>>Well, that's what I thought when I first cracked open a book in Perl. >>Multi-platform database access in Perl is so trivial it's going to make >>you wonder how you ever did it in the past... I don't see how C/C++ has >>a very big advantage over Perl in this respect.
You're right. For web applications, there probably is no difference. For the things we do (too long to explain) it does. >>I've begun trying to experiment with all sorts of other alternative >>programming languages, to see what life is like outside of the world of >>C, and I must say there are a lot of things out there you might never >>have imagined. Get over your biases and start experimenting a little in >>your free time. It will change the way you think about the art of >>programming completely. I programmed BAL (Mainframe Assembler, for those of you too young to know) for about three years on an IBM 4381 in the late eighties. Wrote COBOL programs on a Honeywell and other IBM mainframes. Used RPG on an AS400. Used BASIC under DOS, the TRS80 and also the Commodor 64. During the PRE-ANSI days of C++, I used to religiously attend Special Interest Group (SIG) meetings in NYC listening to guys like Greg Comeau (comeaucomputing.com) talk about the intricacies of writing a C++ compiler. During the Borland C++ 3.1 boom, I released free games with source code on Compuserve. During the client server days, I made a pretty decent living as a consultant using PowerBuilder, Oracle Forms and Visual Basic. During the object oriented boom, I wrote GUI apps using LISP and Small Talk for personal development. Played extensively with JAVA when it first came out. Use Delphi now and then. Was doing a lot of ASP/SQL Server work just a year and a half ago. Finally, I still find time to attend a PHP/Postgres class every Saturday (9am to 5pm for the next six weeks). I guess what I'm trying to say is that I do try to experiment in my free time. C/C++ is a personal choice and definitely a bias. We all make choices and this one happens to be mine. At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter what you choose as long as you are proficient at it. During the early nineties, I was assigned the task of converting an existing Clipper application into Windows. When I met the programmer, I didn't really think much of him since he was a Clipper programmer (...the arrogance of youth...) while I was already a "client server guy" using PowerBuilder 3 and Sybase. Up to this day, it is still the most difficult thing I have ever done. It took an additional eight months for the current users to accept my system because the Clipper app was just so complex and well-written - or should I say - so well-written that I didn't notice the complexities involved in cloning it. _ Philippine Linux Users Group. Web site and archives at http://plug.linux.org.ph To leave: send "unsubscribe" in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe to the Linux Newbies' List: send "subscribe" in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
