M is for methodology —the programming sort.
It’s not caught on big, but don’t sell it short.
A sonnet’s too long to capture its worth,
But a Haiku will work, if it’s absent of mirth.

Programming methodology
What economy,
elegance, simplicity,
beauty, poetry.

Cornell was heavily involved in formal programming methodology almost from the start, e.g. with the first text to take correctness issues seriously (Conway & Gries, 1973), automated proof checking (Constable, 1974 onward), an award-winning paper on proving parallel programs correct (Owicki & Gries, 1975), a text on the science of programming (Gries, 1981), fault tolerance (Schneider & students, 1980s), a discrete math text emphasizing calculational logic (Gries & Schneider, 1990s), and a comprehensive text on concurrent programming (Schneider, 1997).

Unfortunately, methodological issues have not been integrated into the undergrad curriculum as expected. In fact, the word “invariant” doesn’t even appear in most intro-to-programming texts. The reason, I think, is that teaching a “science” of programming requires teaching a skill rather than simply facts, and instructors themselves have not been willing to learn the skills. It is a pity, because with suitable education in programming methodology, later courses in data structures, algorithms, etc. become more efficient and effective. Moreover, students are missing the sheer joy and intellectual fun that comes from watching a beautiful algorithm emerge from following a methodology. The elegance, the simplicity, the poetry in programming are missing.

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