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=0.2 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID,
	REPLYTO_WITHOUT_TO_CC 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: flonesaw@netonecom.net (Arne W. Flones)
Subject: Re: What's the best language to start with? [was: Re: Should I learn
 C or Pascal?]
Date: 1996/07/31
Message-ID: <4tnn9j$8sj@news.netonecom.net>#1/1
X-Deja-AN: 171254011
references: <sperlman-0507961717550001@p121.ezo.net>
 <01bb73e3.1c6a0060$6bf467ce@dave.iceslimited.com>
 <1996Jul20.124025.122789@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu>
 <tequila-2007961836190001@tequila.interlog.com>
 <01bb7b06$311fabc0$87ee6fce@timpent.airshields.com>
 <dewar.838609515@schonberg> <01bb7da1$323102a0$96ee6fcf@timhome2>
organization: Blox Inc
reply-to: flonesaw@netonecom.net
newsgroups: comp.lang.c,comp.lang.c++,comp.unix.programmer,comp.lang.ada
Date: 1996-07-31T00:00:00+00:00
List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>


"Tim Behrendsen" <tim@airshields.com> wrote:
[snip]
>Why do you think
>it's so hard to teach abstractions at the elementary level?
>It's because the students get so wrapped up in the fancy
>terminology, they don't see that its really all smoke and
>mirrors, and the concepts are very, very basic.  If it's
>expressed in fundamental ways, it's very easy to see what
>abstractions are really saying in *real* terms.

I agree.  My first computer was one of those single board computers
that you programmed through a hexadecimal keypad.  The display was a 6
digit hexadecimal LED display.  It had all of 1024 bytes of memory and
a 2K monitor ROM.  I cut my teeth programming it in hexadecimal
machine language. (Who needs an assembler? :-)  That knowledge has
served me well for the two decades since.

Beneath the complexities of of a modern programming language is a very
simple thing--a CPU that doesn't do much, but does it very fast.  The
modern processor is more complex than those early ones, but not much.
It is extremely helpful to understand what the processor is going to
do when you, for instance, add two numbers together.

Computers are not magic.  They are very simple things that can be
easily understood.  When one realizes that all that happens inside a
computer is simple addition, subtraction, bit-shifts, bit-testing and
jumping, all suddenly becomes clear.

Regards,
Arne
flonesaw@netonecom.net