Re: Prog. Languages (was: question?)
On Fri, 1 Jun 2001, Romain Lerallut wrote:
> Usually, you choose a language depending on what you want done. YMMV.
>
> If you want to learn a bit about computer languages
> *in general* you may want to:
>
> 1) start with interpreted languages, such as Perl. ( not Python
which is strongly object-oriented). It's easy to create a proglet
that is useful , and very satisfying.
This would be a mistake.
Perl code can be hard to read and the language itself is biased
towards text processing (Practical Extracting and Reporting Language;
Python is a general purpose language with clear syntax and semantics,
just what a beginner needs.
> 2a) then learn about object-oriented languages (Java, Python). I
would advise *against* starting with an OO language, since it *might*
be harder to come back to
> non-OO languages.
Python does not require you to use obviously OO techniques (classes,
etc.) for everything, you can write in pretty much any style you like.
> *OR*
>
> 2b) then learn about compiled languages such as C. C is harder to
program than interpreted languages, mostly because of memory
management issues, but it is also IMHO very elegantly written.
> It has a lot of balance in its conception. You can understand more
of the internals with C than with Java.
> *After* being decently fluent in C, you may want to learn C++ or
others. Though I like C better for its simplicity and elegance.
Sure, if you want to learn about computer internals also (hard to get
away from that with a low level language like C)... I think it is the
best way to start. Steep learning curve, though.
- Bruce
Reply to: