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Programming

Learning Programming In a Post-BASIC World 510

Posted by Soulskill from the have-you-tried-going-to-10 dept.
ErichTheRed writes "This Computerworld piece actually got me thinking — it basically says that there are few good 'starter languages' to get students interested in programming. I remember hacking away at BASIC incessantly when I was a kid, and it taught me a lot about logic and computers in general. Has the level of abstraction in computer systems reached a point where beginners can't just code something quick without a huge amount of back-story? I find this to be the case now; scripting languages are good, but limited in what you can do... and GUI creation requires students to be familiar with a lot of concepts (event handling, etc.) that aren't intuitive for beginners. What would you show a beginner first — JavaScript? Python? How do you get the instant gratification we oldies got when sitting down in front of the early-80s home computers?"

Comment Re:Breaking the Stalemate? (Score 1) 725

by Unending (#33903240) Attached to: Wikileaks Donations Account Shut Down

If you think the Taliban does not have an internet presence you are sorely mistaken.
While I doubt the coalition troops are in any danger from these documents, I do think there are a good number of villages that are in danger of reprisal attacks by the Taliban if they were to see the full documents.
What better way to find the right targets than to read the nicely formatted official reports of your enemy?

These military actions have been mishandled from the start and at this point every time we make a friend and try to help someone out we are just painting a target on their back.
The situation is complex, I'm not sure a good outcome is possible at this point, just pulling all the troops out will result in thousands of deaths due to our inaction and staying there is just prolonging the inevitable.
Programming

12th Internet Problem Solving Contest, This Sunday 52

Posted by timothy from the how-about-that-durned-oil-spill dept.
misof writes "Roughly a thousand teams from all around the globe have already registered for IPSC 2010, which takes place on Sunday, June 6. $3,000 in prize money (courtesy of Facebook, Inc.) is waiting for the best few of them. Participation is free and the contest is open to everybody. IPSC is what you could call a programming contest with a twist. Over the years, the problems always push the boundary and go beyond the usual stuff you see in a programming contest. For example, in past few years the contestants have had to understand how arithmetic in computers differs from that in mathematics, produce a sequence of cache requests that generates many page faults, solve a logic puzzle given as a Flash game, and recognize images to evaluate a rock-paper-scissors game."
Education

Conservative Textbook Curriculum Passes Final Vote In Texas 895

Posted by Soulskill from the maximum-truthiness dept.
suraj.sun sends in a followup to a story we've been following about the Texas Board of Education's efforts to put a more political spin on some of their state's textbooks. From the Dallas Morning News: "In a landmark move that will shape the future education of millions of Texas schoolchildren, the State Board of Education on Friday approved new curriculum standards for US history and other social studies courses that reflect a more conservative tone than in the past. Split along party lines, the board delivered a pair of 9-5 votes to adopt the new standards, which will dictate what is taught in all Texas schools and provide the basis for future textbooks and student achievement tests over the next decade. Texas standards often wind up being taught in other states because national publishers typically tailor their materials to Texas, one of the biggest textbook purchasers in the country. Approval came after the GOP-dominated board approved a new curriculum standard that would encourage high school students to question the legal doctrine of church-state separation — a sore point for social conservative groups who disagree with court decisions that have affirmed the doctrine, including the ban on school-sponsored prayer."

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