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=-1.1 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00, PP_MIME_FAKE_ASCII_TEXT,XPRIO autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII X-Google-Thread: 103376,3885b7fd66a1db28,start X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2002-12-20 19:37:19 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!news.mel.connect.com.au!news.syd.connect.com.au!news.bri.connect.com.au!bunyip.cc.uq.edu.au!not-for-mail From: "David Wright" Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Why is Ada NOT a good choice for a beginner to programming? Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 13:30:34 +1000 Organization: University of Queensland Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: d-237-60.stlucia.uq.net.au X-Trace: bunyip.cc.uq.edu.au 1040441837 352 203.101.237.60 (21 Dec 2002 03:37:17 GMT) X-Complaints-To: news@uq.edu.au NNTP-Posting-Date: 21 Dec 2002 03:37:17 GMT X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4522.1200 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4522.1200 Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:32136 Date: 2002-12-21T03:37:17+00:00 List-Id: Hello from DownUnder... I would appreciate some general advice from experienced Ada programmers, particularly (but not only) those using it as a teaching vehicle for Computer Science courses etc. As a young adult investigating learning programming as a hobby (self-teaching on PC, Windows 98), I�ve been lurking for a while and have looked at some relevant Ada sites. My purpose is to gradually and thoroughly learn computing constructs and ultimately to apply same and see how far I can take this interest. I'm not making a career of it... well not yet anyway. To this end, I obviously need to commit to a particular language programming environment (not necessarily a GUI development interface); yet there seem to be several hurdles to even this crucial initial step. It seems that there are three essential threshold requirements, namely: 1) A free (preferably) downloadable programming environment that is installs without fuss and instability 2) Good online and hardcopy support (tutorials and textbooks) for a BEGINNER PROGRAMMER per se, not just beginners with that LANGUAGE 3) An online community that has a tradition of supporting such beginners to programming. BASIC and PASCAL very!! clearly fulfill these criteria and I am tempted to start with one of them. However the posts of Richard Riehle and others on this and other newsgroups speak so highly of Ada�s functionality and syntax clarity that it�s hard to overlook this as a possibility. On the other hand, and with the best will in the world, I can�t see that Ada satisfies ANY of the three criteria above, though I am willing/wanting to be convinced otherwise. Specific Questions: 1) Am I not giving Ada sufficient credit for being a suitable entry-level language for a BEGINNING PROGRAMMER? 2) Would you recommend that I immerse myself in either BASIC (QBasic) or PASCAL (Borland TP7) for a couple of years (yes, OK... forget BASIC ;D) and THEN springboard to Ada? 3) If you were to opt for Ada as an entry point, which particular dialect or environment would be the most user friendly from a set up and �learning-the-fundamentals� point of view. Since I have a choice, I�d like an Ada encounter that is a FUN experience, rather than marred by gratuitious, buggy FRUSTRATION (which is why I'm not keen on beginning with C, C++ or Java, even though others do). Please accept that I am not trying to offend anyone; it�s just that this initial phase is somewhat forbidding to a neophyte and I need to be a critical, hype-detecting, cynic ;D. Many thanks in advance. David.