[ale] [OT] Helping others learn C, D, X, Y, Z, EIEIO...

[Bruno Bronosky]

I've been having a lot of fun doing Code Katas for my weaker languages on
http://exercism.io

Every kata has me think, "I know how I'd do this in Python, but
[Objective-C, Ruby, C, etc.] is a bit strange to me." The community there
is pretty awesome. Check it out.

On Tuesday, December 15, 2015, leam hall <leamhall at gmail.com> wrote:

> Scott, that does bring up a good point. Those of you offering advanced
> mentoring may want to establish a minimal requirements list, or a way
> to assess someone's skills before mutually committing time.
>
> I'd have no problem with you telling me I'm not ready, especially if
> you could point out things I could do to get ready!
>
>
>
> On Tue, Dec 15, 2015 at 12:25 PM, Scott M. Jones <eff at dragoncon.org
> <javascript:;>> wrote:
> > I could offer the following topics but you'll need a good C background.
> >
> > - Data structures, associated algorithms, Big-O Notation
> >
> > - Beginner compiler design, at least stack vs. heap but if you want,
> > BNF, lex, yacc, etc.
> >
> > - Beginner thread coding and thread safety
> >
> >
> > Sample data structure exercise, we need to do this kind of thing to make
> > it real:
> >
> > Write 'llproc' (linked list processor) in C with the following command
> > line options:
> >
> > llproc [-d] file1 file2
> >
> > llproc will construct a linked list of structs using newline-terminated
> > strings from file1 with the following definition:
> >
> > struct {
> >    int line_no;  /* Line number in file1 */
> >    char *line;
> > }
> >
> > Linked list will be parsed for each line in file2 and any exact matches
> > will be deleted from the linked list, otherwise a warning is written to
> > STDOUT if no matches.  Remaining linked list will be traversed and
> > written to STDOUT after file2 is processed.  '-d' option prints every
> > insert/delete, otherwise only warnings and the final list are printed.
> >
> > All linked list access must be through functional API (with add, search,
> > delete, iterate_all, etc.).  NOT COOL to put everything in main()!  No
> > goto, setjmp, or longjmp either.  Use malloc/free for all list elements
> > and string storage.
> >
> > Students will present solutions via code walkthrough to everyone.  No
> > grading after the fact.  Instructor to make solution available after
> > walkthroughs.
> >
> > BONUS: Solution survives fuzzing attempts with very long strings; only
> > acceptable failure modes are invalid command line options, file not
> > found, or out of memory, all handled gracefully.  Add an arbitrary
> > number of files with file3 being tacked on to the end of the list, file4
> > then being deleted from the list, etc., to prove that memory is being
> > free'd correctly.
> >
> >
> > On 12/15/15 7:06 AM, Leam Hall wrote:
> >> I'd like to encourage those of you who are decent to very good
> >> programmers to consider what we're doing as a calling.
> >>
> >> Recently I took a C based pre-test for a software security course
> >> (https://class.coursera.org/softwaresec-008). Realizing that I guessed
> >> more than I was comfortable with is one of the big things that drove me
> >> to re-learn C. That, and a stack of books from previous failed attempts.
> >> I've resolved to either learn C or give away the books. Being a
> >> bookworm, that's motivation!
> >>
> >> Your conversations have pointed out something many of us unskilled
> >> programmers have heard of; there are other skills and tools to be
> >> learned when moving from example code in a book to putting "coder" on a
> >> resume. Things like lint, TDD, gmake, coding standards, etc.
> >>
> >> Would you consider a "Next Steps" course starting in April or May? While
> >> the LCTHW-90DW is a 3 month challenge, it is based off the learning idea
> >> that the early stages of any new and difficult project are discouraging.
> >> With just 2-4 hours of C it can be hard to glimpse the possibility of
> >> becoming a kernel hacker. However, there comes a point (~20 hours per
> >> Josh Kaufman) where you're still a rank beginner but things aren't so
> >> painful.
> >>
> >> By the time someone is through the 90 day challenge they will have
> >> enough discipline and pleasure to take on new tools. Maybe you run a one
> >> month "TDD with C" program, or "Dive into Pointers"? Or maybe you like
> >> some of the Coursera classes and offer to help mentor alongside the
> >> classwork? The security class is one option, there are Algorithm
> >> classes, Java classes, and a bunch of Python things going.
> >>
> >> There seem to be several of you who are good at this. Could you talk
> >> amongst yourselves, come up with a list of "new programmers should have
> >> these skills", and pick one to mentor? If each of you did one to two
> >> "skill months" a year, and there were 4-6 of you, we could just about
> >> fill the year!
> >>
> >> Here are some of the things that have come to mind while reading your
> >> notes.
> >>
> >>     Pointers
> >>     Kernel module basics
> >>     TDD
> >>     Secure coding
> >>     Large project management (splint, gmake, SDLC)
> >>     Assembler basics
> >>     Code profiling (gdb, valgrind)
> >>     Systems programming on Linux
> >>     Algorithms
> >>
> >> Thoughts? Could we go so far as to resurrect a project like splint or
> >> something and bring it forward? Or help people transition into kernel
> >> janitors?
> >>
> >> Leam
> >
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>
>
> --
> Mind on a Mission
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-- 
.!# BrunoBronosky #!.
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