HELP! Must choose language!

[Martin Christensen]

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>>>>> "Cameron" == Cameron Laird <claird at lairds.com> writes:
Cameron> C++ is a poor vehicle for communicating concepts, in
Cameron> comparison with Python, ML, Eiffel, or Scheme, say, and it's
Cameron> undeniably far harder to learn than C, let alone Python,
Cameron> Smalltalk, ...

I agree with you, but it does need some rationalisation.

C and C++ are rather heavy on the bookkeeping side. In Danish (I don't
know about other human languages) the term 'pointer gymnastics' often
occurs along side mention of these languages; when dealing with
variables you need to constantly switch between referencing,
dereferencing and dealing with actual values, which requires a mental
effort that's better spent on expressing your ideas in code, if you
ask me. While C is a small and elegant language with very few
constructs to learn, C++ is anything but small and elegant, yet the
things which make it big and bloated are also the things that make it
useful. Python and several other languages have the practicality of
C++ while staying small, simple and elegant.

C and C++ will teach you about how the machine works on a basic level,
but personally I believe that these details are less important than
understanding the problem solving techniques on a more abstract level
that are necessary to becoming a good programmer. When you know how to
solve your problem you can benefit from knowing how the machine works
on a lower level so that you can solve your problem in a more
efficient manner.

Martin

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