Java > Scala

[Russel Winder]

On Sat, 2011-12-17 at 23:09 -0800, Walter Bright wrote:
[...]
> I find this an odd statement because the Java VM is written in C, so therefore 
> it is on the same or fewer platforms than C.

It's the indirection thing again:  rather than provide a C toolchain for
each platform, you load Java (or Python, Ruby, ...) which is already
precompiled for the platform which then allows a single toolchain across
all platforms.

> BTW, if I was King of the World, universities would teach assembler programming 
> first.

I think that sort of worked in the 1980s when computers were
(relatively) simple, but I don't think it works now.  Clearly any
self-respecting programmer should be able to work with assembly
language, so it needs to be taught, but these days it comes as the link
between hardware and software rather than being the language of
software.

> I learned BASIC first, then FORTRAN, then I learned assembler (6800) and it was 
> like someone turned the lights on.

It's all about the operational semantics.  Some people are happy with
very abstract semantics and so can work with the likes of Fortran very
well without knowing assembly language.  For others the link to how the
computer actually works is critically important.

> I liken it to trying to teach kids algebra first, give them a calculator, and 
> never bother teaching them arithmetic.
> 
> A programmer who doesn't know assembler is never going to write better than 
> second rate programs.

I am not sure I'd go quite that far but I agree that all programmers
really ought to have worked with assembly language at least once in
their lives.

-- 
Russel.
=============================================================================
Dr Russel Winder      t: +44 20 7585 2200   voip: sip:russel.winder at ekiga.net
41 Buckmaster Road    m: +44 7770 465 077   xmpp: russel at russel.org.uk
London SW11 1EN, UK   w: www.russel.org.uk  skype: russel_winder
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