Re: Pascal or C as a first lang

[att-out!cbnewsl!willett@rutgers.edu (david.c.willett)]

>From article <1993Sep11.034948.27142@seas.gwu.edu>, by mfeldman@seas.gwu.edu (
Michael Feldman):
> In article <CD5B9z.1x8@cbnewsl.cb.att.com> willett@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (david.
c.willett) writes:
>>From article <1993Sep10.005836.27727@seas.gwu.edu>, by mfeldman@seas.gwu.edu 
(Michael Feldman):
>>> Please take discussion of this to comp.edu.
>>> 
>>> Mike Feldman
>>	{Mike's .sig deleted}
>>
	[deleted]
> 
> I wasn't implying that a discussion of teaching languages shouldn't
> happen, or can't happen, here, but the header was Pascal vs. C as an
> intro language, and I perceived no relevance to Ada in it.
> 
> As a 10-year teacher of Ada in universities and industry, I am arrogant
> enough to be willing to go on at unbearable length on this subject.
> I'm not trying to moderate this group out of certain topics; I just
> think we could all learn something by reading the more generic group.
> 
> Mike Feldman

Point taken, Mike.  I was trying to divert the discussion into a comparison
of software development paradigms as reflected in language selection.  That
topic has relevence to teaching languages because of one's preference for
the development paradigm most synergistic with one's first computer language.

Perhaps this should really be a discussion of how to separate languages from
development paradigms?  Although the distinction is clear to me, for some
reason, I find that many people can't separate the two.  Ada, in my view,
provides the first tool that most anyone can use to make that distinction.

Does this discussion best fit here, in comp.edu, or in comp.software-eng.?

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Dave Willett          AT&T Federal Systems Advanced Technologies

The biggest mistake you can make is to believe that you work for someone else.
			
			-- Anonymous