From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from [140.90.74.62] (helo=babel.hpcc.noaa.gov) by speech.braille.uwo.ca with esmtp (Exim 3.34 #1 (Debian)) id 16kR3s-0001Sj-00 for ; Mon, 11 Mar 2002 09:46:04 -0500 Received: from localhost (jwantz@localhost) by babel.hpcc.noaa.gov (8.11.6/8.11.2) with ESMTP id g2BEjv013695 for ; Mon, 11 Mar 2002 09:45:57 -0500 Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 09:45:57 -0500 (EST) From: To: Subject: Re: free programming language In-Reply-To: <20020310180623.C1256@uic.edu> Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: speakup-admin@braille.uwo.ca Errors-To: speakup-admin@braille.uwo.ca X-BeenThere: speakup@braille.uwo.ca X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.8 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: speakup@braille.uwo.ca List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: Speakup is a screen review system for Linux. List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Hi Greg, I definitely disagree. BASIC teaches bad programming habits like FORTRAN i.e. non-structured programming. The problem with C is not the language, but that most people learning C start by reading Kernighan and Richie. I have been programming in C since 1986 but it took me almost half of that time to unlearn bad habits I picked up from BASIC and FORTRAN. Now, one could make a case for Pascal as your first language but I really think BASIC is a bad idea. Sure, you might be able to accomplish certain tasks easier in BASIC than in C, but the time you spend in learning C will make you a much better programmer in the long run. Jim Wantz On Sun, 10 Mar 2002, Gregory Nowak wrote: > Since we're on opinions, in my opinion c or c++ are not good languages to begin with. I believe from personal experience that it is best to start with something like basic, and then move on to languages like c or c++ where the concepts you learned from BASIC will help you advance in higher languages faster. > Greg > > > On Sun, Mar 10, 2002 at 06:48:35PM -0500, jwantz@hpcc2.hpcc.noaa.gov wrote: > > Hi Alex, > > While BASIC sounds like a good starting language in my opinion it is > > not. First, it is very non-standard (no two BASIC interpreters or > > compilers are alike). Second, file i/o in most BASICs is really rather > > painful. As far as I know, the only BASIC widely used in WINDOWS is > > Visual BASIC which is hardly free! > > > > Jim Wantz > > n Sun, 10 Mar 2002, Alex Snow wrote: > > > > > I would use, and want to learn, basic, if there was a free Compiler and/or > > > IDE for basic under winblows. > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > From: "Gregory Nowak" > > > To: > > > Sent: Sunday, March 10, 2002 2:56 PM > > > Subject: Re: free programming language > > > > > > > > > > How about BASIC? > > > > Greg > > > > > > > > > > > > On Sun, Mar 10, 2002 at 01:25:38PM -0500, Alex Snow wrote: > > > > > Hi. > > > > > I am looking for a programming language for windows that is both free > > > and easy to learn for a beginning programmer. Does such a language exist? > > > > > > > > > > --- > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Speakup mailing list > > > > Speakup@braille.uwo.ca > > > > http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Speakup mailing list > > > Speakup@braille.uwo.ca > > > http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Speakup mailing list > > Speakup@braille.uwo.ca > > http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup > > _______________________________________________ > Speakup mailing list > Speakup@braille.uwo.ca > http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup >