WARNING: This blog entry was imported from my old blog on blogs.sun.com (which used different blogging software), so formatting and links may not be correct.
Joel Spolsky recently blogged about the perils of Java schools. The introduction goes like this:
...When I was a kid, I learned to program on punched cards. If you made a mistake, you didn't have any of these modern features like a backspace key to correct it. You threw away the card and started over.
That instantly reminded me of my favorite Dilbert - one I have handy now because I used it in one of the first few slides in my JavaPolis presentation. I think it portrays a pretty common attitude in the programming world - "it was hard and we liked it that way!"
Joel surprisingly delivered a back-handed compliment to the suitability of Java for use in the enterprise.
ReplyDeleteThe Colt was known as the Equalizer, because
"Being bigger, tougher and meaner than the next guy may not mean jack spit if the next guy carries a .357 in his waistband." (See
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=27882)
Joel's rant was the problem that Java is the programming language equivalent of the Colt, making ability to worry about pointers etc irrelevant.