From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: *** X-Spam-Status: No, score=3.8 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID, RATWARE_MS_HASH,RATWARE_OUTLOOK_NONAME autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 109fba,baaf5f793d03d420 X-Google-Attributes: gid109fba,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,97188312486d4578 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: fc89c,97188312486d4578 X-Google-Attributes: gidfc89c,public X-Google-Thread: 1014db,6154de2e240de72a X-Google-Attributes: gid1014db,public X-Google-Thread: 123b8d,79cbfdf4caf8a870 X-Google-Attributes: gid123b8d,public From: "Tim Behrendsen" Subject: Re: Should I learn C or Pascal? Date: 1996/07/23 Message-ID: <01bb789e$bd52b2a0$87ee6fce@timpent.airshields.com>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 170446337 references: <4sf9e7$kl7@news.jump.net> <4slt4p$9jj@ns.broadvision.com> <4sokr1$4c9@news.interpath.net> <01bb7687$3ca92080$87ee6fce@timpent.airshields.com> <4t0pcb$poq@nntp.seflin.lib.fl.us> content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 organization: A-SIS mime-version: 1.0 newsgroups: comp.lang.c,comp.lang.c++,comp.unix.programmer,comp.os.dos.programmer,comp.lang.ada Date: 1996-07-23T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: Ralph Silverman wrote in article <4t0pcb$poq@nntp.seflin.lib.fl.us>... > Tim Behrendsen (tim@airshields.com) wrote: > : Scott McMahan - Softbase Systems wrote in > : article <4sokr1$4c9@news.interpath.net>... > : > Patrick Horgan (patrick@broadvision.com) wrote: > : > > : > > : > : and five or six assemblers for the same reason. > : > > : > I'd rather just learn C and port it. Asm isn't as important > : > anymore now that there's so many different platforms. > : > > : > Scott > > : Big disagreement ... assembler is most critical thing any > : programmer can learn. Not because you're going to use it > : every day, but because it will teach you more about what's > : *really* going on than 10 high-level language classes. > > : That's like saying that since most Electronic Engineers use > : ICs, it's not necessary to learn the fundamentals of resisters, > : capaciters, and transisters. > > : Programmers who do not assembly language are dangerous, > : because they do not fundamentally understand what the > : compiler is generating. They believe in "The Myth of the > : Optimizing Compiler", that "compilers are so good nowadays > : that you don't have to worry about writing efficient code. > : If you do have to worry, then get a better compiler." > > a) start low and go high... > b) start high and go low... > > common sense tells us either might work... > experience tells us each has... Uh, so what? The fact that people have learned both ways is completely irrelevent. The important question is what is the best way for the most people, and experience has shown me that it's way better to ground people in foundations of how computers really work. That way they get a sense of the procedural nature of computers, and they are not bogged down with 10 tons of abstract crap before they are prepared to know what it really means.