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The Value of BASIC As a First Programming Language

Posted by kdawson on from the proud-to-have-been-warped-by-it dept.

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."

3 of 548 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Good programmers aren't easily ruined by phantomfive · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    http://slashdot.org/journal/239880/Slashdot-moderation-is-awful

    Heh......this is what happens when you rush super-fast to comment without reading the article, post something unrelated, and end up getting modded down. You end up thinking slashdot moderation is awful. :)

    --
    Qxe4
  2. Re:Good programmers aren't easily ruined by simoncpu+was+here · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    You can read a more informative article on Slashdot moderation here.

  3. Re:Good programmers aren't easily ruined by r00t · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Much like a chain saw not being an all purpose cutting tool...

    That depends. Short ones can't reach when you need it, but the lumberjack ones are good for everything. You can make ice sculptures, disarm thugs (or disleg them if you prefer), cut your wedding cake, trim your nose hair, or cut down a great big tree.