Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!oliveb!ames!pioneer!eugene
From: eugene@pioneer.arpa (Eugene N. Miya)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc
Subject: Re: First Languages (yet again)
Message-ID: <4022@ames.arpa>
Date: 22 Jan 88 23:09:32 GMT
References: <3473@ihlpf.ATT.COM> <1616@codas.att.com>
Sender: usenet@ames.arpa
Reply-To: eugene@pioneer.UUCP (Eugene N. Miya)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Lines: 20

In article <1616@codas.att.com> karthur@codas.att.com (Kurt_R_Arthur) writes:
>I'm running the risk of another holy war here, but REXX (IBM's system command
>interpreter language for VM/CMS, now a part of SAA & due to be ported through
>out IBM's architectures) seems to be a very good 'first language' because it

I'm not partial to C as a first language, and I know all the BASIC and
APL interpreter types are also out there.  Interaction and real-time is
a really important attribute.  I'm becoming more and more convinced that
lexically scoped, state-based systems aren't good first languages.  (I
think Mike Lesk made some good comments about this at the last
Washington Usenix.) Some of these new computer graphics animation
systems are seemingly good FIRST-time systems, and offer some real hope
of getting BASIC (and LOGO) "out of there."

From the Rock of Ages Home for Retired Hackers:

--eugene miya, NASA Ames Research Center, eugene@ames-aurora.ARPA
  "You trust the `reply' command with all those different mailers out there?"
  "Send mail, avoid follow-ups.  If enough, I'll summarize."
  {uunet,hplabs,hao,ihnp4,decwrl,allegra,tektronix}!ames!aurora!eugene