Re: Pascal for IIgs...

["Eric Heim" <chippys@earthlink.net>]

In article <7n33s9$88j$1@news.rt66.com>, "Mike Westerfield" 
<MikeW50@aol.com> wrote:


>>Pascal, while a good teaching language, is horrible.  I don't know of
>>anyone knocking down doors for Pascal programmers.
>>
>>C is your best bet in the job world, with Java a close runner up, if
>>not a tie these days.
>
> In my opinion, which is almost certainly better informed than 99.99% of the
> people who will read this since I use and have written compilers for both
> languages, Pascal is not horrible, and is a better language than C for many
> if not most purposes. Learning programming is one of them. Developing
> desktop applications on the Apple IIGS is another.
>
> (I know, I know, "most people", whatever that means, use C or Java. Most
> people use Windows, bought VHS instead of beta, and voted for Adolph Hitler,
> too. What "most people" do is often very stupid.)
>
> Getting a job is not one of the things Pascal is better at, but that wasn't
> a stated requirement for the person who posted.
>
> Of course, I'm happy to sell a person C or Pascal. I wrote both of the
> available Apple IIGS versions, sell both, and make the same amount of money
> from either sale. But for "most people" who ask, and after carefully
> listening to what they want to do, I end up recommending Pascal. ;)


Pascal was designed by an academician for teaching. IMO, Pascal is the best
language with which to learn programming (although Modula 2, which N. Wirth
designed as sort of a Pascal++ ;o) is excellent, too). With the requisite
extensions provided by the compiler designer Pascal can be very powerful,
and because of strict type checking etc. etc. you don't have to be a highly
skilled binary nut to create robust programs. Pascal skills in and of
themselves may not be in high demand professionally, but the programming
skills that Pascal FORCES you to learn can be used with most other
languages.

With that in mind, programming in C is like skiing through the woods at
night with sunglasses on, you BETTER know what your doing or you could be
the next Sonny Bono. :o)    One way or the other, it is certainly a more
exciting ride than Pascal ever could be :o)


PS.  btw Mike, for the record, I didn't vote for Hitler :o)

--
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Eric <chippys@earthlink.net>
     <habanero@delphi.com>

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