Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!aplcen!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!hplabs!hpcc05!hpcuhb!hpindda!hardin From: hardin@hpindda.cup.hp.com (John Hardin) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc Subject: Re: Turbo Pascal vs. C Message-ID: <51440004@hpindda.cup.hp.com> Date: 21 Sep 90 20:17:07 GMT References: Organization: HP Information Networks, Cupertino, CA Lines: 46 > Yes!, Turbo Pascal is the best system to develop programs today. It has > all extensions and capabilities you will need ( from the lowest level to > objects ). > It is a very optimized and very fast compiler. I got recently Turbo C++. > Even though it is very fast among the C compilers it is more than 20 > times slower than Turbo Pascal. > > Domingo Mihovilovic A. > dma@nova.stanford.edu ---------- I disagree. I have used Turbo Pascal since the days of CP/M and currently have Turbo Pascal 5.5, Turbo C 2.0, and Turbo C++ 1.0. I used Pascal for 4 years professionally before learning C and I would still recommend C or C++ hands down for power. While Pascal is better for the novice because of it's simplicity, verbosity, and strong typing (C++ has strong typing, too, but is a more complex language) it is a more restrictive language for the expert. Pascal was originally developed as a language to teach structured programming. It is very good for that, but not so good for serious large scale programming. The more extensive library of functions that comes with C and the more flexible use of pointers in C than in Pascal make a big difference. I have tried porting programs from one language to the other for comparison and I always have found myself having to do a lot of extra work in Pascal because of things it doesn't do. Pascal does NOT do everything C does. I realize some people like Pascal better. I've met some that were prejudiced by their professors in school. Others like the verbosity (starting with BEGIN/END vs {/}). Still others swear by the strong typing, not being interested in the strong typing of C++ because it's a decendent of K&R C. To some extent, language preference is an individual choice. But from my experience, I'd have to say that those who chose Pascal for really difficult tasks are working under a handicap. (Now, reading someone ELSE's code can be an entirely different matter. The power of C is also subject to abuse by those with little interest in writing readable code.) Now pardon me while I duck before I get shot by a Pascal fan... :-) John Hardin hardin@hpindgh.hp.com