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From: mark@nyit.UUCP (Mark Smith)
Newsgroups: net.lang.pascal,net.college
Subject: Re: pascal ass intro. language
Message-ID: <215@nyit.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 21-Feb-86 18:18:55 EST
Article-I.D.: nyit.215
Posted: Fri Feb 21 18:18:55 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 23-Feb-86 18:57:01 EST
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Organization: NYIT Computer Graphics Lab., Old Westbury, N.Y.
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> am interested to hear pros and conss about using pascal as the 
> language in which to teach introductory programming

     The Pascal Language, I believe, was created as a teaching language.
     In that job, it has become remarkably widespread.

     But I have always disliked it as a first language for the computer
     science major.  For those students who are to go on to become
     `computer people' I have always favored assembly language as the first
     language.

     Why you ask?  Well, it was my first language that I learned.  When it
     came time to learn other languages `the jump' to a higher level was
     easier then `the jump' from a high level language to a low level.
     I attribute this to the fact that assembly language forces you to
     understand what is going on.

     I can't remember how many times, first time Pascal programmers, gave
     me the impression that they really did not know what memory was.

     For those students who are not destined to be computer science majors,
     and for those students who have already been introduced to programming,
     the Pascal language is great.

-- 

				Mark Smith

				NYIT Computer Graphics Laboratory
				Old Westbury, New York
				...{philabs,sbcs}!nyit!mark