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This list of steps applicable to learning any programming language. 1.) Switch to appropriate environment 2.) Download an IDE built for your language 3.) 2 + [i

This list of steps applicable to learning any programming language. 1.) Switch to appropriate environment 2.) Download an IDE built for your language 3.) 2 + [insert language]Lint 4.) Read some books on the language 5.) Write a program that actually does something useful

silentbicycle 16y ago
Requiring an IDE specific to your language should be the exception, not the rule. Why the hell should you have to learn a completely different editor just to try out a new language? Is the language really so verbose and inexpressive that you can't even maintain it by hand?
- kenjackson 16y ago
  An IDE is about making it easier to deal with your own code, not the language per se. Any nontrivial program... say 50,000+ lines, would benefit from an IDE. Helps even simple tasks like finding all uses of a given function or pretty printing.
  - silentbicycle 16y ago
    Oh. My objection isn't to having to learn an IDE, it's having to learn a new IDE, specific to that language. If you already know an editor which is excellent for editing, indexing, searching, navigating, slicing and dicing text, why should you have to learn a new editor that only even works for that one language (that you may not even use, in the long run)? Being that tightly coupled to the IDE should raise a red flag about the language's longevity / flexibility. If my editor/IDE has to call out to utilities included with the language to run build tools, generate some kind of navigation tags, etc., that's fine. Needing a completely different editor just for that language seems crazy, though. If it's going to insist on that, it should at least be Smalltalk. ;) By all means, put your time into an IDE which will remain useful for the next years (if not decades).
    - kenjackson 16y ago
      Ok, I largely agree... you really should be able to get away with knowing any of vi, emacs, vs, or eclipse ... getting language specific features via addins.
- Breefield 16y ago
  I only added that comment because I was thinking about PHP/JS vs...Java or Objective-C. It really makes sense to switch out of Coda and into Xcode.

silentbicycle 16y ago

Requiring an IDE specific to your language should be the exception, not the rule. Why the hell should you have to learn a completely different editor just to try out a new language? Is the language really so verbose and inexpressive that you can't even maintain it by hand?

kenjackson 16y ago
An IDE is about making it easier to deal with your own code, not the language per se. Any nontrivial program... say 50,000+ lines, would benefit from an IDE. Helps even simple tasks like finding all uses of a given function or pretty printing.
- silentbicycle 16y ago
  Oh. My objection isn't to having to learn an IDE, it's having to learn a new IDE, specific to that language. If you already know an editor which is excellent for editing, indexing, searching, navigating, slicing and dicing text, why should you have to learn a new editor that only even works for that one language (that you may not even use, in the long run)? Being that tightly coupled to the IDE should raise a red flag about the language's longevity / flexibility. If my editor/IDE has to call out to utilities included with the language to run build tools, generate some kind of navigation tags, etc., that's fine. Needing a completely different editor just for that language seems crazy, though. If it's going to insist on that, it should at least be Smalltalk. ;) By all means, put your time into an IDE which will remain useful for the next years (if not decades).
  - kenjackson 16y ago
    Ok, I largely agree... you really should be able to get away with knowing any of vi, emacs, vs, or eclipse ... getting language specific features via addins.
Breefield 16y ago
I only added that comment because I was thinking about PHP/JS vs...Java or Objective-C. It really makes sense to switch out of Coda and into Xcode.