Does SDD suck or what? (2 Viewers)

[Mitcho1989]

man WTF?? that pic is fuckin stupid and ridiculously nerdy

youre weird

 

[Starcraftmazter]

man WTF?? that pic is fuckin stupid and ridiculously nerdy

youre weird

 

[sbhandula]

Sdd Sucks!

 

[Mitcho1989]

Sdd Sucks!

thankyou!!! haha

 

[Pincus]

SDD does suck (to some extent).

The main thing which shits me is pseudo code. Why bother with pseudo code, when you can do it in a c-like language? It looks 1000 times better, and far easier to read.

There is some really, really boring shit in SDD... Not that i'm saying it's all rubish/useless.

I expected it to be a fun subject, but unfortunately there appears to be more designing than developing.

 

[Starcraftmazter]

The main thing which shits me is pseudo code. Why bother with pseudo code, when you can do it in a c-like language? It looks 1000 times better, and far easier to read.

Because before you start coding any serious program, you need to set out it's logic. Pseudocode is good for doing that, and is non-language specific - ie. can be converted into any language.

Believe me, pseudocode is a very very useful way of expressing complex algorithms in simple ways.

I expected it to be a fun subject, but unfortunately there appears to be more designing than developing.

We have a saying in this game I play, "if you want to have a war with someone, you can't run at them naked with your dick flapping in the air. You need to plan, plan - and plan some more.".

The most important aspect of making programs, is designing them. Otherwise it runs into a titanic mess long before you can finish it.

 

[ronnknee]

Yea our Software Design class is boring
Reading from the textbook makes me sleepy

 

[Pincus]

Because before you start coding any serious program, you need to set out it's logic. Pseudocode is good for doing that, and is non-language specific - ie. can be converted into any language.

Believe me, pseudocode is a very very useful way of expressing complex algorithms in simple ways.

I know, and i'm not saying the planning is bad, but the fake pseudo language used. I get sick of the begin, end etc instead of { }. I didn't mean skip the planning and implement it in a real language immediately.

The most important aspect of making programs, is designing them. Otherwise it runs into a titanic mess long before you can finish it.

Yeah, no doubt, i'm just saying we should do more developing than designing. I know people who have done SDD, and have got little to no programming experience out of it, which just sucks. I suppose it depends on the teacher.

 

[me121]

I have never done SDD, however I just took a look at the syllabus and it looks quite good. I wish I had done it, however that said, I don't think my school would have allowed me too (1 student is not enough for a class).

I just looked at the content section, and does the syllabus say you even need to learn a programming language at all?

But yeh I must admit, I think teacher quality is a big issue and one that only the government can address (for public education).

 

[Starcraftmazter]

I know, and i'm not saying the planning is bad, but the fake pseudo language used. I get sick of the begin, end etc instead of { }. I didn't mean skip the planning and implement it in a real language immediately.

True, I dislike that too. But really, pseducode is so simple, it's not crucial, because you can summarise many functions or lines of code by making stuff up.
I mainly write pseudocode however I want Unfortunately the HSC people want to enforce stupidity =/

But hey, it could be worse.

Yeah, no doubt, i'm just saying we should do more developing than designing. I know people who have done SDD, and have got little to no programming experience out of it, which just sucks. I suppose it depends on the teacher.

IMO, if you want to do programming, it's best to do it on your own during HS (in addition to SDD, that is). From having just done my first semester at university, they tech everything about programming from ground up here, assuming no prior knowledge.
And while I would say doing SDD with a good teacher would be a tremendous benefit, it seems as though there is a major fallout between the BOS and Universities, and not only in regards to software. It's getting to the point that the universities aren't going to accept anything you did in highschool as meaningful, even maths and science, because they hold highschools in very low opinion over the content which BOS forces them to teach.

What I'm trying to say, is that if you want to do programming, just hang in there till university - there is an absolute buttload of programming here, once you're doing a programming course, you'll be programming constantly - I guarantee it.

But for now, I recommend you start learning other languages (other than VB) on your own.

I just looked at the content section, and does the syllabus say you even need to learn a programming language at all?

I'm pretty sure it's some kind of an unofficial standard to do visual basic. Pretty much everyone whom I know did VB for SDD in HS.

That doesn't mean other stuff isn't covered though, our teacher devoted quite a bit of time to teaching PHP for example.

I think they use VB simply because it's easy to demonstrate a lot of the concepts which are in the subject using the VB language and IDE.


I remember making snake was also a lot of fun

 

[mythical chaos]

for all you n00bz out there,

SDD is one of the easiest subjects on the planet! I dropped it because it was too easy and I wasn't learning anything as my teacher was a total noob.

And for all you fags thinking "why wouldn't you keep it if it was easy?", well I don't need a high UAI because Im not going to Uni. I should still end up getting >97 as long as I can improve my English mark.

 

[me121]

SDD is one of the easiest subjects on the planet!

my philosophy is if you ever think a subject is too easy, then you arn't trying hard enough.

 

[live.fast]

LOL SDD doesn't suck.. that much.

Nah, it's seriously a nice way of getting a band 6. Provided, of course, that you have a pretty good teacher. Our teacher was awesome for SDD; as a result, most of our class of like.. 9 kids, achieved band 6 (only like two band 5's).

 

[Patar]

Well, I like our software course. The syllabus doesnt say anything about actual programming but well... you can apply all your theoretical knowledge of the course outside school.

I like learning it because we have the honour of having someone who knows what he's talking about - Allan Fowler, he's worked in the industry for years and wrote the Heinemann textbooks for the Preliminary and HSC course of Software Design and Development.

He makes the lessons interesting, and when he's teaching the stuff he links it to relevant stuff like "I was working on a project where this happened," etc, and you feel like there's a point to what's being said.

It's a shame he's retiring when we leave, he's seeing us out until the end of Term 3.
Mr Fowler said the way the course works is that you should be able to apply its generic knowledge to learn any programming language.

 

[me121]

Well, I like our software course. The syllabus doesnt say anything about actual programming but well... you can apply all your theoretical knowledge of the course outside school.

I like learning it because we have the honour of having someone who knows what he's talking about - Allan Fowler, he's worked in the industry for years and wrote the Heinemann textbooks for the Preliminary and HSC course of Software Design and Development.

He makes the lessons interesting, and when he's teaching the stuff he links it to relevant stuff like "I was working on a project where this happened," etc, and you feel like there's a point to what's being said.

It's a shame he's retiring when we leave, he's seeing us out until the end of Term 3.
Mr Fowler said the way the course works is that you should be able to apply its generic knowledge to learn any programming language.

He sounds like a pretty good teacher, and the industry experience is a huge bonus. Shame he is retiring.

 

[Knowingnothing]

How could you like SDD!? It's drive me and my class nuts. We're just not learning anything. Our teacher gives us like 5 pages of sheets every lesson and basically rushes through everything. Too stressed with everything else to care until the exam comes. And, I'm not kidding it's a whole freaking pile of paper.

Have our Trials on it, Wednesday afternoon. Any advice for how I should cram? I have a "Samuel Davis" and an "Excel" book. Just hoping that will be enough, because I doubt I would be able to get through about 20cm of software paper.

Going to have to work hard for that Band 6 for me.

 

[dwarven]

i did SDD in yr 11
it was AWESOME easily the best subject i did in yr 11

i had to drop it coz i had too many units

we did 50% prac and 50% theory

we had a really good teacher. he knew what he was doing and made the lessons interesting.

so yea SDD soo doesnt suck

 

[Mystique1]

SDD is the best subject ever =\
The course doesnt outline you have to do practical work(coding), i guess your teachers just dont know how to code and prefer to do the DESIGN part.

At my school we do 50/50 on both and we're learning PHP/MYSQL.
Also: VB SUCKS, ITS POINTLESS. At least go learn C++, Java or PHP

 

[zvyx]

ooh lucky Patar

For me software is an excellent subject to get good marks in; however the major project was a little of a bummer as I proposed to include one too many features and I ended up with most of the additional features not working :S

It's a rather theoretical subject, and as the above ppl have mentioned, its meant to be a general course on software design and development; its not called Making games in C++, or The Ultimate Course in Programming, and anyway the main stuff so I hear is in uni

Although everyone loves to bag out VB6 [including everyone doing software in year 11 and 12 plus the teacher due to our abysmal result in the UNSW ProgComp] it's generally more than enough for the programs you're intending to handle. It provides a nice windows environment, allows you to apply screen design concepts, and it contains all the essential stuff you need to know about programming in general. It's also easy to learn, and though it isn't an industry standard or anything, it's still being used to develop some useful stuff



p.s. starcraftmazter, do you play soldat? if not, someone is using ur nick

 

[Happydevil]

The theory side of the subject is mostly irrelevant, the practical work you do should reflect a workplace style with client based work. The subject is incredibly flawed. Like, I'm good at it and usually come either 1st, 2nd or 3rd, but FUCK, the theory tests fuck me over. My teacher puts stuff she hasn't taught us an expects us to answer them, then if you question her, she goes all stupid on you.

Got my trial test tomorrow. I'm fucked for it. Got 92% for my Major Work though.