From: Space Ship Traveller <space.ship.traveller@...>
Date: 2010-03-29T22:48:58+09:00
Subject: Re: Why teach Ruby in the classroom?

Dear Richard,

Is this what you are referring to:

http://viewsourcecode.org/why/hacking/theLittleCodersPredicament.html

Kind regards,
Samuel

On 17/03/2010, at 4:29 AM, Richard Conroy wrote:

> Hi Samuel,
>     one point that I don't think has been mentioned, is the ratio of lines
> of code
> to working results. Its possible for a lot of powerful activities to be
> expressed
> in Ruby in only a handful of lines of code. This is very important to
> beginners,
> especially of the Junior variety, as the feedback loop does not close until
> working results are achieved. Shortening this cycle accelerates learning and
> keeps the activities fun for the juniors.
> 
> _why's old essay on this 'The little coders dilemma' made great points on
> this
> (sadly this article is now gone from the internets). In particular - that
> expression
> of code, and real world results should be atomic. Atomic in this sense, that
> it should be achievable in 1 line of code.
> 
> Python would share a lot of properties with Ruby in this respect. Their
> power:LOC
> ratios are quite similar, and they value readable code. Perl is famous for
> its
> power:LOC ratio too, but the syntax can be off-putting for class-room age
> kids.
> 
> Comparing and contrasting Python vs Ruby for teaching juniors to program
> would
> probably result in a lot of conclusions that would complement both.
> 
> regards,
> Richard
> --
> http://richardconroy.blogspot.com