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: fc89c,97188312486d4578 X-Google-Attributes: gidfc89c,public X-Google-Thread: 1014db,6154de2e240de72a X-Google-Attributes: gid1014db,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,97188312486d4578 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: "Tim Behrendsen" Subject: Re: What's the best language to start with? [was: Re: Should I learn C or Pascal?] Date: 1996/08/09 Message-ID: <01bb8608$9a12bc00$87ee6fce@timpent.airshields.com>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 173157325 references: <4uaqqg$203@mulga.cs.mu.OZ.AU> <01bb8536$892ee260$87ee6fce@timpent.airshields.com> <4ud8oo$61t@solutions.solon.com> <01bb8567$4adddbc0$87ee6fce@timpent.airshields.com> <4ue7tm$onn@solutions.solon.com> 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.lang.ada Date: 1996-08-09T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: Peter Seebach wrote in article <4ue7tm$onn@solutions.solon.com>... > In article <01bb8567$4adddbc0$87ee6fce@timpent.airshields.com>, > Tim Behrendsen wrote: > >Peter Seebach wrote in article > ><4ud8oo$61t@solutions.solon.com>... > >> Which is exactly what will happen if they code them in assembly; they > >> can't possibly be learning how algorithms are created if they start with > >> implementing them in a low level language. Algorithms are generally > >> written in natural languages, and written on napkins. > > >What? I guess before HLLs nobody "possibly" learned anything. > > Probably not. We have *no* evidence that people learned or comprehended *any* > algorithms before we developed HLL's. The one I use for more than 90% of my > discussion and analysis of algorithms is called "English", though this is > arguably a misnomer, as I'm not. Well, now you're being silly, especially considering Knuth expressed his books in MIX. > >I don't know about you, but I think about algorithms in terms of > >data flow and manipulation. HLLs or Assembly don't enter into > >either. > > I think about them in terms of descriptions of rules for behavior. At first, but what about when you're ready to implement them? > >We disagree however on the difficulty of assembly. I think it > >is *much* easier, albeit more tedious, than a HLL. > > Huh. Well, see, you're probably comfortable with it. I can't *imagine* being > able to keep track of all of that. I have full confidence in your abilities. :-) -- Tim Behrendsen (tim@airshields.com)