From: Daniel Cremer <daniel@...>
Date: 2004-08-29T17:58:42+09:00
Subject: Re: Typos (Was: performance comparison)

On Sun, 2004-08-29 at 06:07, David Ross wrote:
> --- Kristof Bastiaensen <kristof@vleeuwen.org> wrote:
> 
> > > But to be honest i think the most people using
> > script languages are not
> > > very good programmers. This has to do that they
> > are very good beginner
> > > languages for non technical persons who wants to
> > see results instead of
> > > learning a theory first.
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > So you know most programmers using script languages,
> > AND their skills as a
> > programmer?  Wow, you have amazing insights!
> > 
> > KB
> > 
> > 

>  (...) The less you learn about problems
> the less you tend to not think about several methods
> of programming and your skills are not as good as a C
> programmer.

> (...)
> C programmers have to think more about design and
> safety. With Most scripting languages which have
> safety  protection force the programmer not to even
> think about the underlying code. With this, this is
> the proof of why scripting language programmers are
> not as good as per sey.. C programmers. I am sure this
> is what lothar was meaning by "But to be honest i
> think the most people using script languages are not
> very good programmers"
> 

Hmmm... this sort of reminds me of a post I saw once of someone stating
that if you didn't write your win32 programs in assembly you were going
for the easy option and weren't _really_ a good programmer as you
weren't thinking performance.
I'm very far from considering myself as the prime example of a great
programmer:) , however I'm sure that ruby has taught me a lot,
especially in OO and general design of code. If using C or C++ I simply
go for the "shortest route" possible to get results. In ruby it's not
so. It's so flexible and encouraging that you actually _want_ to think
of various possibilities to solve a problem and find the best fit (short
term and long term). 
It also depends on what your definition of a good programmer is. When I
see someone doing all their web development in C (yes I've seen that), I
don't think "what a great programmer, he can do the hardcore stuff". I
think, "why on earth is he using the wrong tools". There's no way I
would hire such a person, they don't have one of the basic qualities of
being a programmer: laziness.
Of course I have to agree that I'd have serious doubts about anyone who
had only ever used scripting languages, as it points to either
disinterest in programming or a beginner.

	-Daniel