bobgian@sjuvax.UUCP (B. Giansiracusa) (11/16/84)
> From: bbanerje@sjuvax.UUCP (B. Banerjee) > Usually, we get 3 classes of students... There is a fourth class: those with NO prior exposure, who never even THOUGHT of themselves as using a computer, but who are curious about it. Some of them become fine hackers, given time! > The person teaching it this semester is teaching it in Lisp. I am said person. One project team today just completed a story generator in Lisp (plot represented as a finite-state machine). Of course, I helped "just a little", but it is amazing that these former technophobes could end up really liking CS theory and Lisp in just two months. > I) All students essentially start out on an equal footing. Forth is > sufficiently unlike BASIC, that prior exposure to BASIC won't > provide an immediate advantage. One of my reasons also - for choosing Lisp. It helps cure BASIC brainrot. > II) Forth can effectively encourage a top down design approach. Ditto for Lisp. > III) Forth is a capable language which they can use for non-trivial > programming at a later date (I don't like BASIC too much). Ditto for Lisp. I too am interested in how others have fared in similar endeavors. Bob Giansiracusa { allegra | burdvax }!sjuvax!bobgian