One of the best blogs of 2010

The blog Confessions of a mediocre programmer by Alan Norton is one of the most interesting blogs I read in 2010. Including a great definition of a Mediocre Programmer:

"Mediocre programmer - A programmer who has a limited toolset. He knows the syntax of only the simplest commands, but he knows where to find the syntax for more complex commands. He doesn’t know how to write the most efficient code, but he knows how to rewrite and test the code for greater efficiency if he must. He runs into more roadblocks along his passage to success, but he views each as a challenge and is confident that he will find a path around each roadblock. He may take longer to get there, but he always reaches his goal. He doesn’t know how to create a DLL, but he knows he can if necessary. Like most programmers, he doesn’t particularly like documenting his work but does so anyway because he is a professional." Alan Norton (2010)

A definition which in their heart of hearts a lot of successful people would see themselves in.

The basic point being from the perspective of this blog is good problem-solving skills are central to being successful. Getting the basics right - understanding the requirements, good analysis and design, project management and perseverance can get an average/mediocre programmer through.

I really enjoyed this blog posting and there is a lot there professional and students alike. The posting includes the following: " Yes, I am a mediocre programmer, primarily because I never needed to be a great programmer." Alan Norton (2010)

Comments

Build yourself a Crumble Eggbot from junk

Full details at http://bit.ly/2yZ3dZT There was three inspirations for this project · Eggbot - http://www.instructables.com/id/Plastic-Egg-Bot/?utm_content=buffer9b065&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer · Femi Owolade supported by Nic Hughes ran a session at Mozilla Festival 2016 using the Crumble’s to make a wheeled robot. · The junkbot project https://junkbots.blogspot.co.uk/ Kit · Kinder Egg (without the Chocolate and toy) · Crumble also available at https://redfernelectronics.co.uk/crumble/ · 4x Crocodile clips and leads · Battery pack and 3xAA · Vibrating motor · Tape (lots of) . Sticky-tack of some form. · Pe...

Building an artificial neuron in Scratch

1. Single Neurone Instructions: Set the inputs by pressing the buttons marked input 1 and input 2 (Red is off(False or 0) and Green is on(True or 1)) Change the weights by changing weights 1 to 3, wx goes with input x and weight 3 is the bias. To activate the neuron you need to click on the the yellow ball ('the neuron'). The video below show it in action and explains the code. To see the code go to https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/131892234/ . A slight modification click on the bell to change the weights The code is available at https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/171190294/ 2. Training a Neurone In this part, the training of a neuron all written in Scratch is tackled. The video shows it action and you can have a go at using the software yourself at the end of the post. The Scratch code can be found at https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/132915502/ All opinions in this blog are the Author's and should not in any way be seen a...

Problem-solving or computational Thinking

Confession time, this has been a research interest for me, along with a number of colleagues, since around 2005. It started with undergraduate students - investigating teaching and developing problem solving skills as a first step in developing programming skills through the use of LEGO-based robots and graphics based programming for undergraduate students. The main vehicle then for developing the problem-solving skills was the LEGO RCX Mindstorms robotics kits and series of gradually more challenging robot-based tasks. Lawhead et al (2003) stated that robots “…provide entry level programming students with a physical model to visually demonstrate concepts” and “the most important benefit of using robots in teaching introductory courses is the focus provided on learning language independent, persistent truths about programming and programming techniques. Robots readily illustrate the idea of computation as interaction”. Synergies can be made with our wo...

Problem-solving

Search This Blog