reference manual need
Andrew C. Greenberg
werdna at mucow.com
Mon May 21 05:27:12 UTC 2001
I would like to suggest the possibility that a reference manual
slavishly integrated to the structure of Classes and methods may be too
much and not enough. I echo the sentiment that I'd like to see
annotations of that structure reflected back in the image as class and
method comments (or perhaps comment methods where more elaborate
discussion is desired). However, I have serious doubts that a
comprehensive reference manual by extrapolating all that information in
printed form will be either useful or helpful. I fear it may be too
much and not enough.
For the record, all the tables Squeak Quick Reference were built
automatically with some workspace code, and then massaged at length.
The workspace code intentionally eliminated redefined methods in
subclasses, and made some other simplifying assumptions. But I
discovered that the document was useless pedagogically until I pruned a
large number of obscure or redundant methods.
Clearly, this is a tricky business. Prune too much, and the document
becomes a mere primer. Prune too little, and the reference becomes
virtually indistinguishable from a printOut -- a static substitute for
the browser.
The point is that not all classes are important for individual
discussion, and not all methods are important for individual
discussion -- at least from a pedagogical point of view. Further, that
there are times when class and method structure is less important than
free-form prose with some clear examples.
The most important thing a teacher can do, I believe, is identify where
chunks of information should be combined and summarized, and where a
detailed analysis is truly profitable. A good reference should do
likewise.
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