95% of Nothing is Still Nothing

[the inmates are playing cards and betting with cigarettes]
Martini: [rips a cigarette in half] I bet a nickel.
McMurphy: Dime’s the limit, Martini.
Martini: I bet a dime.
[Puts the two halves onto the table]
McMurphy: This is not a dime, Martini. This is a dime.
[shows a whole cigarette]
McMurphy: If you break it in half, you don’t get two nickels, you get shit. Try and smoke it. You understand?
Martini: Yes.
McMurphy: You don’t understand.

Ahh, those magic words that are the saving grace of most students: Partial Credit. You tried. You got most of what you were supposed to understand. We give you a consolation prize. Better luck next time!

That does not work for programming an application. Nintey-five percent of an application does not give you an application, it gives you a bunch of weird looking text.

An application either works or it doesn’t. It is boolean. It is either YES or NO.

That is a hard thing to process when you are a student. You are used to getting a C if you just show up a few times a semester. Most coding teachers will give you some credit for trying, but you know in your soul that if you don’t get your program to work, you don’t get most of a program, you get shit.