From: Gavin Sinclair <gsinclair@...>
Date: 2002-09-05T10:03:07+09:00
Subject: Re: School work (no, this isn't a homework problem)

> (Before the language
> police take  away my license to code, remember that Knuth's classic
> books were written  with assembly language!)

I just bought Knuth's classic books yesterday, and had to tell the world! :D

> Use the right tool for the job.  C is a small and rather elegant
> language,  and not difficult to use within its realm.  It only gets ugly
> when used  outside its intended domain.
>
> Oh, and if you're using C, make sure you pick up a copy of K&R (_The C
> Programming Language_, by Kernighan and Ritchie).  It's an invaluable
> reference for both C and any languages derived from C.  My desk seems
> empty without it, even when i'm not using C.
>

C's a fun language to learn while you're young.  You're lucky to have
Ruby, too, so your head doesn't get screwed by it ;)  And K&R's book is a
great read.  I personally find C awful now, but their writing certainly
demonstrates its elegance.  Quite expensive for a small, old and popular
book, though.

And don't shy away from pointers.  You'll appreciate other languages more
after you've dealt with them.

Cheers,
Gavin