Re: qsort() function misunderstanding

From	Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk>
Newsgroups	comp.lang.c
Subject	Re: qsort() function misunderstanding
Date	2015-11-25 11:34 +0000
Organization	A noiseless patient Spider
Message-ID	<87a8q2ia87.fsf@bsb.me.uk> (permalink)
References	(1 earlier) <n31e7n$pbp$2@dont-email.me> <db2c4c95-a083-4b51-b4f2-a331a47adb76@googlegroups.com> <n31l94$iso$1@dont-email.me> <87k2p7ic01.fsf@bsb.me.uk> <n33il9$9ru$1@speranza.aioe.org>

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glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> writes:
<snip>
> I suppose, but how many of us have ever taken a course where we
> didn't know as much as we should have before taking it?
>
> So, you try to learn as much as you can, in the time you have.
>
> Even if you don't learn everything, when you see it again later
> you will learn it much faster.

Yes, but there is a problem some students run into of needing to
understand at a level that is either impractical or philosophically
impossible.  Either they need to fully understand (whatever that means!)
at every step before moving on, or they feel that they don't really
understand something because they only know how to use it, but not what
it *really is.  A key skill to learning (at least a university level) is
to be content with not understanding things.

We never really understand anything.  When I was learning programming I
picked up recursion from a book on LISP and thought I understood it.  It
was only at university that I started to realise that I didn't, but also
that that didn't matter much provided I could use it to do the
exercises.  I've kept on learning about recursion and I doubt it will
ever end, except as everything ends.  I certainly hope not.

> But yes, I suspect that students for a class like this should
> know a good amount about programming, first. Is there a 
> prerequisite for it?

No.

-- 
Ben.

Thread

qsort() function misunderstanding Alla _ <modelling.data@gmail.com> - 2015-11-24 01:48 -0800
  Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Richard Heathfield <rjh@cpax.org.uk> - 2015-11-24 10:32 +0000
    Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2015-11-24 11:08 +0000
      Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Richard Heathfield <rjh@cpax.org.uk> - 2015-11-24 12:03 +0000
        Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2015-11-24 16:12 +0000
    Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Alla _ <modelling.data@gmail.com> - 2015-11-24 03:33 -0800
      Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Richard Heathfield <rjh@cpax.org.uk> - 2015-11-24 12:05 +0000
        Re: qsort() function misunderstanding glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2015-11-24 13:52 +0000
          Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Ken Brody <kenbrody@spamcop.net> - 2015-11-24 10:01 -0500
        Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Alla _ <modelling.data@gmail.com> - 2015-11-24 06:04 -0800
          Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Richard Heathfield <rjh@cpax.org.uk> - 2015-11-24 14:16 +0000
      Re: qsort() function misunderstanding James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-11-24 07:32 -0500
        Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2015-11-24 16:43 +0000
          Re: qsort() function misunderstanding glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2015-11-25 05:58 +0000
            Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2015-11-25 11:34 +0000
              Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Richard Heathfield <rjh@cpax.org.uk> - 2015-11-25 12:45 +0000
                Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Alla _ <modelling.data@gmail.com> - 2015-11-26 02:18 -0800
                Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Richard Heathfield <rjh@cpax.org.uk> - 2015-11-26 10:45 +0000
              Re: qsort() function misunderstanding glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2015-11-25 14:46 +0000
          Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Alla _ <modelling.data@gmail.com> - 2015-11-25 00:51 -0800
            Re: qsort() function misunderstanding James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-11-25 08:12 -0500
              Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2015-11-25 14:02 +0000
                Re: qsort() function misunderstanding James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-11-25 11:37 -0500
                Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2015-11-25 17:36 +0000
  Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2015-11-24 03:30 -0800
    Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Alla _ <modelling.data@gmail.com> - 2015-11-24 03:48 -0800
      Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2015-11-24 06:29 -0800
    pre/post increments (was Re: qsort() function misunderstanding) Ken Brody <kenbrody@spamcop.net> - 2015-11-24 09:55 -0500
  Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Alla _ <modelling.data@gmail.com> - 2015-11-24 06:06 -0800
  Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Barry Schwarz <schwarzb@dqel.com> - 2015-11-24 07:33 -0800
  Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-11-24 09:04 -0800
    Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Richard Heathfield <rjh@cpax.org.uk> - 2015-11-24 17:17 +0000
      Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Geoff <geoff@invalid.invalid> - 2015-11-24 10:03 -0800
        Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Eric Sosman <esosman@comcast-dot-net.invalid> - 2015-11-24 13:31 -0500
          Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Geoff <geoff@invalid.invalid> - 2015-11-24 12:34 -0800
            Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Eric Sosman <esosman@comcast-dot-net.invalid> - 2015-11-24 16:02 -0500
              Re: qsort() function misunderstanding supercat@casperkitty.com - 2015-11-24 15:18 -0800
                Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Chad <cdalten@gmail.com> - 2015-11-24 16:15 -0800
                Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2015-11-24 23:51 -0800
            Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Alla _ <modelling.data@gmail.com> - 2015-11-25 01:01 -0800
              Re: qsort() function misunderstanding glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2015-11-25 12:53 +0000
                Re: qsort() function misunderstanding supercat@casperkitty.com - 2015-11-25 10:15 -0800
                Re: qsort() function misunderstanding glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2015-11-25 23:14 +0000
                Re: qsort() function misunderstanding supercat@casperkitty.com - 2015-11-25 16:33 -0800
                Re: qsort() function misunderstanding glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2015-11-26 08:18 +0000
      Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2015-11-25 10:41 +1300
        Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Richard Heathfield <rjh@cpax.org.uk> - 2015-11-24 22:08 +0000
    Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Alla _ <modelling.data@gmail.com> - 2015-11-25 00:53 -0800
  Re: qsort() function misunderstanding Alla _ <modelling.data@gmail.com> - 2015-11-25 09:07 -0800

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