I'm with Steven on this one. I, too, started way back in the days of procedural programming (Turbo Pascal, anyone?) and all of that taught me to understand the basic how's and why's of programming. I see a lot of new developers today who take what they read verbatim and apply it only because everyone else tells them they should. They don't necessarily understand the 'why' and, to me, that's just as important as learning about literals, syntax and objects.
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Steven Sacks Sent: Monday, August 20, 2007 1:09 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com Subject: Re: [Flashcoders] Intro to OOP using ActionScript > What is a "subroutine"? Not used in this millennium. Seems to be a > concept from the distant past. Distant past? Subroutines are the foundation of DRY and OOP. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subroutine This is exactly what I mean by developers taking for granted what it took to get them where they are, and I think it proves my point. You learn something until you forget it, meaning it becomes second nature and you cease to think about it, it has become hardwired. So, while the term "subroutine" might feel like a "concept from the distant past", that's because it is a concept from your distant past when you were first cutting your teeth that has become something that is now simply accepted knowledge, and you take for granted that you understand it. A subroutine is one of the foundational concepts of programming, especially OOP, and understanding subroutines and why they're used is fundamental to programming in general. Again, there are more to the basics of programming than just knowing Arrays, Strings, Numbers, math, iteration, etc. OOP is just not beginners territory. Intermediate at best. If you wanted to teach OOP at a conceptual level without digging into actual code, I could see a use for that, but you can't teach coding 101 while teaching a 300 level course. _______________________________________________ Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com To change your subscription options or search the archive: http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training http://www.figleaf.com http://training.figleaf.com _______________________________________________ Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com To change your subscription options or search the archive: http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training http://www.figleaf.com http://training.figleaf.com
