Re: Ada for a programming newb.

[igouy@yahoo.com (Isaac Gouy)]

Kyle Root <kappy044@myrealbox.com> wrote
> I was wondering if Ada would be suitable for me. 

Ada has many excellent qualities.
IMHO a smaller language is a better tool for learning about
programming.

Let me suggest Oberon-2. It's a small precise language - you'll be
able to learn the keywords and operators quickly and the compiler will
tell you exactly where you made a mistake in the program. You'll find
it readable. You'll be able to learn about procedural programming and
object-oriented programming.
After you've mastered Oberon-2, you'll have a sound base for
appreciating the additional things that Ada provides.

You can download an excellent non-commercial compiler here:
http://www.excelsior-usa.com/xdsx86.html


Neither Ada nor Oberon-2 will help you to learn about functional
programming. I don't have any personal experience with Scheme but
there are several excellent online text books and the Dr Scheme is
reputed to be excellent. At some point I'd recommend you take a look
at Clean or Haskell to broaden you're ideas about what a programming
language can be like.


> There doesn't seem to be as much documentation 
Always try to find language books through the local library - often
they can get them through inter-library loans from other libraries.


best wishes, Isaac