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From: jesup@steinmetz.steinmetz.UUCP (Randell Jesup)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: first language
Message-ID: <7035@steinmetz.steinmetz.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 19-Aug-87 02:17:52 EDT
Article-I.D.: steinmet.7035
Posted: Wed Aug 19 02:17:52 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 21-Aug-87 06:09:53 EDT
References: <405@ndsuvax.UUCP> <1010@argus.UUCP>
Reply-To: jesup@kbsvax.steinmetz.UUCP (Randell Jesup)
Organization: General Electric CRD, Schenectady, NY
Lines: 44
Keywords: expense availability
Summary: Don't use Ada as a first language

In article <1010@argus.UUCP> ken@argus.UUCP (Kenneth Ng) writes:
>In article <405@ndsuvax.UUCP>, ncmagel@ndsuvax.UUCP (ken magel) writes:
>>   1.  Availability:  the language should be available on a wide variety of 
>> microcomputers so that students may use it on their own machines as well as
>> those available at the school.  This may eliminate very large or memory-
>> intensive languages such as ADA at least for a while.
>
>Ada is available on IBM PC, IBM VM, DEC VMS, and Unix.  I'd say that
>covers at least 75% of the major computer environments. 

	Speaking as one who has programmed in Ada for a living, I'd advise
strongly against Ada as a first language.  Not that it's a bad language
(at least for a certain range of problems), but it has a VERY large syntax
and even larger semantics.  The students will spend lot's of time saying
'why doesn't the compiler like this', instead of spending it figuring out
algorithms.  And don't EVER let a novice near the LRM! (Language Ref. Man.).
	My personal guess would be that Modula-II would be a good first
language.  It has strong type checking (good for novices), the syntax is
simple enough that they won't spend all their time learning it, and
it supports modularization and data-hiding well.  It isn't overgrown with
features, but for a first class you should be learning how to apply concepts,
not how to use zillions of features.  Leave that until you understand what's
going on.
	Before anyone accuses me of being a modula freak, I've never programmed
in modula, for most of my work I prefer C or forth, depending on the
project.  But from examing modula, I believe Wirth has come up with a
reasonable teaching language.  (MUCH better than pascal)

>I'd like to recommend the REXX language for beginners.  It's got
>a very simple data structure, pascal like syntax, and was designed
>from the beginning to be a readable language, unlike C and Lisp.

	Also may be a good idea.  Definitely oriented towards non-computer
users (thing like choosing limits, such as precision, to be 'round' numbers
so mundanes can remember them easily (like 500 digits precision instead of
512)).  

>Kenneth Ng: Post office: NJIT - CCCC, Newark New Jersey  07102
>uucp !ihnp4!allegra!bellcore!argus!ken *** NOT ken@bellcore.uucp ***
>bitnet(prefered) ken@orion.bitnet

	Randell Jesup
	jesup@steinmetz.UUCP
	jesup@ge-crd.arpa