Comment Re:Who cares about learning about computers? (Score 1) 1328
This is a naive statement on so many levels I don't even know where to begin.
What are you thinking!
So we don't teach how computers work anymore, just have everyone install Microsoft Dev Studio and write their little programs?
If you do any form of embedded systems work, write compilers, have to do heavy debug or better yet, have to try and find a bug in some C++ program running on a PC compiled in dev studio that only happens in Release mode you need these skills.
Have you ever tried to performance tune an embedded application? Understood how the Floating Point operations on one CPU might be better than another and thus help you decide how best to write your number crunching algorithm ?
What of you need to write a boot loader or a device driver?, or spin you own Operating system or a Compiler?
If you a teaching someone who is interested in a career in computers about computers, why the heck would you skip how they work.
I realize my area of computers (Embedded Systems) is heavy in the "How Computer Work" Category, but if my CS Dept decided I just didn't need to know how a computer worked and skipped all those details I would no be doing my job today (Which by the way, has proven so far to be somewhat safer from offshore outsource)
Fundamentals people, no matter what your field is you need your fundamentals. It's a crime to not teach an undergrad that, just like it's a crime not to teach him about what a database is or how to come up with an efficient algorithm (Which in some cases, is based on the Computer Architecture it is going to be running on !)
CS Students are in school to get a nice Breadth of experiences to all facets of how computer work and how to solve programs with them. You are them with these fundamentals so they can have lots of career options within the CS Field.
What are you thinking!
So we don't teach how computers work anymore, just have everyone install Microsoft Dev Studio and write their little programs?
If you do any form of embedded systems work, write compilers, have to do heavy debug or better yet, have to try and find a bug in some C++ program running on a PC compiled in dev studio that only happens in Release mode you need these skills.
Have you ever tried to performance tune an embedded application? Understood how the Floating Point operations on one CPU might be better than another and thus help you decide how best to write your number crunching algorithm ?
What of you need to write a boot loader or a device driver?, or spin you own Operating system or a Compiler?
If you a teaching someone who is interested in a career in computers about computers, why the heck would you skip how they work.
I realize my area of computers (Embedded Systems) is heavy in the "How Computer Work" Category, but if my CS Dept decided I just didn't need to know how a computer worked and skipped all those details I would no be doing my job today (Which by the way, has proven so far to be somewhat safer from offshore outsource)
Fundamentals people, no matter what your field is you need your fundamentals. It's a crime to not teach an undergrad that, just like it's a crime not to teach him about what a database is or how to come up with an efficient algorithm (Which in some cases, is based on the Computer Architecture it is going to be running on !)
CS Students are in school to get a nice Breadth of experiences to all facets of how computer work and how to solve programs with them. You are them with these fundamentals so they can have lots of career options within the CS Field.
