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Thread ID: 37731 2003-09-16 10:23:00 computer programming jayal (1291) Press F1
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175757 2003-09-19 06:05:00 <Assembly code is an acquired taste. >

Yes, it is Graham L, tried it in the early 80s at tech and didn't like the taste one little bit. :^O
OldEric (3062)
175758 2003-09-19 07:49:00 I have learn C++ (beginner and advanced) at UNITEC so far...

While everyone is posting on this subject, is there any other languages you recommend to try? I was thinking of javascript for a while there since I like web design...

Thanks, Haidee
Mizz_1Nique (1201)
175759 2003-09-19 09:22:00 I really do recommend Assembly Language.
Very small code footprint, blindingly fast.

Creates a good discipline for commenting code.
The source code gets sizeable but thats not required after assembly.

I wrote a complete word processor for the Z80 in assembly language. Word wrap, auto capitalisation and all. Took months.

I also wrote a command-line dot matrix printer formatting program. That went out into the commercial world, but I doubt its being used now.
godfather (25)
175760 2003-09-19 11:39:00 Assembly is a good language to learn to get a greater understanding of the computer . From my experiences (mainly direct x, game programming etc . . . ) assembly isn't much faster (or maybe i just suck at coding it) but apparently, c++ routines and compilers are making things just as fast . Then again, John Carmack uses assembly heaps, but he doesn't count as he is god IMHO .

If you are looking for a lower level language, definitley go with assembly, other wise i (reluctantly) say that java is another choice, well the only good use (i can see) is for J2ME for mobile phone games . But then again, all i really care about in programming is games! .

'nuff said *zips up anti-flame suit*

- David
DangerousDave (697)
175761 2003-09-20 01:52:00 Assembly language does one thing exceptionally quickly: a progarmme with errors can wipe out a PC's operating system, disk files, disk partitioning, and put a pretty pattern on the screen in no time at all . :D :_| I've done it . But mostly you can use high level code . . . and it is easier .

But once I discovered Turbo Pascal, I have mostly used that on PCs . It can access device registers directly, access "real mode" memory directly, etc . And it's much nicer to work with than assembly . I even managed to programme the PC serial port (with no documentation) in Pascal .

I once did a word processor in Z80 too . . . and a keypad/keyboard monitor which did octal as well as hex . It handled an ASCII keyboard as well as the hex keypad, and a s100 video card . I also put in a small LISP interpreter . All in 2k :D
Graham L (2)
175762 2003-09-20 02:40:00 At the other end of the scale . . .

After you learn one or two of the traditional imperative languages consider becoming familiar with some of the other programming styles . It really changes how you look at programming . I would suggest a _pure_ object oriented language, and a functional language .

The object oriented language because it helps get rid of bad habits from C++/java etc, and lets you see how nice object oriented programs can be . I learnt squeak smalltalk (http://www . squeak . org) . Squeak itself is aimed at children so it is quite fun to have a play with too .

And functional because it is a really different approach . And it supposedly allows for mathematical proofs that a function is correct, which will be a big thing when people start demanding reliable code . I learnt haskell (http://www . haskell . org) (home of the one line quicksort) .


No one really uses these languages in the real world, but it does help improve writing in mainstream languages . And in the case of functional, I wouldn't be suprised if it becomes the next big thing in a couple of years .
bmason (508)
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