[geeks] Java as a first language

[Sridhar Ayengar]

kevin marshall wrote:
> C seemed like a decent choice for me because i deal with *nix/CLI
> stuff more often than not. Plus, as you mentioned, i do compile
> lots of OSS stuff and a great deal of it needs tweaking to get it
> to compile cleanly. However, i had always heard that C was a bad
> language to start with because it would teach bad habits.

C doesn't do self-modifying code that well.  Whether that's a good thing 
or a bad thing is up to you.  If you think it's a good thing, playing 
with self-modifying code in an assembler might help you explore your 
opinion in detail.

I consider it a bad thing.  In my case, assembler's aptitude in dealing 
with self-modifying code was a turn-on.

> Not that it's of any consequence, but doesn't SmallTalk pre-date
> C?

If it does, it isn't by much.  They're both children of the '70s.

Peace...  Sridhar