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: f5d71,24233bd1dad4372c,start X-Google-Attributes: gidf5d71,public X-Google-Thread: fac41,24233bd1dad4372c,start X-Google-Attributes: gidfac41,public X-Google-Thread: f43e6,3017a0f3697c6154 X-Google-Attributes: gidf43e6,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,24233bd1dad4372c,start X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: WhiteR@CRPL.Cedar-Rapids.lib.IA.US (Robert S. White) Subject: Re: Software_engineers should know what Language? Date: 1996/12/11 Message-ID: <58lfu5$e6g@flood.weeg.uiowa.edu>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 203445795 references: <57ghrj$jn7@knot.queensu.ca> <58j7om$239@anubis.reed.edu> content-type: Text/Plain; charset=US-ASCII organization: my ISP is the Cedar Rapids Public Library mime-version: 1.0 newsgroups: comp.software-eng,comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.java,comp.lang.eiffel Date: 1996-12-11T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: In article <58j7om$239@anubis.reed.edu>, dmoore@reed.edu says... ...snip... > Again, not true. If you know pascal, great. If you are picking up >the fundamentals of structured programming, pascal is a wonderful >language to start with. However, if you are already familiar with >structured concepts, as anyone even moderately proficient in C, or >C++ is likely to be, it is simply a waste of time to learn pascal. >Software developers are not children. They do not need the compiler >to hold their hand while bludgeoning them with the fundamentals. If >they have bad habits, they should be pointed out, the consequences of >such habits concretely explained, and shown the correct (?) alternatives. >If this does not cure bad habits, pascal will not either. Huh? Sorry - I don't care how smart you are...Don't you think it is a good idea to use computers for what they are best at? Find stupid human oversights early. Use a language/tool which forces you to describe what you intend to do before you do it. Then implement the do it. If the solution does not do it right per the pre-definition (contract) then hope the compiler finds the error rather than a passenger aircraft crash. C or C++ don't do this. Newer (or better thought out) languages like Java, Eiffel and especially Ada (for a long time) do. And yes I have done a lot of C (and some true C++) software. Like it, but don't think they are suitable for programming in the large or for safety critical software. Just for the last 20 years in industy... _______________________________________________________________________ Robert S. White -- an embedded sys software engineer WhiteR@CRPL.Cedar-Rapids.lib.IA.US --long/cheap alternate I-net address