessary to succeed
in Java programming, assuming you have the right tools. The choice of
setting PATH and CLASSPATH versus using an integrated environment is
relevant to neither functionality nor any other characteristic of the
result of programming.

That's clearly different from a database, where the information model of
the database, its performance characteristics, and its features have a
direct impact on the software development process. 

-- 
www.designacourse.com
The Easiest Way to Train Anyone... Anywhere.
Chris Smith - Lead Software Developer/Technical Trainer
MindIQ Corporation

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