Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 20th Sep 2012 20:27 UTC, submitted by MOS6510
"Online Python Tutor is a free educational tool that helps students overcome a fundamental barrier to learning programming: understanding what happens as the computer executes each line of a program's source code. Using this tool, a teacher or student can write a Python program directly in the web browser and visualize what the computer is doing step-by-step as it executes the program."
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RE[6]: barrier...learning
by Alfman on Fri 21st Sep 2012 18:31
in reply to "RE[5]: barrier...learning"
Member since:2011-01-28
I guess low level is a bit vague, but when I use it I'm referring to understanding what the hardware is doing at a hardware level. Conversely high level for me would mean hiding the hardware behind abstractions.
As much as I appreciate the low level stuff, I think it's hard to make a case for why most students would ever need it.
RE[7]: barrier...learning
by Neolander on Sat 22nd Sep 2012 07:05
in reply to "RE[6]: barrier...learning"
Member since:2010-03-08
I guess low level is a bit vague, but when I use it I'm referring to understanding what the hardware is doing at a hardware level. Conversely high level for me would mean hiding the hardware behind abstractions.
As much as I appreciate the low level stuff, I think it's hard to make a case for why most students would ever need it.
As much as I appreciate the low level stuff, I think it's hard to make a case for why most students would ever need it.
I can think of quite a few big market who might actually need it, such as embedded stuff or hardware development. Now, I guess what you implied is that "one doesn't really need the low-level stuff to build user-mode software".
I'd say that this, too, can be debatable, though. As an example, when people know so little about computer memory hierarchies and their management that they end up considering memory allocation as a magic thing that brings extra objects to their code whenever they need it, memory management overhead will cause performance problems in their software in the long run.
Edited 2012-09-22 07:06 UTC
RE[6]: barrier...learning
by renox on Sun 23rd Sep 2012 13:05
in reply to "RE[5]: barrier...learning"
Member since:2005-07-06
I find that a low-level description is actively harmful for most new students. It's simply too irrelevant for their attempts at learning the language at hand and only adds to the information they have to memorize. Of course, I may be misunderstanding what you mean by low-level. I take it to mean explicitly detailing what op codes/assembly instructions and registries are/do.
Not *that* detailled, but for example learning how virtual functions work by looking at vtables and the pointer.
Typically, I find that functional languages are easier to teach because everyone has some experience with math and can do basic substitution (even if that's not how things are actually evaluated, substitution is a good enough model to start with.)
Provided you don't want to teach about performance..
Otherwise at some point you have to look at the binary generated, which is not too bad with C/C++ but with Haskell..
Features
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/16/13 9:29 UTC
The day has finally come: Google has started shipping Google Glass to the lucky few early adopters. Now that it's shipping, Google has also unveiled a lot more about the API and the specifications of the device itself. While the company had already given out substantial details at earlier occasions, there are still a few surprises here.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/15/13 22:44 UTC
Almost exactly three years ago, I wrote about why OSNews was no longer OSNews: the alternative operating system scene had died, and OSNews, too, had to go with the times and move towards reporting on a new wave of operating systems - mobile, and all the repercussions that the explosion of smartphones and tablets have caused. Still, I was wondering something today: why aren't we seeing alternative operating systems on mobile?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/14/13 18:22 UTC, submitted by MOS6510
You can say what you will about Windows Phone and Windows 8's Metro interface (I refuse to drop that name) - it's inefficient, unpopular, cumbersome, beautiful, ugly, organised, clean, limiting - but there's one thing we can all agree on: it's unique and distinctive. CNet has published a profile of Microsoft's Albert Shum, the man behind Metro, and he highlights what I think is at the very core of Microsoft's problems in mobile right now.More Features »
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2010-03-11
I find that a low-level description is actively harmful for most new students. It's simply too irrelevant for their attempts at learning the language at hand and only adds to the information they have to memorize. Of course, I may be misunderstanding what you mean by low-level. I take it to mean explicitly detailing what op codes/assembly instructions and registries are/do.
Typically, I find that functional languages are easier to teach because everyone has some experience with math and can do basic substitution (even if that's not how things are actually evaluated, substitution is a good enough model to start with.)