Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!ra!uvaarpa!murdoch!kelvin.seas.Virginia.EDU!rb9a From: rb9a@kelvin.seas.Virginia.EDU (Raul Baragiola) Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms Subject: Re: Programming Windows Message-ID: <1991Jun4.035412.8586@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU> Date: 4 Jun 91 03:54:12 GMT References: <11803@skye.cs.ed.ac.uk> <1991May31.235223.12730@serval.net.wsu.edu> Sender: usenet@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU Organization: University of Virginia Lines: 54 In article objtch@extro.ucc.su.OZ.AU (Peter Goodall) writes: >ckinsman@yoda.eecs.wsu.edu (Chris Kinsman) writes: > >>In article <11803@skye.cs.ed.ac.uk> db@lfcs.ed.ac.uk (Dave Berry) writes: >>>What tools do people recommend for programming Windows? I know of the >>>following: >>> >>>Microsoft SDK. >>> >>>Borland C++ (and other languages). >>> >>>Digitalk Smalltalk/V. >>> >>>Which of these are best? Are there any others I should look at? Please >>>bear in mind that I'm on a very limited budget. >>> >>>Are there any free C++ classes for programming Windows, like the InterViews >>>library for X? >>> >>>I suspect that the Smalltalk approach is probably the easiest, because >>>the system should take care of memory management and lots of low-level >>>details. >>> > >>I would suspect Microsofts new Visual Basic would be the easiest. It will >>be listing for $199 and not require the SDK which would make it a fairly >>reasonable way to start into windows development. > >I believe that it's still the dreaded BASIC. Listen folks, its time to get >some real development leverage. Look carefully at other languages like >Smalltalk and forget writing linked-lists and dictionaries, also let the >system do your iteration for you. I can't remember having an off-by-one >iteration error in two years (well maybe one :-). > >Also you can forget about those damned pointers, and long compile-link >cycles. > >-- >Peter Goodall - Smalltalk Systems Consultant - objtch@extro.ucc.su.oz.au I notice a slight bias in your job title (:-)). There are many, many users who use BASIC for calculations or to develop short lived programs, like those used to solve non-recurrent scientific and engineering problems. BASIC's small overhead is very important when all you want is to solve a few equations. There are also lots of people who do data acquisition and control in research, where the design of the "system" changes frequently and who do not want to spend time writing assembly language interface libraries, if they are already available for BASIC. -- Raul A. Baragiola \Internet: raul@virginia.edu Dept. Nuclear Engnr. and Engnr. Physics \Phone: (804)-982-2907 University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22901 \ Fax: (804)-924-6270