Re: Low-level vs. High-level programming (was My First Computer)

[wildstar <wildstar128@hotmail.com>]

"Randy McLaughlin" <randy@nospam.com> wrote in
news:Pp_Ka.616$Im5.226@fe03.atl2.webusenet.com: 


> There are lots of strange (and weird) computer programming languages,
> most all of these languages are history, RPG and others that had big
> enough support (IBM in the 60's and 70's is as strong as it got)
> continue to be used in one way or another.
> 
> Look at LOGO, a non computational computer programming language that
> was little more than a toy (the same basic language was written into
> some toys). 

I have to agree with him about LOGO for the most part. The most common and 
"serious" use of LOGO is in the field of robotics. For some time, LOGO was 
actually used in laying out printed cicuit boards as LOGO was good enough 
for things like that and can be described as a robotic movement-control 
programming language. Since robotics are essentially special purpose 
computers with connection to electrically powered mechanism. Today, LOGO as 
itself is obsolete but not became an integral part of modern robotic 
programming languages. They can be considered a computer programming 
language because the computer that controls the robot mechanism inside the 
robot and in some cases external. 

It is not computational except for what modern extension languages they 
built and integrated into the robot's programming language.

Anyway, programming languages don't have to be used to program the source 
machine but the destination machine in which the program would be to 
execute. IMHO, a programming language is a computer language used for 
creating programs. A programs is a sequence of instruction for the target 
machine to execute. Mathematics are not always used. Reminding me of LOGO. 
Yet there is variables in LOGO. 

A fair history on LOGO is here and what LOGO is,
http://www.engin.umd.umich.edu/CIS/course.des/cis400/logo/logo.html

Type    LOGO Programming Language   into the Google search engine to get 
some search results on it. Technically, LOGO is a dialect of LISP. One 
note, LOGO is a computational programming language. Here it is at this 
page, http://el.media.mit.edu/logo-foundation/logo/programming.html

print 3 + 4

There was some of that control in LOGO and was originally design for kids 
to get a basic understanding of computer programming before progressing to 
BASIC. Like Pre-K before progressing to kindergarten.

In LOGO, variables are mere primitives. Handling math inside a variable are 
often not commonly used and LOGO is very primitive in that.