Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 10:34:01 -0600 From: Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org> To: Darren Henderson <darren@nighttide.net> Cc: <freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: Re: Looking for Yoda Message-ID: <15020.64121.982605.812786@guru.mired.org> In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.4.30.0103111438550.22814-100000@localhost> References: <v04220805b6d1796cec93@[194.78.241.123]> <Pine.BSF.4.30.0103111438550.22814-100000@localhost>
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Darren Henderson <darren@nighttide.net> types: > When you know how to program and you know the syntax for one language, > learning how to use others is no big deal. You may not work as fast in > PL/I as you do in C, but if you know C, (or pascal or even cobol) and have > a good grounding in computer science then you can program in PL/I. You may > do it with the manual open continuously the first few times but you can do > it. > > Concentrait on the computer science. The programming languages take care > of themselves. I'd agree - but would like to post an addendum. All the Darren named are pretty much drawn from the same stock - except for Perl, anyway. One of my most valuable early experiences was taking a programming languages course that covered a number of languages languages. At the time, PL/I, FORTRAN, LISP, APL, and SNOBOL. Since they are - as Darren says - just tools, each lends itself to a slightly different way of thinking about the problem. Learning those ways of thinking about problems was an important step in learning how to solve problems in general. Later, I'd find that an idiom in one language that made solving some problem easy would translate into another language, making it easy to solve a similar subproblem. > People who want to be able to say they know umpteen languages are kind of > missing the point imo. Someone who has a solid lock on theory and is > comfortable with a couple of languages is far more valuable then someone > who has done something in 30 languages (and thus claims they "know" each > one) but has little clue about how problems are solved. While there is a natural tendency to do this, I claim the driving force is HR offices that use simple keyword filters rather than looking for some indication of ability. Listing 30 languages on the resume makes it more likely you'll get past them, and get your resume seen by someone who will can evaluate your real skills. <mike -- Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org> http://www.mired.org/home/mwm/ Independent WWW/Perforce/FreeBSD/Unix consultant, email for more information. To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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