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From: flint@gistdev.gist.com (Flint Pellett)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Assembler and teaching Software engineering
Message-ID: <894@gistdev.gist.com>
Date: 16 Mar 90 16:15:23 GMT
References: <891@gistdev.gist.com> <1003@dms.UUCP> <1940@opus.cs.mcgill.ca>
Organization: Global Information Systems Technology Inc., Savoy, IL
Lines: 36


I have the impression that more was read into my statement than
was stated or intended.  I certainly am not against the teaching
of assembler, and I'm certainly am not against the teaching of
basic concepts: in fact, just the opposite!  (Apparently it was
me who misread the previous statement, since I've agreed with
pretty much everything in the follow-ups.)  What I intended to
convey is that it is a dis-service to teach a course where the
whole intent of the course is to teach "how to program in
assembler" and then teach a dead language, or even to teach just
one current one.  When your intent in your course is to teach
basic concepts, then what assembly language you use probably
doesn't matter, just make sure you grade your students primarily
upon their understanding of those concepts and not on how many
syntax errors they had in their programs.  I myself had the
misfortune to take a course in "Assembly Language Programming"
where the instructor's intent was clearly to teach all the quirks
and tricks of programming in IBM 360 assembler, and students were
graded on that basis: I probably mis-read your motives because of
the experience with this other teacher's motivies.  (I've yet to
write any 360 assembler since then, although I've done a couple
years of assembler work.  Other courses I've taken that used
assembler as a vehicle to teach concepts rather than as the goal
itself have been far more useful to me.)  I believe the same on
non-assembler as well: a course on "Programming Languages" ought
not intend to teach you all the details on 3 different languages,
(and make 60% of your grade based on whether you can get the
3 programming projects to run) it ought to teach you their concepts,
and grade you on your understanding of the concepts behind the
languages, in what situtations you should select one language
over the other, etc.
-- 
Flint Pellett, Global Information Systems Technology, Inc.
1800 Woodfield Drive, Savoy, IL  61874     (217) 352-1165
INTERNET: flint%gistdev@uxc.cso.uiuc.edu
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