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From: cracauer@wavehh.hanse.de (Martin Cracauer)
Subject: Re: Why you should not use Tcl
Message-ID: <1994Oct3.100031.20460@wavehh.hanse.de>
Organization: The Internet
References: <9409232314.AA29957@mole.gnu.ai.mit.edu> <367307$1un@engnews2.eng.sun.com> 	<367qen$500@tadpole.fc.hp.com> 	<MATT.94Sep28003320@physics16.berkeley.edu> <DJOHNSON.94Sep30124933@seuss.ucsd.edu>
Date: Mon, 3 Oct 94 10:00:31 GMT
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djohnson@seuss.ucsd.edu (Darin Johnson) writes:

>> The assumption at MIT is that you shouldn't have to teach a
>> language---any language---to computer science students: any competent
>> programmer can learn a new language or a new operating system when
>> necessary.  (That was the assumption when I was there, anyway.)  I
>> think that that assumption is correct.

>I think thisis important.  Iv'e seen too many people graduating
>from CS knowing only 1 language and 1 OS, and unable to make
>a transition to anything else (not just unwilling).

>If all classes are in C and UNIX, the students won't learn
>anything else.  If alternatives are only available in
>specialty classes (ie, lisp in AI) then the students gets
>the warped impression that these alternatives are only
>good for these specialties (note the people on this thread
>that think lisp doesn't have much practicality).

There's a big difference. I think most people on this thread didn't
wrote anything in Lisp. Therefore, they don't think is useful and they
won't try because it is too unusual.

People who have been taught Lisp in AI courses had the chance to
recognice the value of Lisp.

They should be able to get the real value of Lisp no matter how they
learned it. If they don't, there never had been a chance to make them
really open-minded programmers with an instinct for the right language
for each task.

Note that I don't say that everybody who knows Lisp should use it all
day. I just say that your point that people don't get the real value
of Lisp when it is taught in special courses is not valid. And that
there' a big difference between these AI-taught people and most people
in this thread, who have no clue what Lisp is all about.
-- 
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Martin.Cracauer@wavehh.hanse.de, Fax. +49 40 5228536, German language accepted
 No guarantee for anything. Anyway, this posting is probably produced by one 
 of my cats stepping on the keys. No, I don't have an infinite number of cats.
