[plug] [why not staroffice]

[tlee]

Thanks for the feedback on programming - this is certainly an active group.
I too have found that C does not handle strings as well as some other languages,
but I have heard from nerds that C is very good for writing languages, and for
operating systems. I reason that most sysadmins must use C a lot for patches and
the like, but that nobody would actually sit down and write a long program in C.
Am I right in thinking this?
But I also find that most languages look very like C to me with the variable
initialisations, include libraries and the like - also the layout of the source
code is very much like C.
I heard that unix itself was written in C, so I reason that everybody should know
a bit of C. Also it is not high level but yet not low level like assembler.
Perhaps mid level, which means that you have to do a lot of lines of code to come
up with the same outcome as yo could with much less coding in Pascal? Even though
they say C is very portable I found code which would compile and run under turbo C
would not do so on microsof C. Also would not compile on GC, so I am wondering
just how portable it is?



Mike from West Australia wrote:

> At 01:24 PM 5/10/2000 +0800, you wrote:
> >On Thu, Oct 05, 2000 at 12:59:24PM +0800, Garry wrote:
> >> I use C++ by choice, because I know it better than anything else. I haven't
> >> done any Linux programming yet, but will get to it shortly.
> >
> >You use C++ "by choice" because you know it better than anything else?
> >Isn't that sort of contradictory?  It's like "I catch the bus to work by
> >choice because I don't have a car, it's too far to cycle and I can't
> >afford a taxi."
>
> I agree, though you said it better... <sigh>
>
> >Either way, I find it hard to believe anyone would use C++ *by
> >choice*...
>
> I'd caution anyone to 'get started with C++' as a programming langauge,
> its one of the worst structured langauges ever - other then Cobol
> that is ;-)
>
> Seriously, in my 20+years experience of observing programming/debug
> rituals I can attest to C++ having wasted by far the most amount of
> programming time ie. In that far more debugging is required with
> C++ then any other language bar none...
>
> To 'start' and teach programming and learn structure for neophytes,
> one would consider Ada, Pascal etc
>
> Yes I did put my flame suit on with SPF-500 too ;-)
>
> Rgds
>
> Mike