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: 103376,7fb761492573daee X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: fac41,a9f32f7699236ef1 X-Google-Attributes: gidfac41,public X-Google-Thread: 10db24,a9f32f7699236ef1 X-Google-Attributes: gid10db24,public From: neil@aldur.demon.co.uk (Neil Wilson) Subject: Re: Which first-course languages? (was: What schools use Eiffel (was: No top schools use Ada)) ? Date: 1995/04/21 Message-ID: #1/1 X-Deja-AN: 101283212 sender: usenet@demon.co.uk references: <3mq0jd$r10@kaiwan009.kaiwan.com> x-posting-host: aldur.demon.co.uk organization: Poledra's Cottage newsgroups: comp.lang.eiffel,comp.lang.ada,comp.edu Date: 1995-04-21T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: Spencer Allain (spencer@ERA.COM) wrote: : Actually, anyone who enjoys working with Eiffel, should be thankful for : Modula-2 as many of the concepts came from there, not C. Only in the fact that Ada and Modula were both derived from Pascal ideas. Eiffel (particularly its syntax) was influenced in part by Ada along with many other languages and paradigms (plus a few unique ideas of its own). I have never heard Modula-2 mentioned in that list. Modula-2 is a strange language. It only got anywhere because it is easier to change a Pascal compiler into a Modula-2 compiler than an Ada-83 one. Given the way languages work out, is there a correlation between how hard it is to create a compiler for a language and how successful it is? I agree with Spencer that employing people on the basis of knowing a particular language is a short-sighted move. It's a bit like employing a driver on the basis that he can drive a Ford - it doesn't make him a good driver and it doesn't mean he can't drive a Vauxhall. Unfortunately all the employment agencies and every employer I've met works this way. If you are any sort of software designer you can have C sorted in a week at the most (K&R is only 190 pages long - a couple of hours read). Concepts should come before syntax. -- Neil Wilson (neil@aldur.demon.co.uk) ...Arrive without travelling, Ossett, Yorkshire, UK see all without looking...