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: fc89c,97188312486d4578 X-Google-Attributes: gidfc89c,public X-Google-Thread: 109fba,baaf5f793d03d420 X-Google-Attributes: gid109fba,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,97188312486d4578 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: 1014db,6154de2e240de72a X-Google-Attributes: gid1014db,public From: rgilbert@unconfigured.xvnews.domain (Bob Gilbert) Subject: Re: What's the best language to start with? [was: Re: Should I learn C or Pascal?] Date: 1996/08/22 Message-ID: <4vhgjk$8kc@zeus.orl.mmc.com>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 175764991 references: <01bb8f19$9a89d820$32ee6fce@timhome2> organization: The unconfigured xvnews people reply-to: rgilbert@unconfigured.xvnews.domain newsgroups: comp.lang.c,comp.lang.c++,comp.unix.programmer,comp.lang.ada Date: 1996-08-22T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: In article <01bb8f19$9a89d820$32ee6fce@timhome2>, "Tim Behrendsen" writes: > > There is no other view than the procedural view. Don't think so. > There is no > such thing as an algorithm that exists in zero time. Even if > there is only one operation, or (n) operations that happen > simultaneously, it is still (n) data transformations that take > place over time. And this relates to procedural vs non-procedural views how???? > How can someone implement *any* sort in assembly language, > and "learn it but not really understand it"? Easy. Understanding the how and why an algorithm works has little to do with implementing it, regardless of the language used. How does being able to implement a sort in assembly provide a student with the ability to prove that the given sort algorithm will work for all cases? Learning to implement, and learning sound implementation techniques (regardless of language) is a separate issue from learning algorithm development and analysis. > To implement it, > you have to do it in great detail, and you simply can't do the > "push and prod until it works" approach to programming, which > is what I think a lot of students do. I think anyone can "push and prod" in any language. -Bob