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From: mazumdar@sunybcs.uucp (Jin Mazumdar)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: First Language Taught in CSC de
Message-ID: <4510@sunybcs.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 6-Aug-87 17:00:44 EDT
Article-I.D.: sunybcs.4510
Posted: Thu Aug  6 17:00:44 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 8-Aug-87 12:14:55 EDT
References: <2893@uw-june.UUCP> <69300001@convex>
Sender: nobody@sunybcs.UUCP
Reply-To: mazumdar@gort.UUCP (Jin Mazumdar)
Organization: SUNY/Buffalo Computer Science
Lines: 28

In article <69300001@convex> bernhart@convex.UUCP writes:
>
>Why is Ada unsuitable as a first programming language?  (Beware of using
>the word "clearly" - what's clear to you may not be so clear to everyone
>else.)
>
>				Marcia Bernhardt
>				Ada Product Specialist
>				Convex Computer Corporation
>				701 N. Plano Rd.
>				Richardson, TX  75081


1)	Ada is a huge language.  Students learning a computer language
for the first time should not have to deal with remembering a lot of
syntax.  If one limits the course to teaching a subset of ADA why not
teach another language.

2)	Maybe there are fast ADA compilers.  My experience with ADA
compilers is limited, but the one we have is very slow.  A large languge
will compile slow?  Are there ADA interpretors?  Are they friendly?

3)	After gaining exposure to a few languages like Pascal (which
can be learnt with relatively less pain) ADA is just an extension.

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