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[da_nang]

Well, it's said to be cleaner and more intuitive, but that's just me repeating what my teacher says.
This might give you some idea why.

[GlyphGryph]

Hmmm... so the argument is that it's more pedalogical than other languages, without being so pedalogical that switching to them becomes difficult?

I guess I can understand that - Ruby, for example, blows Java away on most of those points. But it's also got a fundamentally different object approach than Java/C++/C#, since it's an object-message-response system instead of a class-object system and thus is programmed in a very different way most of the time.

[Siquo]

I'm pretty sure all schools use Java, because that's what they started using at some point. I've only ever seen it used once in a company (and I quit after 3 months, when I found out how deep of a clusterfuck that application was).

Java is a bit what BASIC used to be: Great to learn some basics of programming, and then you forget all about it and never touch it again.

[Nadaka]

Java does get a lot of use in big business and government contracting.

2 of my 3 programming jobs have been enterprise java web development.

[Mego]

Wait... This is for an AP CompSci class? That's a problem. A HUGE problem. They're supposed to be teaching you Java, not C++. C++ hasn't been the language for AP CompSci for nearly a decade. Make sure their asses get chewed, and read Stargrasper's Java tutorials. They'll help you get started. Any other questions you have, bring them here.

What the hell is wrong with C++? C (basic C) is still more widely used than Java, and the C family languages (C and C++) are more than twice as popular.

Even ignoring that, even if Java WAS the dominant language or the up and coming language - why is it better for learning in? Why should ever teach every class the same language? (Which honestly seems like a bullshit recipe for employment disaster since we'll not ever be switching to a one-language employment environment)

Java may be the most common AP CompSci language, but why the hell should it be the one you have to have? That's stupid. It's the same sort of logic that says Java should never have been used to begin with.

I'm not saying anything is wrong with C/++. In fact, I prefer C/++ over Java. But the simple fact is, CollegeBoard's curriculum for AP Computer Science is Java. Skyrunner's teacher is teaching C++ (and apparently only barely doing that). They are not doing their job to prepare the students for the AP Computer Science exam, which covers Java concepts. It's not a matter of which language is better. The problem is that the teacher is not teaching the proper curriculum, and that's something that should result in severe reprimand.

What do you mean, Java is the most common AP CompSci language? It is the standard language for AP CompSci, and has been since 2003.

[GlyphGryph]

I'm not sure if the CollegeBoard cover's Skyrunner, though.

Also, I keep forgetting that AP classes are different from college credit classes.
(Which, I might add, is still awfully stupid)

But yes, you appear to be right - while its not required for the AP classes, the chances of passing the AP test (which assumes Java knowledge) is low without it.

[Siquo]

Java does get a lot of use in big business and government contracting.

2 of my 3 programming jobs have been enterprise java web development.

1 of my 7, so I win

[Mego]

Java does get a lot of use in big business and government contracting.

2 of my 3 programming jobs have been enterprise java web development.

1 of my 7, so I win

Can I have one of those 6 jobs?

[Siquo]

Sure. In your PM box.

[Skyrunner]

Wait... This is for an AP CompSci class? That's a problem. A HUGE problem. They're supposed to be teaching you Java, not C++. C++ hasn't been the language for AP CompSci for nearly a decade. Make sure their asses get chewed, and read Stargrasper's Java tutorials. They'll help you get started. Any other questions you have, bring them here.

You misunderstand me. I use C++, haven't learned Java, and am self-studying for AP CompSci.
And I'm not expecting my (non-AP) Computers class to teach me anything. Also, I'm not taking it yet—it's next year. The class is half-Computer Applicatipns, half-Computer Science.


EDIT: A quick before-class talk with my teacher revealed that he's actually pretty cool, if still difficult to converse with. Also, he's teaching C-style C++, not actual C++, because he learned C. Dx The compiler changing thing kinda got sent on a tangent, but I instead learned that in our entire school, he is the only teacher who knows programming. o_O He used to work as a programmer, and knows COBOL and C#, uses Unity, and I think he said he also knew C and Fortran. He recognizes the problems with Visual Studio 6.0, but (1) there's no way to batch-install a new one, so he has to do it one-by-one over all eighty or so computers, (2) teaching C doesn't have a huge problem using VS6.0, though C++ does, and (3) when he leaves for retirement, the Computer App class will be dropped, since like he said he's the only one who actually knows programming. xD

[GlyphGryph]

Those... are all actually really good reasons. It's nice to know the system actually makes sense, and none of the decisions seem bad considering the circumstances.

Sucks that your IT infrastructure sucks, though, if you can't do batch installs easily. But I doubt he handles your IT network (and if he does, has the time to handle it well if he's also teaching)

[alway]

Yeah; that sounds about right. That issue is one of the biggest ones (worldwide even, not just a single country or region) when it comes to teaching programming in a high school setting. There typically aren't many people transitioning from programmer to teacher, for a variety of reasons; most others were never taught programming in their school work, in part because old-school programming was the realm of universities which could afford the room-sized computers, and so teachers weren't expected to learn it.

[Mini]

At least it should start getting better pretty soon, I'm in Uni with someone who's in their last year who's doing a game development topic as part of their teaching course for some reason. No, I don't know anything else about what they are studying.

[Skyrunner]

Something weird:


for ( int counter = 1; counter >= 10; counter++ )
 {
  if ( position - counter < 0 )
    counter = 10; //to exit the loop
  else
    /* do something */;
 }


The above code always goes to the Else condition even if the For is satisfied. It then proceeds to throw an out_of_range error, as the "do something" part involves vectors.

Debugger shows that even if counter = 4 and position = 3, it goes to the else and throws the error.
I tried switching the for and else around, but the same thing happens, in that it goes to where it shouldn't and throws an error. Dx

[Nadaka]

that would be because 3 - 4 is less than 0