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: 10f6aa,e1e578817780dac2 X-Google-Attributes: gid10f6aa,public 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 From: "Dr E. Buxbaum" Subject: Re: Should I learn C or Pascal? Date: 1996/08/22 Message-ID: <4vi2g7$h8d@falcon.le.ac.uk>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 175858816 references: <4u7hi6$s2b@nntp.seflin.lib.fl.us> <4uo74j$95p@ns.broadvision.com> <4v1r2a$gh6@falcon.le.ac.uk> <4vblm8$df9@electra.saaf.se> <4veqrn$9qi@halon.vggas.com> <1996Aug22.094710@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii organization: University of Leicester, UK (PCFS User) mime-version: 1.0 newsgroups: comp.lang.c,comp.lang.c++,comp.unix.programmer,comp.lang.ada,comp.os.msdos.programmer x-mailer: Mozilla 1.22 (Windows; I; 16bit) Date: 1996-08-22T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: anh@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (TRAN PHAN ANH) wrote: >Just a side comment, by the time this thread and its offsprings end, the >original author will have learned both C and Pascal. :-) The discussion which programming language is best is as old as programming. Any choice reflects the needs and personality of the programmer at least as much as anything else (appart, of course, from the needs and personality of your employer). First, I think, anybody commenting on this issue should state which languages he/she knows. A lot of people advocate the only language they know, not because it is best, but becaus it is the only language they know. I myself started with Fortran on a Cyber mainfraim computer, but when I started to learn Pascal, it was like a revelation and I have not written a single line of Fortran ever since. My second revelation came when I first started working on a microcomputer, getting fast responses, graphical output, a user friendly interface and no hassle with user numbers has thoroughly convinced me of their value. Over the last 10 years I have looked at a few other programming languages like, C, APL, Forth, Basic and Prolog. None of them have had the same 'Aha' effect on me as Pascal did. C in particular is to cryptic for my taste, although I know it good enough to port the odd interesting routine to Pascal. Part of the problem is of course the kind of programs you write. My own work is mainly concerned with the handling and evaluation of scientific data (I am a biochemist). I like a language which allows me to come back to my own programs (or that of other people) after a couple of years and see immediately how things work. Short utility programs, which work close to the hardware, may be a different kettle of fish. Of course, I work exclusively in the MS-DOS world, if I had to port programs between different operating systems, Pascal might not be such a good choice (although with the new Pascal standard and Gnu-Pascal being available for different systems, this may change). On a more partisan tone, I always wondered whether or not the quality of a programming language should not be reflected somehow in the final product. Questions of maintainability, readability, compiler complexity and so on should leave traces in the programs for the end user to see. This would require 2 programs, serving the same purpose, written in different languages. These programs should be generally available and have a function common enough that the comparison can be done without specialist knowledge. I know of only one pair of programs that meet these standards: COMMAND.COM, the shell of the MS-DOS operating system is written in C and Assembler. 4DOS.EXE, its replacement, is written in Pascal, with some C and Assembler. So, if you whant to know which language is better, go ahead and compare these two programs. May I add that my own computer runs 4DOS?