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Re: "You're not going to learn how to program in BASIC any more"

To: REALbasic NUG <realbasic-nug at lists dot realsoftware dot com>
Subject: Re: "You're not going to learn how to program in BASIC any more"
From: "Joseph J. Strout" <joe at realsoftware dot com>
Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2005 08:27:05 -0600
Delivered-to: realbasic-nug at lists dot realsoftware dot com
References: <20050930025150 dot DC16BDDAFBD at lists dot realsoftware dot com> <5FC23E3F-08E8-4469-9FD0-0F5B44575CE2 at designersdomain dot com> <610606f2b64b4d19a3aba74ee2be708b at mac dot com>
At 8:16 AM -0500 9/30/05, Alex Lindsay wrote:

I have always thought that the more flexible and forgiving the syntax, the better the language is for learning. I also believe that flexible syntax is often a bane as the complexity of a project increases, especially when more than one developer works on the project.

I agree. The same goes for strong typing: it's good for serious software development, but mostly gets in the way for beginners or for quick hacks.

I have also thought that one of the more intuitive languages out there is AppleScript. Almost anyone reading AppleScript for the first time can understand it.

Well, yes, it's very readable, but very hard to write. Geoff describes it as a read-only language, and though I did a fair amount of Applescript in my day, I think this description is pretty apt.

Best,
- Joe

--
Joe Strout                          REAL Software, Inc.

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