NYCPHP Meetup

[tedd]

At 1:42 PM -0400 4/23/08, Urb LeJeune wrote:
>>1. What's required to become certified (obvious);
>
>         To you is obvious, to me not so obvious :-) I know I sound 
>like a broken record but to me
>programming is not about syntax it's about logic and problem solving.


No, you took the word obvious to mean something not intended. I mean 
that it's obvious that certification will require some sort of 
testing for qualifications.

What isn't obvious are the qualifications of the organization that 
will determine those. Understand?

>         Many years ago Edsger Dijkstr, one of the giants of computer 
>science, wrote an article
>suggesting that a first course in computer programming be taught 
>without using a computer.
>At the time I thought he was nuts, but after teaching introductory 
>programming for many years
>I agree with the concept. Especially in the beginning, syntax get is 
>the way of solving problems.
>Any non-trivial problem will have multiple solutions. How does one 
>determine if their approach
>is the "best" solution to the problem and not simple a solution that 
>works. In my experience
>elegant (read simple) solutions do not happen while you sit at a 
>keyboard but rather sitting in
>a quite place with a pad and pencil.
>
>         If you've never read "Programming Pearls" by Jon Bentley, 
>beg, borrow, or steal a copy
>and read it. It will change the way you look at programming.


I think I read the first edition published in the 80's -- it sounds 
familiar. And I've probably read at least hundred other programming 
books in more languages than I care to remember over the last of 40+ 
years. In addition I've read literally scores of algorithm, fuzzy 
logic, genetic learning, problem analysis, matrix theory, spacial 
relationships, digital filters, signal analysis, data processing, 
chaos theory, AI, and a host of other computer related material. 
Currently, I read about a book a week -- I am currently reading 
jQuery and last week it was DOM scripting. Next week? Who knows?

So, I thank you for your suggestion, but I've been there.

Cheers,

tedd

-- 
-------
http://sperling.com  http://ancientstones.com  http://earthstones.com