Path: utzoo!attcan!lsuc!ncrcan!ziebmef!lea
From: lea@ziebmef.uucp (Simon Peter Lea)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: is turing the best next language to use in intro classes?
Keywords: turing, Pascal, CS curriculum
Message-ID: <1989Feb13.182342.2022@ziebmef.uucp>
Date: 13 Feb 89 23:23:40 GMT
References: <1059@oswego.Oswego.EDU>
Reply-To: lea@ziebmef.UUCP (Simon Peter Lea)
Distribution: comp
Organization: Ziebmef Public Access Unix, Toronto, Ontario
Lines: 38

In article <1059@oswego.Oswego.EDU> dab@oswego.Oswego.EDU (Dave Bozak) writes:
>What is the general attitude toward turing as the next language to use
>in intro cs classes?  and more generally, as a substitute that enables
>a one language approach towards classes in data structures, file
>processing, assembler, and other "core" courses (which would minimize
>the learning curve when moving to C, C++, Euclid, ...).
>
>
>dave bozak
>computer science
>SUNY College at Oswego
>dab@rocky.oswego.edu


    In my opinion, to the average CS undergrad, Turing is just Pascal with
  modules.  Very similar to Turbo Pascal (4.0 on PC and MAC) - which is of
  course similar to Modula, etc.  Having used it for the past three years 
  myself as an undergrad here at U of T, I can vouch for its elegance 
  and how simple it is to learn initially.  This probably has a great deal
  to do with the fact that we were taught Pascal in High School.  But the
  general feeling I get from my fellow students is that it doesn't really
  make that much difference whether you know Pascal before-hand or not.
  
    The language has been used here at U of T, so I understand, for some
  systems programming tasks that are normally tackled in C.  For example
  one of my Profs, has written a small UNIX like O/S (similar in spirit
  to MINIX) called Mtunis.  It was written entirely in Turing Plus, which
  is a concurrent language much like Concurrent Euclid.
  
    These are just my general comments, I can't really say one way or the
  other whether Turing is definitely the second best language to use in 
  CS undergrad courses -- I am biased.  :-)

-- 
      "HAL would have passed the Turing test with ease." -- A.C.C., 2001
      Simon Lea -- University of Toronto, Department of Computer Science
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