RE: Time to get serious -- MIDRANGE-L

Jim,

You raise some interesting questions, since I'm not shy I'll try and
answer some. 

>1) What skills should students have upon completing the program?

The willingness and ability to learn! IT has, is, and will continue to
change at a dizzying rate. It's doubtful that any of us are directly
applying what we learned in college. However, the skill that continues
to move us forward is the ability to learn new things, the joy of the
challenge, and the understand that we don't understand it all.

>2) How much focus should be placed on RPG II and the cycle?  How much
is 
>it being used in your shop?

Some. I would emphasize that no one should be writing new code using the
cycle, but the bottom line is that they may need to maintain something
that does. However, I would categorize it as "exposure" over "learning".
In other words, they should know what it is, and that it's out there,
but not much more. Also, I'd teach it on the back end, not the front.
The cycle is easier to learn when it's thought of as the system adding
some structure to your code for you.

>3) Should there be more emphasis on RPG IV and ILE?

Yes. IV and ILE are the current and future of the language. Push the
envelope.

>4) How would you assess a recent graduates skills, aptitude?

Logic tests. Asking questions about how they would solve a problem, and
more importantly, where they could go to find the answers they don't
know. I ask the same question of people with 20 years experience.

>5) How important are specific languages verses the ability to learn 
>languages and understand the business processes?

See #1. Ability to learn, ability to learn and ability to learn!

>6) Any other thoughts?

Get C# in there, probably as a replacement for VB. C# is MS's "pet
language" these days and is significantly closer to the CLR. C# is to VB
and RPG is to Cobol. They're both widely used, with more legacy stuff in
Cobol, but RPG is more "native" to the platform since it doesn't really
have to deal with baggage from other platforms.

JMTCW.

-Walden

------------
Walden H Leverich III
President & CEO
Tech Software
(516) 627-3800 x11
WaldenL@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.TechSoftInc.com

Quiquid latine dictum sit altum viditur.
(Whatever is said in Latin seems profound.)
  


-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jim Hawkins
Sent: Tuesday, 01 March, 2005 10:57
To: midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Time to get serious

Some of this discussion has migrated to the skills that recent graduates

have.  Since I serve on the CIS curriculum advisory board for a local 
community college (in Southwest Michigan) ; let me ask a few questions.

Keeping in mind that this is a 2 year program meaning students are only 
going to get a limited amount of exposure to anything.  The core 
curriculum begins with a programming logic course (using Visual Basic to

model the logic) and completes with a capstone Systems Analysis course.
In 
the meantime students are taught RPG (primarily III with some exposure
to 
II and IV but none to ILE, and all green screen).  In addition, students

are taught COBOL, Java, database/SQL.  We have had discussion about the 
place of C, C++ and C#.  A key goal is that students be employable.  (I 
also have taught a course from time to time on OS/400).  Outside of the 
CIS curriculum students are required to have a basic (101) accounting 
course and a couple of basic business courses (and English, Math, etc.)

1) What skills should students have upon completing the program?
2) How much focus should be placed on RPG II and the cycle?  How much is

it being used in your shop?
3) Should there be more emphasis on RPG IV and ILE?
4) How would you assess a recent graduates skills, aptitude?
5) How important are specific languages verses the ability to learn 
languages and understand the business processes?
6) Any other thoughts?

I will pass your feedback on to the whole committee.

Thanks in advance.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 Jim Hawkins
 IBM Certified Specialist AS/400 RPG IV Programmer 
 Iseries. Myseries.
 Programmer/Analyst
 Eimo Americas
-- 
This is the Midrange Systems Technical Discussion (MIDRANGE-L) mailing
list
To post a message email: MIDRANGE-L@xxxxxxxxxxxx
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change list options,
visit: http://lists.midrange.com/mailman/listinfo/midrange-l
or email: MIDRANGE-L-request@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Before posting, please take a moment to review the archives
at http://archive.midrange.com/midrange-l.