Re: [OFFTOPIC, but possibly amusing] [was: peasant revolt against DrScheme!]

[Matthias Felleisen <matthias@cs.rice.edu>]

Yes, some Scheme people emphasize the syntax of Scheme over other
things. Mostly those who came from one fashion, moved to the next, 
and happily leave Scheme behind for Java. 

Then there are those who use the left-over time to teach algorithms. 
Good algorithms. Clever stuff. 

Then there are those who teach random abstractions. 

We have recognized this. We believe that an intro course based on Scheme
must de-emphasize Scheme (sorry) and focus on the process of developing 
programs. From there, we must show that good OOP comes from good FP. Then
students will see Java in a new light. And we may just convince people. 

;; --- 

Jerry is wrong about GUIs. I don't dislike them. I dislike them if they are
`taught' in the first course. Using them is fine. 

Jerry is also wrong about us not teaching `useful' things with
Scheme. Pretty soon, you will see extensions of HtDP that show how a fourth
week student can create Web trees and maintain Web sites with Scheme. Try
this in Perl or C. Pretty soon we will show how kids can write CGI
scripts after 8 weeks. 

We are preparing a text with the preliminary title `How to Use Scheme',
which will teach how to do useful things with the useless thing from the
first semester. We imagine this as an elective second course. 

-- Matthias