9 minutes ago, Mike A said:

Structured programming.

Yeppers! Mostly the Intro classes were to get the students to carefully think stepwise. They were absolutely astonished to learn that at the most basic, computers were only able to either add or subtract numbers, but not both. Higher level languages had to build on that limitation to generate the rest of the math functions necessary!

1 hour ago, n4gix said:

Mostly the Intro classes were to get the students to carefully think stepwise.

I remember the structured programming class I took over 40 years ago.  Resist the urge to code until you have the framework of the program.  The funny part was our first assignment, to create a flowchart that illustrates how you use your wallet.  The class was in a large auditorium with 80-100 students.  The instructor then showed some examples from what the students submitted on an overhead projector.  Someone submitted a flowchart that was absolutely huge, looked more likely for how the Federal Reserve handles funds than what you do with a wallet, something like this:

There was a collective gasp from the students as it appeared.  My friend & I had to bite our lips to keep from laughing, as we thought this is what you would probably expect from someone who was an obsessive/compulsive i-d-i-ot savant.

Edited May 1, 20251 yr by Mike A
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