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From: doug@edge.UUCP (Doug Pardee)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions,comp.edu,comp.lang.misc
Subject: Re: Teaching Assembler on VAX (BSD 4.3)
Message-ID: <786@edge.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 28-May-87 16:45:09 EDT
Article-I.D.: edge.786
Posted: Thu May 28 16:45:09 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 31-May-87 20:35:53 EDT
References: <351@aucs.UUCP> <588@maccs.UUCP> <234@brandx.rutgers.edu> <2794@felix.UUCP>
Organization: Edge Computer Corporation, Scottsdale, AZ
Lines: 21
Summary: Assembler is important
Xref: mnetor comp.unix.questions:2608 comp.edu:423 comp.lang.misc:422

> The original posting regarding the availability of an acceptable assembler
> for use in teaching an assembly language course seems to have sparked a
> discussion concerning the need to teach assembler at all.  Some of the
> responses I have seen seem to imply that assembler is not needed at all,
> and doesn't need to be taught.
>...
> The "unixness" of this forum really shows through in the type of comments
> that are made here.

Boy is that right.  Look guys, just because there's not much use for assembler
under *nix doesn't mean that assembler is unimportant in the outside world.
There are a lot of non-*nix applications that absolutely /have/ to be done
in assembler, and a good many more that /should/ be done in assembler.

What gets my goat is the notion of teaching CS students that nothing exists
in the computer world except C programming in *nix.  You don't necessarily
have to teach them assembler (or any other language), but they should be
taught that there are lots of computer languages including assembler, and
how to tell which language is appropriate for a given application.
-- 
Doug Pardee -- Edge Computer Corp., Scottsdale, AZ -- ...!ihnp4!mot!edge!doug