UK petition to get programming on the curriculum

There's an interesting petition being made to the UK government to teach programming to children from primary school age rather than waiting until later in their school career. I'm not sure that the rationale specifically given by the petition's initiator-- that there would be "far less of a disparity between the sexes"-- is terribly convincing as it stands. It's not clear to me either that there's really some great barrier, preventing female students from learning program if they choose to, that will be broken down specifically if 9-year-olds are taught programming. And in any case, it's not clear to me that even if it were the case, that it would be the most compelling reason for teaching programming. However, whether that proposition proves true or false, I think there are other valid reasons for teaching programming at this early stage. And so I support the petition itself, even if not the exaggerated gender-gap mantra that seems to be its underlying motivation.

I think a more compelling rationale is to be found in the types of skills that programming develops and simply in the ubiquity of programmable devices. As has been expressed elsewhere, learning to be a good programmer seems to entail making certain problem-solving skills become intuitive. (As one fellow blogger has put it, learning to "algorithmate".) And in today's world where the average iPhone packs computing power that would have classed it as a mainframe not so many years ago, the potential for innovation through programming is practically beyond comprehension. I also suspect-- though I concede that I am also guilty of fluffy argument here and would be hard pushed to substantiate this view-- that the mindset that is made intuitive through learning to program gives people a more intuitive grasp of other concepts crucial to understanding our universe, be it genetics or the syntax of language. But in any case, the computer is now so engrained into our day-to-day devices that I would argue that "understanding our universe" really entails understanding how the microchip and computer work just as much as it does understanding the atom, the laws of thermodynamics etc.

Or put another way, there's really no reason nowadays to view programming as a uniquely specialist, "nerdy" subject.

However, I have some implementational concerns. I worry, if programming was brought earlier on to the curriculum, about how severely it would be dumbed down; educators need to understand that "programming" doesn't mean drawing inane patterns with "turtle graphics" or similar glorified spirograph imitations. I also have mild concerns-- though from a UK perspective, yes, they are mild-- that having a stronger computing component to the curriculum could widen existing digital divides if, for example, basic computer literacy was sidelined. (However, I do disagree with an apparent over-obsession with "teaching" skills such as browsing the Internet or word processing to those children for who such skills are as intuitive as operating their iPod.)

I look forward to seeing what success this and other similar petitions in other countries may have. And if you are based in the UK, I urge you to sign this petition and encourage your friends and colleagues to do likewise.

"Lost Programming Skills"

All too familiar with that "corporate IT solution" consisting of various inefficient black boxes haphazardly glued together using a plethora of acronyms?

This article entitled Lost Programming Skills looks at some of the once common knowledge which has not been passed on to generations of programmers. Interestingly, they highlight the inability to appreciate I/O issues (as much as, say, code optimisation).

iPad for programmers: new section and survey

In preparation for a new section of the site dedicated to programming tools for iPad users, the site contains a survey to find out which tools people are currently using. If you have a few seconds to spare, you are invited to fill in this very quick survey.

What kind of tools are we interested in? Well, essentially any iPad app that you consider to be "programming-related" in some way: for example, code editors, tools to run scripts, calculators that ease with programming-related tasks etc. Even general tools such as VNC clients are also welcome if you use them for programming-related tasks.

Java on your Kindle

It's excellent to see an array of Java programming books now available on the Kindle. Various of these books, which you may not have considered buying due to their cost, are available at a sometimes significantly reduced price on the Kindle.

Of notable interest to Javamex readers will be Brian Goetz's venerable Java Concurrency in Practice, which is really something of a bible for information on the Java Memory Model and the Java 5 concurrency library. As I say in the review, I can pretty much guarantee that if you're writing concurrent code (as many of us either are or will soon have to, not just on the server, but increasingly client-side), then Java Concurrency in Practice will allow you to fix various bugs in your code that you were possibly unaware of (it certainly fixed some in mine!), as well as help you make decisions about how to architecture your program around the Java 5 concurrency utilities.

For a more light-hearted read, but still an extremely enlightening one, Java Puzzlers remains excellent as ever. Josh Bloch's Effective Java got a whole new lease of life when its second edition was published, and its addition to the Kindle repertoire is most welcome.

Also worthy of note are the Core Java books. These, and in particular the second volume of Advanced Features, is not the most succinct of works, but covers various Java topics that you don't readily see explained in detail in other books.

Java for beginners turorial: what would you like to see?

Readers of the Javamex web site may or may not have seen the first pages of the site's Java for beginners tutorial, which covers a number of very basic Java topics such as variables, control structures (for loops, if/else), plus information on Java arrays.

Various topics are going to be added to the tutorial over the coming weeks. But how do you think it should be expanded? Are you just starting out in Java and having trouble with a particular topic? Or are you an experienced Java programmer, but remember having particular trouble with some aspect of learning Java with the tutorials that you used? Any feedback is welcome on this blog entry.