Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.csd.uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!ficc!karl
From: karl@ficc.uu.net (Karl Lehenbauer)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc
Subject: Re: Which language to teach first?
Message-ID: <6089@ficc.uu.net>
Date: 7 Sep 89 16:33:35 GMT
References: <2584@aplcen.apl.jhu.edu> <6226@hubcap.clemson.edu> <1381@batserver.cs.uq.oz>
Organization: Ferranti International Controls
Lines: 16

I wrote:
>For better or for worse, most incoming CS freshmen already know how to program.

In article <1381@batserver.cs.uq.oz>, paul@batserver.cs.uq.oz (Paul Bailes) writes:
> Just what trivial function do describe as ``to program''? If you take it to
> mean something along the lines of ``tell a computer to do what you want''
> (subject to any meaningful performance/correctness constraints), then after
> 3-4 years of university people still can't!

I was merely commenting that almost everyone coming into a college-level intro 
CS class has had some experience writing code.  My point is that new students 
are not coming into CS as a tabula rasa, not that they had achieved some
specific competence level, particularly one so high that you assert most
grads can't meet.
-- 
-- uunet!ficc!karl	"Have you debugged your wolf today?"