Re: qsort() function misunderstanding

From	glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu>
Newsgroups	comp.lang.c
Subject	Re: qsort() function misunderstanding
Date	2015-11-25 12:53 +0000
Organization	Aioe.org NNTP Server
Message-ID	<n34b0c$759$1@speranza.aioe.org> (permalink)
References	(2 earlier) <n325ur$nhj$1@dont-email.me> <38895bds8pi44riradhb0nqk9vu8mt7do6@4ax.com> <n32a8u$a85$1@dont-email.me> <34g95bl1hlooehff2h8g7a8hfmbccfs8e0@4ax.com> <15e660c6-9a01-42d4-aa31-0466dd39eb75@googlegroups.com>

Show all headers | View raw

Alla _ <modelling.data@gmail.com> wrote:

>> As an instructor, I'd prefer to confine myself to answering the direct
>> questions, explain what the particular example is trying to show and
>> Socratically get the student to explain his own understanding and only
>> warn against name collisions when the student is surprised by one.

> Thank you. This is the approach that I would apply if I were 
> to help someone to get through the material (and actually did apply to 
> my employees, in my now "previous" life). 
> This is why I am not simply asking "Why and please explain", but I am trying
> to show how I read and interpret the code; and when being corrected and/or
> directed, I get much deeper understanding.
> No wonder Socratic method is widely used and praised.  

Many who post here have been doing C programming 10, 20, or even 
for 30 years. Some C features are a little unusual, and some have
a strange history behind them. It takes some time to really
understand C.

Even more, there are many things that C lets you do, but that you
shouldn't actually do.  Things that make programs less readable
by others, or even yourself next week, month, or year. These take
time to learn, and also some amount of practice.  (Naming your
function qsort() is one, when it isn't the C library routine, or
at least one with the same calling sequence.)

There are other languages that are commonly used for teaching 
courses like this. Often interpreted languages like Matlab/Octave,
perl, or python are used. For a compiled language, Java is popular.

For those previously doing assembly programming, C is fairly easy
to learn. C pointers have many features similar to the way
addressing is done in assembler. (Note that Java specifically
doesn't have some of those.) 

For those previously using other compiled languages, traditionally
Fortran or Pascal, more recently Java, C isn't so hard to learn.

Previous use of a higher level language such as Mathematica,
Matlab, Octave, or R isn't quite as good, but probably not so bad.

-- glen

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

csiph-web