Slashdot Mirror


The Value of BASIC As a First Programming Language

Mirk writes "Computer-science legend Edsger W. Dijkstra famously wrote: 'It is practically impossible to teach good programming to students that have had a prior exposure to BASIC: as potential programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration.' The Reinvigorated Programmer argues that the world is full of excellent programmers who cut their teeth on BASIC, and suggests it could even be because they started out with BASIC."

12 of 548 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Second story from this blog this week... by gibbled · · Score: 5, Funny

    Clearly there's something fishy going on there...

  2. Re:Time heals by multi+io · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's Dijkstra we're talking about. And Dijkstra does have quite a few genuinely useful and lasting achievements speaking for him (semaphores and such), while Wirth was indeed, more or less, a quiche-eater.

  3. Easily gotten over by wrmrxxx · · Score: 5, Funny

    easy language first your get-over is

    FORTH started I at-all me affected not and

    1. Re:Easily gotten over by Mathness · · Score: 2, Funny

      I knew it, Yoda was a Forth programmer!

      --
      Carbon based humanoid in training.
  4. Re:Second story from this blog this week... by geminidomino · · Score: 4, Funny

    Or, more on-topic:

    Haiku Overflow
    It was programmed in BASIC
    System halting now

  5. Re:Good programmers aren't easily ruined by RDW · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Your post pretty much proves Dijkstra's point. You did not manage to lay off your old thinking habits. You do not bother to think how an object oriented compiler works and to me it sounds that you are stuck in 80's style programming."

    'Object-oriented programming is an exceptionally bad idea which could only have originated in California.' - Dijkstra

  6. Re:no, Python is not the language to start with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    If you build your skills around C, whole new possibilities open up to you. You could even write a non-toy OS if you were so inclined.

    That's just crazy talk!

  7. Re:Good programmers aren't easily ruined by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    When goto is not an option give me a break;

  8. Ouch! by r00t · · Score: 2, Funny

    most of us have been writing software without using goto for the last two decades

    Us goto-loving programmers don't take two decades or more to write software. We just go to it.

  9. Re:BASIC is irrelevant by Hal_Porter · · Score: 2, Funny

    I quite agree. I fire bullets over the heads of my students as they program too. Makes the bastards learn to duck.

    --
    echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
  10. Re:Good programmers aren't easily ruined by smallfries · · Score: 2, Funny

    So far you've proven either that you suck at programming, or that you suck at cut and paste. But that is not a program that uses a goto. You could stick with your current proof, or if you try again you may remove all doubt.

    --
    Slashdot: where don knuth is an idiot because he cant grasp the awesome power of php
  11. Re:BASIC is irrelevant by SharpFang · · Score: 3, Funny

    Perl as introduction to programming for kids?
    You will be lucky if they put you in prison for life, for child abuse.
    If they don't, you'll have the misfortune to spend the rest of your miserable and short life in the grim world you will have created, filled by monstrosities from worst nightmares.

    If BASIC was mutilating the young minds, Perl is in the line of Cthulhu summoning with minors.

    --
    45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2