Sean Kelly wrote:
I very much agree. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that my compiler design course was the single most valuable CS course I took while in college. It's amazing how many problems I encounter have something to do with parsing or language translation. It's also amazing how many crappy parsers there are out there for these same tasks. Clearly, compiler design doesn't get as much attention as it should in undergrad CS.
Reminds me of a metal shop class I heard about where for the first assignment each student was handed a chunk of metal and a file. His job was to file out an end wrench. The idea was to get a feel for working metal, besides developing an appreciation for what power tools do!
It also filtered out the impatient, slap-dash and careless people who should never be around metal milling machines.
In my high school wood shop, we were each handed a chunk of wood, a try-square, and a plane. Our job was to use the plane to create a perfectly square block. We weren't allowed to use any power tools until we passed that. I still remember the shrieks of agony from some of the students as the teacher would lay the square on it, point to a crack of light seeping under it, and pronounce "not square yet!"
Good times.
