Chief Delphi - Which language should we program in

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Re: Which language should we program in

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamHeard (Post 1171819)

You'll see it more commonly in roles where programming is done by people who aren't actually pure CS people, and what they're doing isn't really a CS problem.

I know a lot of control loops are done in a graphical language where each block specifically represents some real world counterpart.

Even in some fields where it is CS people doing CS work... in a lot of cases it is faster to prototype out an algorithm using a graphical language or something with good visualization capabilities to see how the algorithm is running. I also tend to do most of my work in scripting languages first (ruby/python for example) so that I can use their Read Eval Print Loops (REPL) to change things as I go. Honestly, if I had access to MATLAB at work I'd use it to test out any algorithm involving numbers. It's easier to me than C and with less boilerplate than Java.

On the topic of graphical languages, I struggle to read them for any complicated code. I'm not saying it is impossible or even terribly hard. Merely that I have a set of tools that I'm proficient in for rapidly searching and editing text. It is also the reason I tend to prefer developing on my own personal machines (or machines that I can tweak the settings on) to team resources. My hands are used to my keyboards, my shortcuts are set up how I expect them to be (for my muscle memory). And no one gets mad when control-a maps to home.

Re: Which language should we program in

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber (Post 1171852)

And no one gets mad when control-a maps to home.

Oh my gosh. I would be so confused! It's bad enough the number of times it takes me to remember that I have to hit control and not command (which means I end up hitting alt on a lot of keyboards).

I expressed my views pretty extensively in some other threads, but since I'm here already, I'll give you a brief overview. I think that for students interested in pursuing degrees in computer science, using Java or C++ is way more beneficial. They are more similar to the types of languages you learn in the entry-level CS courses. The projects are nothing like what you do in FIRST, but I appreciated having some experience and comfort with the languages helped me be a bit more at ease.

Additionally, the AP CS course uses Java so students who have taken that will have a pretty good foundation in that and transitioning from Java to C++ for FIRST purposes is a breeze.