Date   : Mon, 03 Apr 2006 18:41:19 +0200
From   : "Mark Usher" <mu.list@...>
Subject: Re: Basic & BBC Basic

> > How many people as a percentage of computer users program their 
> > computer or even wish to program their computer.
> I think a much larger percentage would, if they had the 
> vaguest inkling about what that meant, and how to go about it 

I think we all have something of a biased opinion on the matter of
programming. I remember in our class, the first ever to get CS at our
school, there was a large percentage of pupils that had difficulty grasping
the concept of a FOR...NEXT loop in BBC BASIC. 

Programming, is a means to an end. It enables us to complete a task
repeatedly through a set of instructions. Yes, many peoples lives can be
made easier by being able to program and many more are likely to benefit
from being able to program simple things in say a word processor /
spreadsheet or database.

In the real world, not many of us program things from scratch anymore. We
use libraries, tools, graphics packages and dare I say it applications to
develop applications.

So teaching a class of children BBC BASIC is not really what I would call
helpful. It would have more significance in a history lesson, as would
talking about the generic parts of a CPU... ALU etc. Opening up and
dissecting a BBC machine (shudder) is all fine and good fun but follow it up
with a dissection of a PC.

If through some higher level programming introduction, they gain an
interest, then their young spirits can be nurtured and guided and they may
one day also learn to use the force.

-Mark