Comments on: Using Rich Internet Applications to Keep Undergrad Computer Science Interesting http://blog.digitalbackcountry.com/2008/01/using-rich-internet-applications-to-keep-undergrad-computer-science-interesting/ Ryan Stewart on the Flash Platform Sat, 04 Sep 2010 00:03:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: J. Mihai http://blog.digitalbackcountry.com/2008/01/using-rich-internet-applications-to-keep-undergrad-computer-science-interesting/comment-page-1/#comment-4748 J. Mihai Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:34:10 +0000 http://blog.digitalbackcountry.com/?p=1218#comment-4748 In Romania there is the problem of some of the teacher not knowing exactly what they are teaching their students. We have many Faculties in one University, all Engeneering ones, yet in very few of them studets are able to go further with their experiments. Very few are testing as much as they should what programming languages fits the best for them. As about web aplications, I would like to say that you are perfectly right about being close to the design. I am an Adobe Photoshop lover, that is the first software I really liked that much that I was spending few ours a day editing and creating images. After I decided that I want to go further and learn some programming. Its nice to see you can combine design an programming in something useful and nice looking. Kind regards, J.Mihai In Romania there is the problem of some of the teacher not knowing exactly what they are teaching their students. We have many Faculties in one University, all Engeneering ones, yet in very few of them studets are able to go further with their experiments. Very few are testing as much as they should what programming languages fits the best for them.

As about web aplications, I would like to say that you are perfectly right about being close to the design. I am an Adobe Photoshop lover, that is the first software I really liked that much that I was spending few ours a day editing and creating images. After I decided that I want to go further and learn some programming. Its nice to see you can combine design an programming in something useful and nice looking.

Kind regards,
J.Mihai

]]> By: Brian Swartzfager http://blog.digitalbackcountry.com/2008/01/using-rich-internet-applications-to-keep-undergrad-computer-science-interesting/comment-page-1/#comment-4747 Brian Swartzfager Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:25:19 +0000 http://blog.digitalbackcountry.com/?p=1218#comment-4747 The guys in the CrossTalk article are worried that today's comp sci students aren't learning how to do really deep programming (things like managing memory usage and communicating with hardware devices) because those tasks are either automated or abstracted/hidden from the programmer by the programming language itself or through the use of code libraries. Since most RIA technologies hide or handle these tasks just as much (if not more) than Java does, I don't think they would be the biggest fans of the RIA movement. :) Web application programming still seems to be an afterthought here at my university. I think we have one class that teaches students how to build websites with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and one class that introduces students to PHP, mySQL, and Apache. There are no classes on ColdFusion despite the fact that most of the departmental web applications and dynamic websites run off of ColdFusion. The guys in the CrossTalk article are worried that today’s comp sci students aren’t learning how to do really deep programming (things like managing memory usage and communicating with hardware devices) because those tasks are either automated or abstracted/hidden from the programmer by the programming language itself or through the use of code libraries.

Since most RIA technologies hide or handle these tasks just as much (if not more) than Java does, I don’t think they would be the biggest fans of the RIA movement. :)

Web application programming still seems to be an afterthought here at my university. I think we have one class that teaches students how to build websites with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and one class that introduces students to PHP, mySQL, and Apache. There are no classes on ColdFusion despite the fact that most of the departmental web applications and dynamic websites run off of ColdFusion.

]]> By: Josh Tynjala http://blog.digitalbackcountry.com/2008/01/using-rich-internet-applications-to-keep-undergrad-computer-science-interesting/comment-page-1/#comment-4746 Josh Tynjala Wed, 09 Jan 2008 01:02:02 +0000 http://blog.digitalbackcountry.com/?p=1218#comment-4746 The problem here is that Computer Science != Software Engineering, and most people don't realize that. CS is very math intensive, and universities often make it a part of their Mathematics departments. Programming is actually supposed to be a very minor part of the CS degree program (a tool to further explore theory related to logic, math, and computation). Many schools offer a separate degree in Software Engineering. This type of program should be more focused on real-world development practices, and building RIAs would probably fit in well. A BFA for programming seems weird. Certainly, with computers permeating our lives, degree programs need to exist for people who will be designing our user interfaces. I'm not exactly what's available right now, but I know that some colleges do already offer some sort of study in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), which is probably the best bet at the moment. The problem here is that Computer Science != Software Engineering, and most people don’t realize that. CS is very math intensive, and universities often make it a part of their Mathematics departments. Programming is actually supposed to be a very minor part of the CS degree program (a tool to further explore theory related to logic, math, and computation). Many schools offer a separate degree in Software Engineering. This type of program should be more focused on real-world development practices, and building RIAs would probably fit in well.

A BFA for programming seems weird. Certainly, with computers permeating our lives, degree programs need to exist for people who will be designing our user interfaces. I’m not exactly what’s available right now, but I know that some colleges do already offer some sort of study in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), which is probably the best bet at the moment.

]]> By: Sam http://blog.digitalbackcountry.com/2008/01/using-rich-internet-applications-to-keep-undergrad-computer-science-interesting/comment-page-1/#comment-4745 Sam Tue, 08 Jan 2008 21:14:19 +0000 http://blog.digitalbackcountry.com/?p=1218#comment-4745 I have a better idea. Outsource it all to India where it belongs. I have a better idea. Outsource it all to India where it belongs.

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