bit of help concerning LAU

hackable · 2013-03-19T18:40:11+00:00

hey people ! Just a fast question for an LAU graduate with a computer engineering degree if possible. Going into LAU next year ( terminal at the moment ) and...

Ayman

@Leonedes Why are you inferring that paper programming exams = mcq questions? Of course that's not what I mean. What I am referring to is exams where you write program solutions(code or pseudo code) to unique problems on paper. That's how someone learns programming, through problem solving and not directly typing syntax on a keyboard. This was as a reply to your "programming exams on computer" part.

The university being discussed may or may not be doing that, just adding an opinion about how I think programming should be taught in the beginning. If they're using MCQ then yes definitely that's not useful neither typing syntax on a computer is in my opinion.

rolf

Ayman has a point regarding "who cares about the syntax".
But truth is sometimes knowledge and understanding of a specific programming language is tested on paper, and in an exam room. That is ridiculous, who nowadays can program in a language without having a reference at hand? Maybe those who have 5 years programming in that language can claim to do so, in some cases, but expecting such a thing from a university student is not realistic.

Joe

The thing is, university, and even more engineering, is not about creating the best programmers in the world.

Yes, programming can (only?) be learned via self-study (well, more like, self-practice). Universities will teach you just enough programming so you can follow the essence of the course. Whether it's engineering, CS, science, but also increasingly arts and humanities, programming is never the sole purpose of the major. It's not even its main focus.

Engineering is a lot more about managing a project/budget/team/deadline than it is about programming. Criticizing a (engineering) school for not focusing enough on programming skills, is like criticizing a football coach for not focusing enough on running. Even if you can get by, as a footballer, by only being a runner, the duty of the school/coach is to prep you for deeper more subtle problems. And it's your duty to practice on your own.

TL;DR: I think it's a good thing this university doesn't put too much emphasis on programming.

Leonedes

rahmu, not focusing on programming is one thing, and graduating computer engineering students who are illiterate at it is another. This discussion totally side tracked, going back to the main point:

hackable? wrote just wanted to ask whether it is possible to choose to focus more on software rather than hardware in the 3rd - 4th year or do you take them equally at all time? .

You cannot focus on software because there aren't any software courses "to focus on".

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