Suggested resources for co-op students moving from Java to VB
-
My first co-op student is wrapping up his placement this week and he made a comment that surprised me. At school he's been working almost exclusively I guess in Java and when he came here he was assigned to work on a VB.Net application. I gave him some time and told him to familiarize himself with the project but I didn't think it would be a difficult move to go from Java to VB - after all, an If statement is still an If statement, right? But today we sat down and had a little chat and he told me that he had felt overwhelmed by the experience, so now I'm wondering, if I get another student for whom the programming language is unfamiliar what can I do to ease the transition for him/her?
Maybe try J# if that's still around. Still the transition to C# from Java should be easier than moving to VB. I find VB 2002 and later (the .NET versions) pretty much identical to C# though I'm from a background that includes both VB and C++. At uni most of our programming was java, though there was a also one module that was in fortran, one in perl, a few involving the horrendous scripting language in lotus notes. There was a tiny bit of C++ though most of what they taught was plain wrong. At college, everything was turbo pascal and there was no programming in school. I used classic VB, C and C++ at home though.
-
I should clarify that he is still in school. In his second year. He's in a co-op program which means that they alternate semesters between being in the classroom and being on a work placement.
Yea, I went through the same thing. But they stuck the 'learning how to learn languages' bit at the beginning of my curriculum and blew through it fairly easily. Didn't know squat for SQL, .net or the VB6 bits that I wound up doing within the first few weeks. It just meant I needed to do some research and snag some documentation to get what I needed to know, not terribly overwhelming aside from the few times we needed to do something planned for weeks in under a day.
-
WickedTribe72 wrote:
for whom the programming language is unfamiliar
Aren't you in control of that? :confused: I remember my co-op job... I had to use VAX BASIC because that's all the boss knew.
the programming language? No, the application was written before I arrived here.
-
the programming language? No, the application was written before I arrived here.
-
DON'T
Dalek Dave: There are many words that some find offensive, Homosexuality, Alcoholism, Religion, Visual Basic, Manchester United, Butter. Pete o'Hanlon: If it wasn't insulting tools, I'd say you were dumber than a bag of spanners.
modified on Thursday, March 25, 2010 10:53 AM
Big messages can even be improved by a couple of tiny thingies. :)
Luc Pattyn [Forum Guidelines] [Why QA sucks] [My Articles]
Getting an article published on CodeProject now is hard and not sufficiently rewarded.
-
the programming language? No, the application was written before I arrived here.
No, I mean if there was at least one candidate who knew at least a little VB, choose that one. Or don't agree to take on co-op students from a school that only teaches Java. Ideally your company's relationship with the school should allow you to tell the school what you (and business in general) requires of new grads.
-
No, I mean if there was at least one candidate who knew at least a little VB, choose that one. Or don't agree to take on co-op students from a school that only teaches Java. Ideally your company's relationship with the school should allow you to tell the school what you (and business in general) requires of new grads.
Well, now you're just opening up a big can of worms! LOL. I'll just say that I was not in charge of the selection of the student.
-
I think an appointment with a psychiatrist is the first stop they should make. VB is just wrong on so many levels - in ANY of its evil incarnations. Besides, it would be easier to move from java to C# than to VB.
.45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly
-----
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
-----
"The staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - J. Jystad, 2001John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
I think an appointment with a psychiatrist is the first stop they should make.
Yes.
John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
easier to move from java to C# than to VB
I second that. After going through Java in college, C# was cakewalk.
John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
.45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly
Very true :D
"The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon "Not only do you continue to babble nonsense, you can't even correctly remember the nonsense you babbled just minutes ago." - Rob Graham
-
My first co-op student is wrapping up his placement this week and he made a comment that surprised me. At school he's been working almost exclusively I guess in Java and when he came here he was assigned to work on a VB.Net application. I gave him some time and told him to familiarize himself with the project but I didn't think it would be a difficult move to go from Java to VB - after all, an If statement is still an If statement, right? But today we sat down and had a little chat and he told me that he had felt overwhelmed by the experience, so now I'm wondering, if I get another student for whom the programming language is unfamiliar what can I do to ease the transition for him/her?
Others have suggested going to C# as syntactically speaking, it is very similar to Java. You will be able to use the same .Net framework in C# that is found in the existing VB.NET application. Perhaps have the student become familiar with the .Net framework in C# (since it is closer to Java), and once he/she understands the framework, the basterd VB.NET learning is moot since it is just syntax difference and the underlying .Net framework libraries are the same. You could just convert the VB.NET project to C# and make it easier.
"The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon "Not only do you continue to babble nonsense, you can't even correctly remember the nonsense you babbled just minutes ago." - Rob Graham
-
No, I mean if there was at least one candidate who knew at least a little VB, choose that one. Or don't agree to take on co-op students from a school that only teaches Java. Ideally your company's relationship with the school should allow you to tell the school what you (and business in general) requires of new grads.
PIEBALDconsult wrote:
the school should allow you to tell the school what you (and business in general) requires of new grads
In a perfect world this would be good....but they don't listen to businesses but rather to accreditation entities and what they require so the school can be accredited.
"The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon "Not only do you continue to babble nonsense, you can't even correctly remember the nonsense you babbled just minutes ago." - Rob Graham
-
If someone comes out of school only knowing one language that school has some serious issues with their curriculum. Agreed. I started taking programming classes in the mid 80s at a community college, AA degree called "Computers for Small Business." The "intro to" class used Algorithm -- a pseudo-code based on Pascal -- to teach the concepts. Actual languages were started in the second semester with Pascal. I also learned C, COBOL, RPG and data entry (you can tell this was in the 80s, right?) in addition to accounting and general ed. I can't imagine a computer student finishing the second year -- YEAR -- and having exerience with only one programming language.
He stated he was 'In his second year'. It didn't mean anything more than having 3 semesters under his belt. As for myself, at that stage, my school had only touched on the fundamentals of programming (C/C++, OOP, data structures). It hadn't touched on multiple languages at that point. I think its a little rash to assume everyone's college curriculum followed the same flow as yours.
-
I barely remember my undergrad days but each class seemed to use a different language, and then there was comparative languages doing about 10 in one class. So from my perspective you may have a defective source of students.
Need custom software developed? I do custom programming based primarily on MS tools with an emphasis on C# development and consulting. A man said to the universe: "Sir I exist!" "However," replied the universe, "The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation." --Stephen Crane
With the exception of my web/network programming and assembly classes everything I used from 99-03 was C/C++. The web class gave very brief exposures to java and perl. The class coming up behind me were java for all the core stuff and probably only saw C in the OS course unless they sought it out in electives. The VB/Pascal/fortran classes were intended for non CS majors made unavailable after taking "CS101" to avoid upperclass slackers from getting free A's.
3x12=36 2x12=24 1x12=12 0x12=18
-
John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
I think an appointment with a psychiatrist is the first stop they should make.
Yes.
John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
easier to move from java to C# than to VB
I second that. After going through Java in college, C# was cakewalk.
John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
.45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly
Very true :D
"The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon "Not only do you continue to babble nonsense, you can't even correctly remember the nonsense you babbled just minutes ago." - Rob Graham
-
He stated he was 'In his second year'. It didn't mean anything more than having 3 semesters under his belt. As for myself, at that stage, my school had only touched on the fundamentals of programming (C/C++, OOP, data structures). It hadn't touched on multiple languages at that point. I think its a little rash to assume everyone's college curriculum followed the same flow as yours.
You are correct. He has completed 3 semesters.
-
He stated he was 'In his second year'. It didn't mean anything more than having 3 semesters under his belt. As for myself, at that stage, my school had only touched on the fundamentals of programming (C/C++, OOP, data structures). It hadn't touched on multiple languages at that point. I think its a little rash to assume everyone's college curriculum followed the same flow as yours.
I learned BASIC and Pascal before I started college. In my first year of college I had COBOL and Fortran. C in my second year. Data Structures (in Pascal), Assembly, and Lisp in my third year.
Andrew Rissing wrote:
fundamentals of programming (C/C++, OOP, data structures).
OOP is not a fundamental of programming (it is a very advanced topic) and was not presented in any of my courses. Turbo C++ V1.0 was released while I was in college; I had to teach myself. A student who has the programming bug will likely know more than one language whether the school teaches it or not.
-
PIEBALDconsult wrote:
the school should allow you to tell the school what you (and business in general) requires of new grads
In a perfect world this would be good....but they don't listen to businesses but rather to accreditation entities and what they require so the school can be accredited.
"The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon "Not only do you continue to babble nonsense, you can't even correctly remember the nonsense you babbled just minutes ago." - Rob Graham
When my wife worked for an ITT Tech, one of the things she had to do was meet with an advisory panel of "industry professionals" to discuss what the needs of the industry needed and how the school could help meet those needs.
-
No, I mean if there was at least one candidate who knew at least a little VB, choose that one. Or don't agree to take on co-op students from a school that only teaches Java. Ideally your company's relationship with the school should allow you to tell the school what you (and business in general) requires of new grads.
PIEBALDconsult wrote:
Or don't agree to take on co-op students from a school that only teaches Java.
Would you really do that? If you get the students who learned to program at school and not before it, you're pretty much screwed already anyway - except perhaps for the one or two exceptional students who can actually learn (I'm assuming they exist, but I've never seen proof of that)
-
I learned BASIC and Pascal before I started college. In my first year of college I had COBOL and Fortran. C in my second year. Data Structures (in Pascal), Assembly, and Lisp in my third year.
Andrew Rissing wrote:
fundamentals of programming (C/C++, OOP, data structures).
OOP is not a fundamental of programming (it is a very advanced topic) and was not presented in any of my courses. Turbo C++ V1.0 was released while I was in college; I had to teach myself. A student who has the programming bug will likely know more than one language whether the school teaches it or not.
PIEBALDconsult wrote:
A student who has the programming bug will likely know more than one language whether the school teaches it or not.
In that early part of school, I knew only C/C++. Granted, I may just be a sole individual or whatever that thought it more important to learn more about a single language than cast my nets at the time into other languages.
-
My first co-op student is wrapping up his placement this week and he made a comment that surprised me. At school he's been working almost exclusively I guess in Java and when he came here he was assigned to work on a VB.Net application. I gave him some time and told him to familiarize himself with the project but I didn't think it would be a difficult move to go from Java to VB - after all, an If statement is still an If statement, right? But today we sat down and had a little chat and he told me that he had felt overwhelmed by the experience, so now I'm wondering, if I get another student for whom the programming language is unfamiliar what can I do to ease the transition for him/her?
-
Honestly, there are II types of developers. I. Those That Get Dirty With The Documentation or II. Those That Don't (Sorry if this off-shoot of the binary joke offends anyone)
