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=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID 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: 10db24,2243248c6a74be5 X-Google-Attributes: gid10db24,public X-Google-Thread: 1014db,6154de2e240de72a X-Google-Attributes: gid1014db,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,97188312486d4578 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: phil@milepost.com (Phil Howard) Subject: Re: Should I learn C or Pascal? Date: 1996/07/21 Message-ID: <4su73k$r68@sunsrv12.clr.com>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 169341993 distribution: world references: <4sord0$l0k@solaria.cc.gatech.edu> <4su04n$fa6@hermes.acs.unt.edu> organization: Milepost Internet Services newsgroups: comp.lang.c,comp.lang.c++,comp.lang.ada,comp.edu Date: 1996-07-21T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: On 21 Jul 1996 19:24:07 GMT Steve Tate (srt@zaphod.csci.unt.edu) wrote: | I believe that pseudo-code is better for getting across general | principles without getting bogged down in implementation details. As | another reason to promote pseudocode, I suggest in a half-serious way | that it is less likely to have people say things like this last | poster. To explain that a little better: you can never, EVER "test | the correctness" of an *algorithm* by executing it. I don't care how | you design your test cases, the ONLY way to show the correctness of an | algorithm is with a formal mathematical proof. Of course, | implementations are good for demonstrating the INcorrectness of some | algorithms! :-) Even that isn't right. I can send you bad code and _claim_ it to be an implementation of _any_ algorithm, thus disproving. Not! There are multiple issues in programming that one needs to deal with. There are abstract concepts (what data structure do I need to use?) and concrete concepts (how do I format the output to be readable?) involved. Programming is essentially the bringing together of these concepts. The program is thus the bridge between the abstract and the concrete. You need to learn and understand both. Programming languages are just tools. The right tools for the job do work better, but you have to know how to choose the correct tool and also how to use that correct tool in the correct way. Often these things are not yet answered for what you may need to do. Thus you need to look at programming also as a problem solving situation and that takes a good foundational understanding of all aspects. That includes the abstract, the concrete, and the tools for making programs that are the bridges. -- Phil Howard KA9WGN +-------------------------------------------------------+ Linux Consultant | Linux installation, configuration, administration, | Milepost Services | monitoring, maintenance, and diagnostic services. | phil@milepost.com +-------------------------------------------------------+