Thanks....

Post #114,352 by slugbug 8/19/03 3:51:26 PM Reply	Thanks.... ....forgot to include BBEdit....will add it. Follow on question: when teaching students or other newbies, which editor do you recommend to them? Why? I appreciate the help! -Slugbug
Post #114,370 by tjsinclair 8/19/03 4:40:19 PM Reply	Teaching is a slightly different issue There are a couple of constraints I have to work with here: - Budget (as in usually none) - Required platforms (in our case, Windows 2K Pro and Linux for the programming classes) Linux really helps with budget issues. Our students don't usually have a lot of money to throw around, so I'm always on the lookout for free/extremely cheap solutions. I hand out a lot of Knoppix CDs as well as Red Hat install disks. My current standard Linux build for programming is based on Knoppix so I can just hand out the CD on the first day and they have all the tools we use in class. (We have a standard Windows build as well.) For Windows, the choices are a bit more limited. We currently use Visual Studio .NET in the classroom but our license agreement with MS does not allow us to give our students copies for their home machines. We have an academic version of VS 6 but I'm told it won't run under Windows XP. Anyway, back to editors. On Windows, I'm currently recommending ConTEXT, a free programmer's text editor that has syntax highlighting along with a host of other nice features. You can get a copy at [link\|http://fixedsys.com/context/\|http://fixedsys.com/context/] . I also hand out GNUWin CDs (available at [link\|http://gnuwin.epfl.ch/en/index.html\|http://gnuwin.epfl.ch/en/index.html]) which provide many FLOSS software designed to run on Win32 PCs, including a number of editors and other development tools. Most of our programming classes can be run on either Linux or Windows and it's up to the instructor to pick the platform. I prefer using Linux when I can and recommend that students learn more than one platform and try to code to standards as much as possible. Frankly, I feel that if you're trying to 'future-proof' up-and-coming technical professionals, you could do worse than get them comfortable with Linux. This seems to have turned into a bit of a rant. However, schools always seem to be locked in battle with hardware and software vendors, wrestling over control of the hearts and minds of our students. (Publishers jump in on the rest breaks.) Tom Sinclair "Man, I love it when the complete absence of a plan comes together." - [link\|http://radio.weblogs.com/0104634/\|Ernie the Attorney]
Post #114,556 by tuberculosis 8/20/03 11:47:24 AM Reply	Teaching - use whatever you like I let them use whatever they want. I don't care. I recommend things if they don't know what to get - but generally they don't ask - they use what their friends tell them to. The programs are generally small enough that they send me a few source files anyhow - plain text. I write scripts to import them and run them in whatever environment I'm using (I used to grade C and C++ using Metrowerks). For one thing, I'm an anti-windows activist of sorts. I don't recommend it, it never require it, and I don't do anything that increases the value of that platform to anyone - I simply pretend its not there. If asked specifically about it I suggest they ask someone else - I'm not the best source of information about that platform as I'm willfully ignorant of it. That prevents me from being qualified for anything I don't want to do. Smalltalk is dangerous. It is a drug. My advice to you would be don't try it; it could ruin your life. Once you take the time to learn it (to REALLY learn it) you will see that there is nothing out there (yet) to touch it. Of course, like all drugs, how dangerous it is depends on your character. It may be that once you've got to this stage you'll find it difficult (if not impossible) to "go back" to other languages and, if you are forced to, you might become an embittered character constantly muttering ascerbic comments under your breath. Who knows, you may even have to quit the software industry altogether because nothing else lives up to your new expectations. --AndyBower
Post #114,579 by tjsinclair 8/20/03 1:43:00 PM 8/20/03 1:47:58 PM Reply	I do that as well With the exception of our C++ .NET course, all of our programming course work can be done on any computer that has a compatible C++ or Java compiler. I make sure my students know that they can use what they want. I also tell them what platform I'll be using to test their code. (Usually Linux or OS X) I push OSS for as many of our courses as possible for three reasons: - It's budget-friendly - It's license-friendly - We can give copies of the software to the students without feeling paranoid. (SCO notwithstanding.) It's not forced on anyone and the platform choice is always up to the individual instructor. In the classroom, I use a standard Linux build with VNC to share my desktop. Another plus: With Linux, I can give all my students root access, whereas with Windows we have a policy of not allowing Admin access. (This may change with Visual Studio .NET, which requires more than User access to compile and run code.) Tom Sinclair "Man, I love it when the complete absence of a plan comes together." - [link\|http://radio.weblogs.com/0104634/\|Ernie the Attorney] Edited by tjsinclair Aug. 20, 2003, 01:47:58 PM EDT Expand All History
Post #114,580 by deSitter 8/20/03 1:46:22 PM Reply	rofl -drl

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