Documentation & Books & related

[John Tenny]

On Jul 7, 2004, at 9:15 PM, Dan Shafer wrote:
  "Many hundreds of people, mostly probably from *some* programming or 
scripting background, *have* managed to find their way through the 
docs, this list, and the absolutely essential trial-and-error that is 
part of learning any practical skill and have become proficient enough 
to produce satisfying and satisfactory solutions."

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I sorted my saved list emails by 'Name' and did not come up with 
anything like  "many hundreds of people" as unique names. This is a 
very active and useful list, but the number of folks who request help 
once or twice and then don't return should not be considered as being 
among those who have 'become proficient'. The main contributers to this 
list are actually a fairly small number of talented and friendly folks, 
who regularly challenge and assist each other. They also generously 
assist beginners when asked. However, if I were the company, I'd worry 
(and do something) about the regular messages concerning the difficulty 
of learning and lack of docs.

Like the long-haired love children, the number of ex-Hcarders is fixed 
and diminishing. The population of programmers trained in another 
language and being converted is a more current group of potential 
customers, but if that income stream doesn't satisfy the company, they 
had better look to serving the other group - those new to programming. 
I suggest two lines of support: materials directly aimed at the total 
beginner (Dan's book is a good start); and materials directly aimed at 
those who teach new programmers (regardless of grade level). Teachers 
do NOT have the time to create or rewrite confusing docs or sample 
code, or create useful and meaningful programming problems and 
assignments. Providing a 'teacher's manual' for the current 
documentation will not suffice; what's needed are teaching tools 
designed from scratch.

I really hope that the company can afford to risk trying to get ahead 
of the curve and move from reaction to proaction.

Peace,

    John

John L. Tenny, Ph.D.
Flowing Thought Educational Solutions
eCOVE: The Observation Toolkit Software
www.ecove.net
jtenny at flowing-thought.com
1-888-363-2683
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