4 ms·
Yeah, you're right about Fortran, my mistake. I actually skipped that chapter because I've never written Fortran. I did read the other chapters, paying particul
by angusgr 16y ago
Yeah, you're right about Fortran, my mistake. I actually skipped that chapter because I've never written Fortran. I did read the other chapters, paying particular attention to languages I've used at least a bit (Haskell, Java, C++ from that list.)
Like I said also, I agree with a lot of the premises. I just think the essay is overly positioned as "C is the best hammer" when a better essay might be "Use the right tool, C is a powerful tool. Here is how to use C like a craftsman, here are some good ways to use C you might not have thought of."
It's definitely not a piece for beginners
Who is it for? (I mean this in the most respectful way possible, I'm actually not sure.)
- angusgr 16y agoAlso, I didn't mean to suggest the author is necessarily a myopic programmer who believes that now he or she knows C... - just that the way this essay is positioned, I see it as appealing strongly but superficially to such programmers.
- nkurz 16y agoThat's certainly a fair question. I think he probably wrote it mostly for himself: a CS graduate who fell hard for some modern languages and then later realized that neither OO or functional has all the answers. Like someone raised in a strict religious household who's always had his doubts about the faith, he finally feels confident in expressing his true feelings, and maybe gets a little carried away. I like it though.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]