 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
||||
|
|
|
|
Classic Thinking Games
About the Use of Technology... Technology has changed the way mathematics is done. Similarly, technology has changed the way mathematics should be learned. The REAL Mathematics™ series balances a student's need to learn basic skills with the need to learn how technology is used to solve real mathematical problems. The process of learning and doing real mathematics can be significantly enhanced with calculator and computer support. The problems that can be addressed with this support have been found to be more meaningful to students than many of those addressed without this support. Following are suggestions for including this support as you work with the material in the REAL Mathematics™ series. Calculators Using a calculator to support the learning of mathematics is no longer a debatable topic—there is no reason not to use one. Once a student fully understands a basic skill, there is little reason to exercise that skill by hand if it can be easily done on a calculator. Many of the problems in the REAL Mathematics series can be more successfully completed with the use of a calculator. Programming Languages There are many programming languages available today. Most of them are general-purpose languages, and each has advantages not provided by the others. BASIC was created in 1964 and was notable for being very easy to learn. That advantage remains important today. It’s not the best language for graphics and it’s not the best language for artificial intelligence, but it’s an excellent choice for those not yet familiar with programming. The programming examples in the first two books of the REAL Mathematics series are written using the BASIC programming language. The Java programming language was released by Sun Microsystems, Inc. in 1996. Although not as easy to learn as BASIC, Java has many advantages. The Java language is a general-purpose, object-oriented language— programs are organized around “objects” rather than “actions” and data rather than logic. Java is a cross-platform language—programs can be executed on any computer using any operating system. Java creates executable content that is easily distributed by the Internet. The language is exceptionally powerful, is widely used in real applications, and it’s free. All of the programming examples in this text are written using the Java language.Please note that this text is an excellent supplement to a course in Java, but it is not intended to teach the Java language. It simply uses Java to illustrate programs when appropriate for the discussion of classic thinking games. If you are already using C, C++, or another general-purpose language, don’t change. The programming examples in this series are straightforward programs that you can readily convert to the language of your choice. How to obtain a free copy of Java Java is available as a free download from Sun Microsystems, Inc. You can obtain a free copy of the language and all instructions needed for installation at http://Java.sun.com/downloads/. All of the programming examples in this book were written using Java version J2SE 1.5.0.
|
|
|||||
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
|||||
|
|
 |