Thread: is C appropriate for intro to computers?

Originally Posted by Elysia

The problem would be that both languages have different strengths.
Take something that C is strong on, and you'll probably have the same code in C++ with small improvements.
Take something C++ is strong on and you'll end up with long, complex C code.

The problem is not so much the differences is both languages. The problem is actively campaigning against a programming language. Is this behavior I cannot understand. There is no excuse for it except a twisted view of what these tools are meant to be: Problem solvers.

Even if what you say is true -- and I can concede that on several problem domains it is indeed -- you are still presented with the issue that it is not everywhere. So a sound knowledge of C can be essential if you are presented with a problem this language can solve. Note that problem here is not a question. C++ can answer basically the same questions as C. But something like realizing the sqlite c api you are using for your project contains a bug and you need to fix it in order to proceed with your, already late, most important C++ project that will buy you a new BMW. Or be given the chance to work on legacy code for an hefty pay, or be given the chance to work on some device not supporting C++, or be given the chance to participate on a new multi-million dollar worth kernel and OS layer.

If the issue is restricted to advertise one doesn't need C to learn C++, I couldn't agree more. But to dismiss C as irrelevant because C++ tackles the same issues is completely wrong. Using your own arguments, that would make C# a superior language to C++. And as much as you try to dismiss this consequence, that's the simple fact. Using C#, I can (or better yet, someone else does, since I'm yet to start my apprenticeship on this language) answer most of the challenges faced by C++ in only a fraction of the time and with cleaner code. And you can shuffle around in the mud all day long trying to find a way out of this simple fact, but you can't.

But is C# superior to C++? Certainly not. But neither it is inferior. It's a tool and goes by the exact same rules that clearly define a screwdriver is in no way inferior to a wrench.

Notice that its not even a matter of what one can do the other can, or how much more one can do the other can't. You can scratch my entire post so far, if that makes you feel better. But you can't avoid the simple fact it's also a matter of what is available for you to work with. Because you may like C++ as much as you want, and you may profetize its use as much as you want, but if the company you work for doesn't want to use it, you are not going to use it... and left to find another job since you just lost this one because you were unqualified.