Computer Programming in C

[Verbal]

FORTRAN.

[elaw]

{Insert 3 pages of jokes here:
"C what you've done now?"
"You're going to C what it's like to be a programmer."
etc.
}

[3WE]

FORTRAN.

CONCUR

[elaw]

FORTRAN.

Well at least it's not COBOL!

Fun fact; a cousin of mine actually makes a very good living programming in COBOL for an insurance company. There obviously aren't a ton of jobs available for people with that skill set, but there are even fewer people with said skill.

[3WE]

BASIC

FORTRAN

COBOL[/b]

Assembler (or ass-embler for us.)

Fun question: do we know the full name’s behind these acronym lingues de programmo el computero?

I actually started taking a COBOL class, but dropped out when I landed a real job elsewhere…seemed like it was a database type thing more than a linear “mathadoodle”.

[Gabriel]

FORmula TRANslator
COmmon Business-Oriented Language
Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code
Logo, not an acronym but a Greek word.
And let's not forget the Basic Input/Output System and the Disk Operating System

[elaw]

Yeah yeah yeah. Now tell us why there's a slash in the middle of "CP/M".

I don't know the answer... I'm truly curious. Maybe just to be different?

[Gabriel]

You guys can't wikipediate or what?
This takes literally about 10 seconds

CP/M, originally standing for Control Program/Monitor

[elaw]

Hmm... I always thought it was "Control Program for Microcomputers"? I wonder if it's something that's changed over time, like when "bad jokes" suddenly became "dad jokes".

[Gabriel]

Hmm... I always thought it was "Control Program for Microcomputers"? I wonder if it's something that's changed over time, like when "bad jokes" suddenly became "dad jokes".

You guys can't wikipediate or what?
This takes literally about 10 seconds

CP/M, originally standing for Control Program/Monitor and later Control Program for Microcomputers,...

[ocelot]

There definitely is a lot of mystery- setting up libraries at the start, the thing where you don't have to write std:: on every statement....weird stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y0bp-mnYU0

C++ is far more problematic than C, and not a jump I would have suggested... but whatever works I guess.


on the subject of both acronyms and retconned names... if you track down what KDE (as in the Linux desktop environment) originally stood for, the K is for "Kool".

[3WE]

C++ is far more problematic than C, and not a jump I would have suggested... but whatever works I guess.

Ok, Ocelot, progress has been slow, and I think I could give C-natural a try. The limitation for me has been someone explaining IN CLEAR LANGUAGE what is a command, what is a variable, what is a pointer, and reminders on the structures of print and format commands. The YouTube talking heads go straight to 100 MPH, and my brain is old school: Take data in, work with data, output useful “new” data. One YouTube was showing how to draw ellipses. Bullcrap- I want text and numbers in, and meaningful output to the screen and paper and the ability to store stuff.

I also feel like programmers want to declare variables “on the fly” and repeatedly? I recall that ability in FORTRAN, but thought that was bad practice. Of course, BASIC had minimal variable declaration except for arrays.

I did like that my “console” was compiling “secret code” so my program could operate in a God-forsaken “window”. But I guess C will “easily” do that too?

[ocelot]

Ok, Ocelot, progress has been slow, and I think I could give C-natural a try. The limitation for me has been someone explaining IN CLEAR LANGUAGE what is a command, what is a variable, what is a pointer, and reminders on the structures of print and format commands.

Fair enough, I guess.

One of the problems with C is that a certain degree of fluency is required to read input successfully, or to handle strings, and so it's relatively hard to do the sorts of simple things that come naturally in BASIC. C++ does paper over some of that; there are still pointers involved in the equivalent of

Code: Select all

PRINT "ENTER YOUR NAME: ";:INPUT A$

but you don't have to look at them directly.

The problem with C++ is that it's full of MCAS. And loose bolts.

I also feel like programmers want to declare variables “on the fly” and repeatedly? I recall that ability in FORTRAN, but thought that was bad practice. Of course, BASIC had minimal variable declaration except for arrays.

Traditional style in C is to declare all the variables at the top of each function, rather than interspersing declarations and statements/commands. But at this point only a really archaic compiler will insist on that. In general it's better to split things up into functions that are small enough that having all the variables at the top isn't confusing.

...although I'm not sure that's what you're referring to.

I did like that my “console” was compiling “secret code” so my program could operate in a God-forsaken “window”. But I guess C will “easily” do that too?

That's a feature of the compiler, not the language; you should be able to get the same thing with C code.