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Programming

Programming Language Specialization Dilemma 569

Posted by Soulskill from the choosing-a-path dept.
aremstar writes "I'm a final-year Computer Science student from the UK. During my studies, we covered 3 programming languages: C, C++ and Java. The issue is that we didn't cover any of these languages in sufficient depth for me to claim that I have commercial-ready experience. It's one thing being able to write simple programs for class assignments, but those are quite different from writing something as complex as the Linux kernel or a multi-threaded banking app. I'm thinking of spending a few weeks/months studying in order to specialize in one of those languages. Fortran also entered my consideration, as it is great for numerical computing and used by many financial institutions, banks, etc. In terms of skill requirements in job ads, my (brief) experience suggests that most programming jobs require C++, with Java a close second. C — unfortunately — doesn't appear as much. My question is: if you were in my shoes, which language would win your time investment? My heart suggests C, with a little bit of Fortran to complement it, but I'm a bit worried that there might not be enough demand in the job market."
Input Devices

Quantum Camera On a Silicon Chip 42

Posted by timothy from the tech-mad-libs-or-buzzword-bingo dept.
stefanparvu14 writes "Physicists in Switzerland and California have developed a new type of camera capable of imaging quantum correlations between pairs of photons. The details are presented in the current issue of the open-access publication New Journal of Physics. Unlike a conventional camera with a CCD imager, this camera is composed of Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) pixels implemented on a high-performance CMOS chip. One of the authors has provided more background for the non-physicist. Apparently, it could be used to verify the existence of Bose-Einstein condensates that are now starting to be produced in new ways."
Government

Barack Obama Sworn In As 44th President of the US 1656

Posted by timothy from the worst-job-in-the-whole-world-but-the-best-perks dept.
Just before noon today, Eastern time, Barack Obama was sworn in before the US Capitol building as the 44th President of the United States (Whitehouse.gov has already been updated to reflect the new President), and offered an inaugural address which outlined some of the challenges that the country currently faces, both within the country's borders and abroad. Obama's election has been called "a civil rights triumph," and his candidacy has inspired perhaps the most visible political involvement of young voters of any candidate since John Kennedy. Here's your chance to discuss the newest occupant of the White House and what you'd like to see happen over the course of his presidency.

Comment Two ways (Score 1) 592

by bigmonachus (#26055573) Attached to: Best Paradigm For a First Programming Course?
A very good read related to this is "The Perils of Javaschools" by Joel Spolsky. http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/ThePerilsofJavaSchools.html
I think that paradigm choice is secondary compared to teaching in a way that will stretch the student's mind.
C++ was the language I used when I started getting serious about programming. Before that I used Basic dialects. My experience learning to program in C++ wasn't very enlightening. There were just a lot of compile-time errors, and I spent a lot of time looking for them. If I'd had a teacher it would have been much easier.
I think that if you're going to go imperative, the best choice is a bottom-up approach, in which you start out pretty close to the metal and go up from there, not focusing so much on computer science theory than on pointers.
You don't really appreciate garbage collection unless you have had the pain of managing the memory manually.
The approach that I think is best, is to start with a very high level language in which you can teach basic computer science without the language getting in your way. Preferably a functional language =)

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