Reply-To:	<arfa AT clara DOT net>
From:	"Arthur" <arfa AT clara DOT net>
To:	"DJGPP Mailing List" <djgpp AT delorie DOT com>
Subject:	RE: Teaching a child to program in C
Date:	Thu, 10 Sep 1998 16:36:24 +0100
Message-ID:	<000301bddcd0$c4d2cea0$264e08c3@arthur>
MIME-Version:	1.0
Importance:	Normal
In-Reply-To:	<3.0.1.16.19980910085700.2eb73c1a@shadow.net>

> >BASIC is the world standard for introducing people to
> >programming.  But sadly, even the very latest Basics
> >still have a tendency to produce brain damage in users,
> >either because of primitive design, or because of being
> >totally non-portable - or both.

Wrong. BASIC is extremily portable. Apart from the obvious (Visual Basic)
BASIC on the PC, is very similar to BASIC on the BBC micro.

And the "primitive design" was intentional to provide maximum flexibility
and ease of use.

> Thanks for your other comments, but the above REALLY HURTS. Have we
> forgotten that the original purpose of BASIC and Pascal was TO INTRODUCE
> PROGRAMMING? They were not considered to be production engines. (Please
> correct me if that remark is false, but I understand it that way.)

Actually, they were both developed as "University Languages" as was C. The
idea was to be able to do complex mathematical processes easily, such as
bubble sorting and recording real time data.

> So any severe criticisms of BASIC and Pascal are often no fair.

I agree.

James Arthur
jaa AT arfa DOT clara DOT net
ICQ#15054819

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