[Coco] OO programming - [Was]:Emulator

[Aaron Wolfe]

On Fri, Nov 6, 2009 at 1:38 PM, Aaron Wolfe <aawolfe at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Fri, Nov 6, 2009 at 8:45 AM, Gene Heskett <gene.heskett at verizon.net> wrote:
>> On Friday 06 November 2009, Steven Hirsch wrote:
>>>On Fri, 6 Nov 2009, Fedor Steeman wrote:
>>>> And that is another bone I still have to pick with you: The "C"
>>>> programming language has not been a part of my CS education nor of any of
>>>> my buddies that I asked. Instead, we had Java or some other OO language.
>>>> One buddy, an engineer, even thought the notion that it was required for
>>>> any IT professional to have had "absurd".
>>
>
>
> I had promised myself I would not comment any more on this, but that
> was in part because I thought no one else was interested.  Seeing
> discussion, on this one point I will make an exception.  (I never have
> learned to hold my tongue very well :)
>
> Here is what I actually said:
>
>> C is taught in every CS program I've heard of at least.  Some C
>> experience is generally considered a prerequisite for any serious
>> programmer, professional or hobbyist.
>
> Although I fully stand behind the words that I said, I don't like the
> straw man created by Mr. Steeman.
>
> I never suggested that a particular language was a requirement to
> receive a degree in CS, I said it was taught in every CS program I
> knew of.  I believe most CS programs allow one to chose the languages
> they study, mines certainly did.  C *is* taught at MIT, Standford, and
> Berkeley this year, according to their web sites.
>
> I also fully believe that "Some C experience is generally considered a
> prerequisite for any serious programmer, professional or hobbyist."

My friend was reading this thread with me and pointed out, quite
correctly, that my first statement was ambiguous and quite possibly
caused some confusion.  Unfortunately the kind of thing that only
stands out to others, no matter how many times I try to proof my own
words :(

I meant to say "any serious programmer, whether that programmer is a
professional or a hobbyist".  What I said could easily be taken to
mean "any programer, any professional, or any hobbyist", which is not
at all what I meant.  I apologize, my words were not very well chosen.
 In hindsight, some of the comments make a little more sense now,
after realizing my mistake :)


> Notice I did not say "IT Professional" or "Engineer".  I said
> *programmer*.  Notice also I said "some C experience", not mastery,
> specialization in, exclusive use of, etc.
>
> "C" is indeed very popular today, in fact its arguably the most
> popular programming language on the planet.  Java may be (probably is)
> slightly more popular depending on the metric you choose:
> http://www.langpop.com/
>
> The goal of my original statement was to assert that C is more
> "accessible" to the average programmer than the proprietary, closed
> language that Mr Steeman was championing.  To that end, I believe I
> have made my point very well.
>
> -Aaron
>