I would have to say my favorite language is C++. Though I kind of skipped over C and never took the time to learn it properly. Oh well, plenty of time for that next semester when I'm programming Atmel MEGA128s.
I'm in the process of learning Python so that I can model a solar array for a solar car and calculate how sun positions will affect power output. Obviously using Blender to model the array, and Python to calculate power output. Anyway, I'm really liking Python. It's relatively simple, but powerful at the same time. I love how absolutely everything is an object. Even ";".
So: most hated languages. National Instruments LabVIEW, though not really a language in itself, has got to be one of the worst programming tools I've used. I'll admit it's handy for making connections to all sorts of lab equipment. I've never been able to set up a serial RS232 connection easier than in LabVIEW. But the graphical programming approach is just so...inefficient. And rage-inducing. I want to sit and type, not highlight, copy, drag, paste, and then wire functions with my mouse. It's also horrible for any standard programming that doesn't involve interfacing with lab instruments.
The other language that I don't like is Java. I'm sure it's an alright language, but my school and professor just ruined it for me. Creating an idiotic Set class for over a month that did the same thing as an array...terrible. And then at the end, he expects us to Tokenize a string and read/write from a file without ever touching on either of those topics in class. Granted, not a very hard thing to do, but the specifications for the program were so vague that nobody could understand them. It's been taken down now, but believe me when I say that this guy cannot write program specs.
Other thing was that he wanted us to write classes that other programmers would use. Now, maybe it's just me, but every program I've written on my own I've written with the intention of an end-user inputting whatever he needs and getting an output or storage of what he expects. No mucking about writing his own classes. But that's sort of a moot point. I almost preferred the introductory course taught in Visual Basic, because there we at least wrote meaningful programs.
Last thing about Java. I don't understand the Virtual Machine concept. I mean, I understand what it is and how it's used, but I don't understand why. The biggest argument I hear going for it is that if the Virtual Machine crashes, your real machine won't crash with it. From what I understand, Virtual Machines are used to make sure code cannot significantly damage your real machine on a crash. Which is fine for a language like C that has basic level operating system access and hardware access. Java doesn't inherently have either of those. If you're running it like a C program, on the machine itself, any crashes your program has should not damage the machine because it doesn't have access to potentially damaging controls, right? Anyway, that's always been something that I've been in the dark about.
So, what are your favorite and most hated languages?
------------------
Our very existence is at stake
Yay! I can finally join the snail-racing crew.
-@%
I'm in the process of learning Python so that I can model a solar array for a solar car and calculate how sun positions will affect power output. Obviously using Blender to model the array, and Python to calculate power output. Anyway, I'm really liking Python. It's relatively simple, but powerful at the same time. I love how absolutely everything is an object. Even ";".
So: most hated languages. National Instruments LabVIEW, though not really a language in itself, has got to be one of the worst programming tools I've used. I'll admit it's handy for making connections to all sorts of lab equipment. I've never been able to set up a serial RS232 connection easier than in LabVIEW. But the graphical programming approach is just so...inefficient. And rage-inducing. I want to sit and type, not highlight, copy, drag, paste, and then wire functions with my mouse. It's also horrible for any standard programming that doesn't involve interfacing with lab instruments.
The other language that I don't like is Java. I'm sure it's an alright language, but my school and professor just ruined it for me. Creating an idiotic Set class for over a month that did the same thing as an array...terrible. And then at the end, he expects us to Tokenize a string and read/write from a file without ever touching on either of those topics in class. Granted, not a very hard thing to do, but the specifications for the program were so vague that nobody could understand them. It's been taken down now, but believe me when I say that this guy cannot write program specs.
Other thing was that he wanted us to write classes that other programmers would use. Now, maybe it's just me, but every program I've written on my own I've written with the intention of an end-user inputting whatever he needs and getting an output or storage of what he expects. No mucking about writing his own classes. But that's sort of a moot point. I almost preferred the introductory course taught in Visual Basic, because there we at least wrote meaningful programs.
Last thing about Java. I don't understand the Virtual Machine concept. I mean, I understand what it is and how it's used, but I don't understand why. The biggest argument I hear going for it is that if the Virtual Machine crashes, your real machine won't crash with it. From what I understand, Virtual Machines are used to make sure code cannot significantly damage your real machine on a crash. Which is fine for a language like C that has basic level operating system access and hardware access. Java doesn't inherently have either of those. If you're running it like a C program, on the machine itself, any crashes your program has should not damage the machine because it doesn't have access to potentially damaging controls, right? Anyway, that's always been something that I've been in the dark about.
So, what are your favorite and most hated languages?
------------------
Our very existence is at stake
Yay! I can finally join the snail-racing crew.
-@%
Marsz, marsz, Dąbrowski,
Z ziemi włoskiej do Polski,
Za twoim przewodem
Złączym się z narodem.
Z ziemi włoskiej do Polski,
Za twoim przewodem
Złączym się z narodem.
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). Sure it isn't easy to pick up in a day (heck no!) but many people fail to see just how powerful Java is just because of its learning curve. The main complaint about Java is speed, but with the HotSpot VM and hardware accelerated graphics (yes - Java can handle these for full-screen games!), speed isn't much of a factor anymore.