Re: [gentoo-dev] Programming advice wanted?

[Andrew Gaffney]

Tom Wesley wrote:
> On Monday 22 Mar 2004 20:48, Andrew Gaffney wrote:
>
>>Dennis Allison wrote:
>>
>>>I don't want to start a flame war, but after an initial love affair I
>>>dont't much like Java.  It's not a "better C++", it's a "different C++".
>>>I found the hype associated with the language irritatiing and the lack of
>>>stability as the language evolved unfortunate.  But there are places
>>>where the language was useful and I put aside my personal prejudices and
>>>worked with the notation.
>>>
>>>But, I personally don't think Java's a good language for Andrew's
>>>purpose--which is to learn to program.
>>
>>Tom Wesley was the OP, not me :) The point is still valid, though.
>
> Who said that? ;)
>
>>>In a very real sense, I think assembly lanaguage (or even Hex machine
>>>code) may be a good place to start to learn programming.  A good macro
>>>assembler is an awesome tool in the hands of a skilled programmer.  Some
>>>beginning programming books--Yale Patt's in particular--adopt the view
>>>that everyone should learn about programming from the bits up.
>>
>>Assembly is something I still wish to learn. Maybe I actually will someday.
>
> I've neither the patience or the coffee, me thinks.

Yeah, it will probably require large quantities of both.

>>>My point was/is that programming is language independent.  I've always
>>>liked Michael Griffith's comment about programming: "I always use the
>>>same programming language no matter what the compiler" or something like
>>>that. Using a polymorphic, internally consistent, object-oriented
>>>language like Python is a good framework to learn programming. I think
>>>Python does a pretty good job of capturing the abstractions you need to
>>>write simple, conceptually clear programs.  You don't have to worry about
>>>the nits, you can program interactively and see what happens, and there's
>>>not the huge overhead of type mechanisms to drag into every single little
>>>program. The language is introspective (aka introspective) so programs
>>>can learn about their own structure.
>>
>>Perl is good for mostly the same reasons, which is why it's my current
>>language of choice.
>>
>>
>>>But ultimately the only way to learn about programming is to read
>>>programs and work with masters in the field.   It's still an art not a
>>>science.
>
> I think I may have given a slightly wrong impression with my original email -
> I am a programmer or sorts, but have done nothing in either Linux or
> C/C++....

I got that. The discussion just got off on a bit of a tangent. That happens sometimes on 
mailing lists, don't ya know ;)

> This discussion seems to be leading towards the use of scripting (?) languages
> like Python and Perl, and more mentions of Python than anything else.  I have
> to say that I like the idea of this, least of all because it will give me
> some ability to comment on portage and other Gentoo specifics.
> I like this idea, as for some reason it sounds less of a large slope to climb.
> If/when I get there, what are the GTK+2 and QT bindings like for Python?  I'm
> mainly concerned about the speed and how similar it is to using C/C++ - it's
> quite probable that I'll want to learn either eventually.

I'm beginning to learn Python, but I don't like it much. I do really love Perl, though. 
These are my opinions, though, and should not necessarily be your's. If you're looking for 
something similar to C/C++ in syntax, lean towards Perl. Also, Python isn't as friendly to 
new users as Perl is because of its formatting restrictions. Make your own opinions, 
though. Learn both. Play with both.

-- 
Andrew Gaffney
Network Administrator
Skyline Aeronautics, LLC.
636-357-1548


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