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Re: Teaching Java, teaching what?

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On 12/08/2013 01:30 PM, Leif Roar Moldskred wrote:
> Stefan Ram <ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de> wrote:
>>
>>   But then, I hear everywhere: »Java on the Desktop is dead.«.
>>   Now I asked myself: Is it wrong to teach how to write Java
>>   desktop applications in a class (using Swing)? After all,
>>   you do not want to waste the time of the students by
>>   teaching them something that is »dead«?
>>
>
> Depends on what the class is meant to teach. If the point is
> to teach GUI or event-driven programming and the students
> already have experience with Java from earlier courses, fair
> enough. If the point is to teach general programming or the
> Java programming language, I think time and effort could
> be invested a lot more wisely than teaching Swing.
>
I agree.

I'll add this: we're talking about teaching _programmers_, not users of 
an application. Hence the comments about wanting to present a GUI rather 
than a text console are not really relevant. A working software 
developer is going to be looking at text console output and log files a 
lot, and maybe debugger displays...regardless of what the user interface 
is. So that's what you accustom your students to.

And if I wanted to focus on a GUI, in order to (as Leif suggested) 
concentrate on event-driven programming, say, I'd pick a web app anyway.

AHS

-- 
When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign:
that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him.
-- Jonathan Swift

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Re: Teaching Java, teaching what? leif.roar@invalid.com (Leif Roar Moldskred) - 2013-12-08 11:30 -0600
  Re: Teaching Java, teaching what? Arved Sandstrom <asandstrom2@eastlink.ca> - 2013-12-09 11:06 -0400
    Re: Teaching Java, teaching what? Robert Klemme <shortcutter@googlemail.com> - 2013-12-10 22:11 +0100
      Re: Teaching Java, teaching what? Arved Sandstrom <asandstrom2@eastlink.ca> - 2013-12-11 14:37 -0400
        Re: Teaching Java, teaching what? Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2013-12-14 17:19 -0500
          Re: Teaching Java, teaching what? leif.roar@invalid.com (Leif Roar Moldskred) - 2013-12-15 03:58 -0600
            Re: Teaching Java, teaching what? Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2013-12-15 09:57 -0500
          Re: Teaching Java, teaching what? Arved Sandstrom <asandstrom2@eastlink.ca> - 2013-12-15 16:34 -0400

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