Re: RPG instruction

[Jim Langston <jlangston@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This is a good point, are you teaching programmers how to program in RPG, or 
are you teaching people how to program using RPG?

If they are already programmers, you don't need to go into design philosophy 
too much.  If they are not programmers to begin with, you need to go heavily 
into design.

Teach them the Input - Processing - Output model, correct design, flowcharting 
(yes, no programmer ever uses flowcharting for programming, but it does teach 
proper design, and it does come in handy with those real sticky problems you 
just can't figure out), operational flow, etc...

Regards,

Jim Langston

Buck Calabro wrote:

> Pam D wrote using, alas, HTML:
>
> >I am an RPG instructor and would
> >appreciate input from the "field".
> >
> >I teach the RPG/400 class.
> >
> >Are there some hot topics you would
> >like to see covered to better prepare
> >students for the "real world"?
>
> The number one thing you should teach your students to do is to think like a
> programmer.  Read Mr McConnell's book _Code Complete_ and show his ideas in
> RPG examples.  One big problem many green programmers have is problem
> analysis and decomposition.  Drill your students on decomposition - it helps
> with requirements, architecture, coding, debugging and testing.  In "the
> real world", they're unlikely to get much in the way of guidance, so
> understanding fundamental principles is critical.
>
> Buck Calabro
> Aptis; Albany, NY
> "We are what we repeatedly do.
>  Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." --Aristotle
>
> Billing Concepts Corp., a NASDAQ Listed Company, Symbol: BILL

+---
| This is the RPG/400 Mailing List!
| To submit a new message, send your mail to RPG400-L@midrange.com.
| To subscribe to this list send email to RPG400-L-SUB@midrange.com.
| To unsubscribe from this list send email to RPG400-L-UNSUB@midrange.com.
| Questions should be directed to the list owner/operator: david@midrange.com
+---