Re:My favorite principle for code quality
by fenomas on Wednesday May 23, 2018 @12:59AM
(#17131564)
> never have I seen a student who telegraphs a look of comprehension after seeing an example of classes involving animals
I think it's a classic case of teaching people the answer before the question.
Animal examples explain what types and subtypes are, but the thing that warrants explaining is why and when it's useful to separate things into types and subtypes, and animal examples are terrible for that. If someone asks "should Cat and Dog inherit from Quadruped? Mammal? Pet?" there's no useful answer.
I think it's a classic case of teaching people the answer before the question.
Animal examples explain what types and subtypes are, but the thing that warrants explaining is why and when it's useful to separate things into types and subtypes, and animal examples are terrible for that. If someone asks "should Cat and Dog inherit from Quadruped? Mammal? Pet?" there's no useful answer.