[plt-scheme] Servlet2 and standalone.ss

On Oct 13, 2005, at 4:13 PM, Shriram Krishnamurthi wrote:

>> How about a much smaller change that is much easier to do
>> (specifically, avoiding maintenance of a textbook->language alist):
>> when the current select-your-language dialog comes up, don't have any
>> default chosen, and disable the Next button until something is
>> clicked?
>
> Oh god.  The *only* saving grace in this solution is they will never 
> get
> the thing running, so they can't submit a bug report saying "I can't
> do anything with your stupid environment".
>
>> (Except for maintenance of yet another alist, there is also a problem
>> with people who provide their own language levels: they will have to
>> either tell the students to use some book name that is close to what
>> they use, or tell them to not choose any book and on the second screen
>> choose some language, but then deal with people who will complain
>> about no second screen because they just happened to click on
>> something on the first etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc.)
>
> I think you mean "Apart from", not "Except for".  Virtually nobody 
> provides
> their own language levels.  If they are doing this, they're going to 
> provide
> instructions anyway (eg, what I do w/ PLAI).  They'll cope.  Believe 
> me, if
> they can define a whole language level, they can explain how install 
> it.

I am totally with Shriram. And if you don't like the "book" entry point,
just provide a question/phrase for each entry point and you're done:

  * Are you using the book in conjunction with the HtDP text book?
   [default beginner]

  ...

  * Are you just interested in Scheme?
    [PBS, which we should rename to DBS]

There is no need to do the same for second-level language levels.

-- Matthias