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From: jeffj@sfmin.UUCP (J.S.Jonas)
Newsgroups: net.college
Subject: re: Pascal as a first language [or any language for that matter]
Message-ID: <674@sfmin.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 10-Mar-86 18:29:57 EST
Article-I.D.: sfmin.674
Posted: Mon Mar 10 18:29:57 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 12-Mar-86 03:06:08 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Summit N.J.
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[declare bond_issue: float]

> "When the only tool you have is a hammer, it is tempting to think of
> everything else as a nail."
> Arpanet: ARK@SALLY.UTEXAS.EDU
> UUCP:    {gatech,harvard,ihnp4,pyramid,siesmo}!ut-sally!ark

	I agree wholeheartedly.
	I don't think the first language matters as much as your first
impression, attitude and technique.

	I started programming in Junior H.S., but that was just
playing with the equivalent of a programmable calculator
(a compucorp 025 educator).

	In high school (Francis Lewis HS, Queens, N.Y.)
I learned programming as part of pre-calculus. We handled
programming like a lab experiment - we plan the
expected results and how we expect to achieve them.
We had to *solve the problem* and understand it before
writing a single line of code.  The problem dictated the solution
(ie - the structure of the problem dictates the structure of the
program and what tools to use [language, libraries], not
vice versa).  

ex: the teacher says "we will do iterative techniques" and develops
an algorithm (like area under a curve using trapezoids) by hand.
At this point, we can do the problem by hand (and calculator).
Then we code it and see how a do-loop is used.
What is *NOT* done is "we will learn loops" and find problems that
do-loops are used for.  Get the difference?  It's like choosing
a hammer for the nail, or a nail for the hammer.
Continuing the toolbox analogy, knowing one language is like
like using a hammer for everything.  If all you know is to
bang away, you will be able to do anything solved by a hammer,
but not everything is solved with a hammer.

			Jeff Skot
			{ihnp4 | allegra | cbosgd} attunix ! jeffj