Learning With D

[Russel Winder]

On Mon, 2011-05-23 at 20:00 +0200, Andrej Mitrovic wrote:
> I think the biggest confusion about pointers comes from its C syntax.
> Otherwise the concept is pretty simple.

Yes and no.  To those that "get it", it is simple and straightforward.
Experience shows that very few people actually "get it".  Syntax is a
factor but not the only one.  The very nature of the concept stumps some
people.

> The best way to explain it is with a lot of short code samples and
> maybe even some simple diagrams. Forget trying to explain pointers
> with walls of text and pretty language.

Diagrams about boxes in which things can be held and arrows pointing
from one box to another are very definitely the tool for maximizing
understanding, along with lots of simple examples of things people can
try out.  There is an almost "visceral" element here, people need lots
and lots of different, simple examples so that they can build a correct
mental model.
 
-- 
Russel.
=============================================================================
Dr Russel Winder      t: +44 20 7585 2200   voip: sip:russel.winder at ekiga.net
41 Buckmaster Road    m: +44 7770 465 077   xmpp: russel at russel.org.uk
London SW11 1EN, UK   w: www.russel.org.uk  skype: russel_winder
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