[Sugar-devel] Idea for a New Activity in Sugar: To code and run C, C++ programs

[S. Daniel Francis]

Hi Kartik,
2012/8/5 Kartik Kumar <kartik.peri at gmail.com>:
> Hi All,
>
> I was thinking of an Activity for Sugar using which children can write
> programs in C and C++ and execute them.

I think C/C++ aren't so easy for children, Python is better to
introduce programming on children. But I really appreciate you are
interested in it, I started learning Python about 2 years ago when I
was 11-12 years old and I know it isn't impossible, last year I
learned a few of C but I can do the same things with Python more
easily, and my C programs often finished in Segmentation Fault, that's
not very "motivating".

>This is similar to Pippy activity
> but this activity will use GCC for compilation and execution of these
> programs created by children.

Maybe you already know C components aren't recommended at the Sugar
activities, when there's C code for speed, I always suggest to compile
for i386 (architecture of XO-1.0 and XO-1.5) and use a conditional for
load an alternative module written in Python on other architectures.
But there isn't so easy re-write Gcc in Python...

>
> We can present them with such features:
> 1. Use pre-existing code snippets( from Journal)
> 2. Write custom code
> 3. Compilation and Execution
>
> Please provide your inputs whether this seems useful with classroom
> perspective and is worth taking it further?

There are too few Teachers-Programmers for teach it, and there are few
students with the necessary will, intelligence and interest for learn
C.
You generated in me an idea: would be good an activity for write/test
web developments, that could be more easy and motivating than C, and
there are more people qualified for teach it. Many people say the Web
development has got a big future.

Cheers.

~danielf