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Agreed. I learned this in our new student orientation. "If you can't recompile a linux kernel by the time you graduate, you have learned nothing. Oh, yeah, al
by ransom1538 9y ago
Agreed. I learned this in our new student orientation.
"If you can't recompile a linux kernel by the time you graduate, you have learned nothing. Oh, yeah, also, we wont teach you that - it's just something you will run into. "
-- Professor Norman S. Matloff
- ams6110 9y agoCompiling a linux kernel is just following a set of instructions. You don't need to know anything about computer science to do that.
- jstimpfle 9y agoThe thing with instructions is always this: The first instant something goes wrong while following them you have to give up if you don't know quite a bit about what you're doing anyway.
- TheSpiceIsLife 9y agoI believe I'm not the only one who, when something goes wrong, I become more determined and think "I might learn something here" followed by searching the internet for things related to what went wrong.
- taphangum 9y agoThis is basically how I learned to program.
- afarrell 9y agoRight, but that takes it from "just following instructions" to a thing that requires you to build a mental model of the system you're working with. It also requires you to have confidence that you will find the answer in bounded time.
- erikbye 9y agoAnyone who talks about compiling the Linux kernel as a measure of difficulty or knowledge obviously knows nothing. I could teach my 9-year-old nephew how to do that.
- ransom1538 9y agoArrogance crystallized. Don't you have a bridge to tend to?
- ebfd 9y agoI read that as his point. Your CS instructors won't explicitly teach you how to run "make" and select a couple configuration options, but if you reach the end of your studies without having picked that up, you probably won't make for a very good programmer.