Programming languages

[rishab@dxm.ernet.in]

This thread on programming languages seems waaaay off the CP agenda. But then,
so was the rather interesting thread on futures and derivatives...

Tim May says:
> My conjecture: 70% of all programmers now coding in C and planning to
> learn C++ would be "better off" (more productive, more maintainable
> code, fewer reinventings of the low-level wheels, etc.) with
> higher-level languages. "Rapid prototyping" is another buzz phrase,
> but an accurate one.

Well, just as I wouldn't recommend using CASE tools without a working knowledge
of C, in case 'ducking down' to a lower level is necessary, I feel that C++ is
useful to know as a language with all the OO of, for instance, Smalltalk, and
low level capabilities too. I've programmed in many languages and taught C++,
and find that what is important for productivity is not higher-level *languages*
so much as *environments* -- Smalltalk wouldn't be much fun without one. 

> In cases where one's reach exceeds one's grasp, as appears to be the
> case with all of these crypto ideas, bridging the semantic gap and
> actually getting something out is, I think, much more important than
> having it run faster (but not be built at all....).

Visual programming environments do greatly help in bridging this semantic gap.
I don't think the argument against them (slow programs) is really valid, or will
remain so for a long time. For most applications, including crypto, environments
provide optimized libraries for a number of functions. Most environments, such 
as Visual C++, provide for links to lower levels, allowing optimization for 
*really* critical routines.

How many people still program in assembly? I do sometimes, but more out of
enjoyment than necessity ;-)

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Rishab Aiyer Ghosh                            "What is civilisation
rishab@dxm.ernet.in                             but a ribonucleic
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