Subj : Re: SSH on BBSes
To   : Nightfox
From : Arelor
Date : Sun Apr 17 2022 07:04:27

  Re: Re: SSH on BBSes
  By: Nightfox to boraxman on Sat Apr 16 2022 06:55 pm

 >   Re: Re: SSH on BBSes
 >   By: boraxman to Nightfox on Sun Apr 17 2022 01:09 pm
 > 
 >  bo> People should still learn basic concepts, such as what files are,
 >  bo> directories, how to interpret file sizes, where files go, copying and
 >  bo> moving, how to create and extract archives. Also some basic programming
 >  bo> perhaps python but I'm not sure. BASIC was ubiquitous when I was young,
 >  bo> if you learned that, you could get your computer to do whatever
 >  bo> computation you wanted. I'm not sure what the modern equivalent is, and
 >  bo> perhaps the fact there isn't one is a problem.
 > 
 >  bo> And this is where things went wrong, we went from computers which by
 >  bo> default when you started them, you could program and instruct, to ones
 >  bo> which are now platforms, only a host for someone elses program.
 > 
 > I don't think people should have to know how to program in order to use a
 > computer, but it's good to know the basic concepts about what files &
 > directories are, how to run programs, etc..  IMO, knowing how to program vs.
 > using a computer is like having mechanic skills vs. just knowing how to driv
 > car.  You don't have to be a mechanic to drive a car - and I don't think a
 > computer user would necessarily have to know how to write software.  But the
 > more you know, more power to you.  Computer operating systems these days at
 > least have some kind of scripting language - Linux and Mac OS let you write
 > Bash scripts, at least; Windows has its batch language and now PowerShell
 > (starting a few versions back).
 > 
 > Nightfox

I don't think end-users should be expected to know how to code. However,
knowing even some few basics is a huge improvement for your productivity.

Let's say you are designing a car part and want an estimation of how long it is
going to survive under load, or you want to design a car part which is
guaranteed to survive X years under load. You either:

1) Pull ten sheets of paper and a pen and make numbers until you get what you
need, then your boss fires you because you are a time waster.

2) Buy a program (or convince your boss to buy a program) that does the
calculations for you.

3) Write a 20 lines script in Maxima that does the calculations for you for
free.

The main reason why I really got into computers in College is that most
Engineering problems can be reduced to iterative calculations that you can
solve with a simple script deployed in a minute. "Nowadays, all every science
is Computer Science," as they used to say.

This is the reason why they teach C to mechanical Engineers at college. You
don't need it as long as you can buy programs that the the computing for you,
but it is a very handy skill to have.


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