[Bassetlug mailing] Fwd: Programming

[Richard Smedley]

My two answers sent last week didn't make the list, so I've
joined from another address...

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On 14/07/11 13:17, Danny Roberts wrote:
> Also it's incorrect to say that C# is tied to one vendor and/or
> is proprietary etc as it is not. C# is actually a standards approved
> language (via the IEEE standards comitee I believe) just like C++ is. It's
> the .NET framework that is Microsoft's proprietary offering not C# itself,
> and we do have an alternative to .NET in the free software world called Mono

A fair point - but Mono still lives under
the threat of MS's patents. I think it's
better that we have Mono than we don't,
but the situation is far from ideal. :-/

> But hey I'm not saying C# is the right choice as it very well might not be.

Well, inasmuch as any C family language is
a good place to start, why not?

Personally I'm involved in looking at where
to start for children, and a higher-level
language is definitely called for, to give
quick results and engage interest, hence
my concentration on both JS and on
Lisp-family languages.

For adults motivated to learn by career
potential, or to take part in a project,
the case is different.

> I'd be interested to here more of your thoughts sometime. If you could get
> down a to a LUG meeting one week that would be great.

I'd love to, but I don't regularly
work on a project in Notts any more,
which was one of the reasons I joined
the list originally. [1]

But if I'm nearby one Wednesday I look
forward to seeing you all :)

 - Richard

[1] Although I will be at #bcnotts this month

--
http://twitter.com/RichardSmedley
http://teachyourkidstocode.org/wiki

> On 13 July 2011 22:18, Richard Smedley<smedley358 at btinternet.com>  wrote:
>> On 13/07/11 20:05, Danny Roberts wrote:
>>> On 13 July 2011 19:43, philip jones<phil at thejones-family.co.uk wrote:
>>>> I would like to learn a bit of programming but need to start at the
>>>> beginning.  martin has suggested I start with c# and shape develop
>>> C# is still a good choice but there are other options if you don't
>>> like the sound of that.

>> You can learn to program by starting with almost any language
>> but some make it easier than others [0]. Personally I recommend
>> JavaScript [1] for the quickest start (a couple of lines of code,
>> and the programs run in any browser), or Scheme [2] (or Common
>> Lisp [3]) for harder work but more rewards.

>> However if you're after coding something useful for either
>> the Web or the GNU/Linux platform, then one of the great
>> intros to Python [4] or Ruby [5] will get you set up for both. :)

>> [0] I don't wish to start a language war - C# isn't bad,
>>     although it is tied to one vendor, known for love of
>>     patents and proprietary software :-/

>> [1] Eloquent JavaScript: A Modern Introduction to Programming
>>     Marijn Haverbeke
>>     No Starch Press
>>     978-1-59327-282-1

>> [2] http://www.htdp.org/
>>     is best, but if you're feeling brave, consider SICP :)

>> [3] http://landoflisp.com/

>> [4] http://learnpythonthehardway.**org/<http://learnpythonthehardway.org/>

>> [5] http://mislav.uniqpath.com/**poignant-guide/book/<http://mislav.uniqpath.com/poignant-guide/book/>

>>   - Richard

>> --
>> http://teachyourkidstocode.org/