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UncaDanno · 07-31-2000, 02:57 AM

I have yet to see any language (a tool) teach anyone bad habits.

Does learning to use a hammer, per se, teach you how to use it badly? Or does the learning you get from specific sources teach you good/bad habits?

This is where the "holy wars of computer languages" arise. By the way, I was practicing object-oriented design and programming with COBOL over twenty years ago.

Anyway, your question regarding "the best language to learn" can be answered, in part, by the answer to another question: What do you want to learn to do? That is, what kind of processes do you want to create?

Remember, all computer languages are nothing more than an interface between the machine and the developer. They (the languages) have been written each with a fairly specific goal of making that interface simpler to handle.

For example, VB is a language that can be used for RAD (Rapid Application Development) where you need to come up with a solution, demo, or proof of concept quickly. The latest two incarnations of VB have seen it evolve from an alleged "tinker toy" state to one where it can be used to develop most commercial applications and the resulting code, if written well (and that's the key, regardless the language!), is easy to maintain. C++ is often my language of choice if I want to do things that entail taking shortcuts through the Windows API maze or if I'm targeting a non-Windows OS.

07-31-2000, 02:57 AM	#2
UncaDanno Member (9 bit) Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Midland, NC, USA Posts: 292	I have yet to see any language (a tool) teach anyone bad habits. Does learning to use a hammer, per se, teach you how to use it badly? Or does the learning you get from specific sources teach you good/bad habits? This is where the "holy wars of computer languages" arise. By the way, I was practicing object-oriented design and programming with COBOL over twenty years ago. Anyway, your question regarding "the best language to learn" can be answered, in part, by the answer to another question: What do you want to learn to do? That is, what kind of processes do you want to create? Remember, all computer languages are nothing more than an interface between the machine and the developer. They (the languages) have been written each with a fairly specific goal of making that interface simpler to handle. For example, VB is a language that can be used for RAD (Rapid Application Development) where you need to come up with a solution, demo, or proof of concept quickly. The latest two incarnations of VB have seen it evolve from an alleged "tinker toy" state to one where it can be used to develop most commercial applications and the resulting code, if written well (and that's the key, regardless the language!), is easy to maintain. C++ is often my language of choice if I want to do things that entail taking shortcuts through the Windows API maze or if I'm targeting a non-Windows OS.