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Annotation of 43BSDReno/share/doc/usd/02.learn/p3, revision 1.1

1.1     ! root        1: .\"    @(#)p3  6.1 (Berkeley) 5/23/86
        !             2: .\"
        !             3: .NH
        !             4: Scripts.
        !             5: .PP
        !             6: As mentioned above, the present scripts try
        !             7: at most
        !             8: to follow a three-track theory.  Thus little
        !             9: of the potential complexity of the possible directed graph
        !            10: is employed, since
        !            11: care must be taken in lesson construction to see
        !            12: that every necessary fact is presented in
        !            13: every possible path through the units.  In addition,
        !            14: it is desirable that every unit have alternate successors
        !            15: to deal with student errors.
        !            16: .PP
        !            17: In most existing courses, the first few lessons
        !            18: are devoted to checking prerequisites.  For example,
        !            19: before the student is allowed to proceed through the editor
        !            20: script the script verifies that the student understands files
        !            21: and is able to type.
        !            22: It is felt that the sooner lack of student preparation
        !            23: is detected, the easier it will be on the student.
        !            24: Anyone proceeding through the scripts
        !            25: should be getting mostly correct answers; otherwise, the
        !            26: system will be unsatisfactory both because the wrong
        !            27: habits are being learned and because the
        !            28: scripts make little effort to deal with wrong answers.
        !            29: Unprepared students should not be encouraged
        !            30: to continue with scripts.
        !            31: .PP
        !            32: There are some preliminary items which the student must
        !            33: know before any scripts can be tried.  In particular,
        !            34: the student must know how to connect to
        !            35: a
        !            36: .UX
        !            37: system,
        !            38: set the terminal properly,
        !            39: log in,
        !            40: and execute simple commands (e.g.,
        !            41: .ul
        !            42: learn
        !            43: itself).
        !            44: In addition, the character erase and line kill conventions
        !            45: (# and @) should be known.
        !            46: It is hard to see how this much could be taught by
        !            47: computer-aided instruction, since a student who
        !            48: does not know these basic skills will not be able
        !            49: to run the learning program.
        !            50: A brief description on paper is provided (see Appendix A), although
        !            51: assistance will be needed for the first few
        !            52: minutes.  This assistance, however, need not be highly skilled.
        !            53: .PP
        !            54: The first script in the current set deals with files.  It assumes
        !            55: the basic knowledge above and teaches the student about
        !            56: the
        !            57: .I ls ,
        !            58: .I cat ,
        !            59: .I mv ,
        !            60: .I rm ,
        !            61: .I cp
        !            62: and
        !            63: .I diff
        !            64: commands.
        !            65: .tr ~
        !            66: It also deals with the abbreviation characters *, ?, and [\ ]
        !            67: in file names.
        !            68: It does not cover pipes or I/O redirection,
        !            69: nor does it present the many options
        !            70: on the
        !            71: .ul
        !            72: ls
        !            73: command.
        !            74: .PP
        !            75: This script contains 31 lessons
        !            76: in the fast track;
        !            77: two are
        !            78: intended as prerequisite checks,
        !            79: seven are review exercises.
        !            80: There are a total of 75 lessons in all three tracks,
        !            81: and the instructional passages typed at the student
        !            82: to begin each lesson total 4,476 words.  The average
        !            83: lesson thus begins with a 60-word message.
        !            84: In general, the fast track lessons have somewhat longer
        !            85: introductions, and the slow tracks somewhat shorter ones.
        !            86: The longest message is 144 words and the shortest 14.
        !            87: .PP
        !            88: The second script trains students in the use
        !            89: of the
        !            90: .UX
        !            91: context editor
        !            92: .I ed ,
        !            93: a sophisticated editor
        !            94: using regular expressions for searching.
        !            95: .[
        !            96: ritchie thompson unix  seventh edition 1978
        !            97: %O See section \f2ed\f1 (1).
        !            98: .]
        !            99: All editor
        !           100: features except encryption, mark names and `;' in addressing
        !           101: are covered.
        !           102: The fast track contains 2 prerequisite checks,
        !           103: 93 lessons, and a review lesson.
        !           104: It is supplemented by 146 additional lessons in other tracks.
        !           105: .PP
        !           106: A comparison of sizes may be of interest.  The
        !           107: .ul
        !           108: ed
        !           109: description
        !           110: in the reference manual is 2,572 words long.  The
        !           111: .ul
        !           112: ed
        !           113: tutorial
        !           114: .[
        !           115: kernighan editor tutorial 1974
        !           116: .]
        !           117: is 6,138 words long.  
        !           118: The fast track through
        !           119: the
        !           120: .ul
        !           121: ed
        !           122: script is 7,407 words of explanatory messages, and the
        !           123: total
        !           124: .ul
        !           125: ed
        !           126: script, 242 lessons, 
        !           127: has 15,615 words.
        !           128: The average
        !           129: .ul
        !           130: ed
        !           131: lesson is thus also about 60 words; the largest
        !           132: is 171 words and the smallest 10.
        !           133: The
        !           134: original
        !           135: .ul
        !           136: ed
        !           137: script represents about three man-weeks of effort.
        !           138: .PP
        !           139: The advanced file handling script deals with
        !           140: .ul
        !           141: ls
        !           142: options,
        !           143: I/O diversion, pipes, and supporting programs like
        !           144: .I pr ,
        !           145: .I wc ,
        !           146: .I tail ,
        !           147: .I spell
        !           148: and
        !           149: .I grep .
        !           150: (The basic file handling script is a prerequisite.)
        !           151: It is not as refined as the first two scripts;
        !           152: this is reflected at least partly in the fact that
        !           153: it provides much less of a full three-track sequence
        !           154: than they do.
        !           155: On the other hand,
        !           156: since it is perceived as ``advanced,''
        !           157: it is hoped that the student will have somewhat
        !           158: more sophistication
        !           159: and be better able to cope with it at a reasonably
        !           160: high level of performance.
        !           161: .PP
        !           162: A fourth script covers the
        !           163: .ul
        !           164: eqn
        !           165: language for typing mathematics.
        !           166: This script must be run on a terminal capable of printing
        !           167: mathematics, for instance the DASI 300 and similar Diablo-based
        !           168: terminals, or the nearly extinct Model 37 teletype.
        !           169: Again, this script is relatively short of tracks:
        !           170: of 76 lessons, only 17 are in the second track and 2
        !           171: in the third track.
        !           172: Most of these provide additional practice for students
        !           173: who are having trouble in the first track.
        !           174: .PP
        !           175: The
        !           176: .I \-ms
        !           177: script for formatting macros
        !           178: is a short one-track only script.
        !           179: The macro package it describes is no longer the standard,
        !           180: so this script will undoubtedly be superseded
        !           181: in the future.
        !           182: Furthermore, the linear style of a single learn script is somewhat
        !           183: inappropriate for the macros, since the macro package is composed of many
        !           184: independent features, and few users need all of them.
        !           185: It would be better to have a selection of short lesson
        !           186: sequences dealing with the features independently.
        !           187: .PP
        !           188: The script on C is in a state of transition.
        !           189: It was originally designed to follow
        !           190: a tutorial on C,
        !           191: but that document has since become obsolete.
        !           192: The current script has been partially converted
        !           193: to follow the order of presentation in
        !           194: .ul
        !           195: The C Programming Language,
        !           196: .[
        !           197: ritchie kernighan programming 1978 prentice hall
        !           198: .]
        !           199: but this job is not complete.
        !           200: The C script was never intended to teach C;
        !           201: rather it is supposed to be a series of exercises
        !           202: for which the computer provides checking and
        !           203: (upon success) a suggested solution.
        !           204: .PP
        !           205: This combination of scripts covers much of the material which any
        !           206: .UX
        !           207: user
        !           208: will need to know
        !           209: to make effective use of the system.
        !           210: With enlargement of the advanced files
        !           211: course to include more on the command interpreter, there
        !           212: will be a relatively complete introduction to
        !           213: .UX
        !           214: available via
        !           215: .ul
        !           216: learn.
        !           217: Although we make no pretense that 
        !           218: .ul
        !           219: learn
        !           220: will replace other instructional materials,
        !           221: it should provide a useful supplement to existing tutorials and reference manuals.

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