First Programming Course Opinions Please

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Bob Palank - 09 Apr 2008 15:37 GMT

I'm building content for an U/G Intro to Programming course meant for a
User Support, Networking, and Software Development majors.
I intend to use about 5coding assignments that are to be coded in two
languages -
and the remaining assignments coded once in the students language of choice.
Languages are VB.Net and either VC++.Net or Java.
If Java, then I would tend to use Visual J# .net as the IDE instead of
NetBeans
(easier for the student ! And I know it's going away.)

Ques A. Would you, as an experienced developer prefer VB.Net and VC++.Net or
VB.Net and a look at Java.

Ques B. Would you use VJ#.Net - remember it is an intro course or introduce
Eclipse or Netbeans ?

TIA

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David Wilkinson - 09 Apr 2008 16:09 GMT

> I'm building content for an U/G Intro to Programming course meant for a
> User Support, Networking, and Software Development majors.
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> Ques B. Would you use VJ#.Net - remember it is an intro course or introduce
> Eclipse or Netbeans ?

Bob:

Please stop re-asking the same question. Pay attention to the responses you get.

Signature

David Wilkinson
Visual C++ MVP

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Sheng Jiang[MVP] - 09 Apr 2008 16:11 GMT

A Yes, but only for the libraries I want. There are some interesting
collection classes and utility classes in the J# runtime. For other tasks, I
tend to use C# or C++.
B No, J# has been retired. It is not wise to invest studying time in it.

Signature

Sheng Jiang
Microsoft MVP in VC++

> I'm building content for an U/G Intro to Programming course meant for a
> User Support, Networking, and Software Development majors.
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>
> TIA

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William DePalo [MVP VC++] - 10 Apr 2008 03:56 GMT

> I'm building content for an U/G Intro to Programming course meant for a
> User Support, Networking, and Software Development majors.
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> or
> VB.Net and a look at Java.

Why in the world teach VB.Net? Yes, it's true that all CLS compliant share
the same object model but C# is now, and will be in the future, the lingua
franca of the .Net platform.

If by VC++.Net you mean C++/CLI (the managed version of C++) then I would
skip that too because it's best used as a language to bridge the gap between
native and managed environments and that's a level of complexity that you
don't need in a first course. If, on the other hand, you mean native C or
C++ then that's not a bad choice especially if you explain how memory
allocation differs across the languages.

> Ques B. Would you use VJ#.Net - remember it is an intro course or
> introduce Eclipse or Netbeans ?

Given that Visual Studio 2008 does not offer VJ++ I wouldn't consider it.

Regards,
Will

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