Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site brl-tgr.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!think!harvard!seismo!brl-tgr!tgr!jpm@BNL44.ARPA From: jpm@BNL44.ARPA (John McNamee) Newsgroups: net.lang.c Subject: Re: Re: more about programming style Message-ID: <11614@brl-tgr.ARPA> Date: Tue, 16-Jul-85 02:31:34 EDT Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.11614 Posted: Tue Jul 16 02:31:34 1985 Date-Received: Thu, 18-Jul-85 03:47:16 EDT Sender: news@brl-tgr.ARPA Lines: 35 >> = John McNamee(me) >> C programming is something that should be attempted only by professionals. >> There are other languages (such as BASIC) which the average luser might be >> able to learn if they put their mind to it. > = Mark Flynn > Of all the arrogant, swellheaded piles of bullsh*t, this is the biggest I've > run across in quite a while. What this person is implying is "You can't > criticize my programming style because I'm a professional programmer and > you're not, so there!" Real class. BTW, is "luser" a typo, or another barb > cast upon the masses from on high? I am saying that I am a professional programmer. I write programs that can be understood and modified by other professional programmers. It is not my job to write programs so any Joe Blow off the street can read them. C is not easy to learn or use, at least when compared to things like BASIC (which is often used by non-professional-programmers). As a full-time computer professional, I am expected to know how to make the most out of C, and I am hired because of that skill. I write programs that are compact, execute quickly, have a good user interface, and I get them done on time. People pay me good money because I can do all that. If I also had to write code that ANYBODY with no C training could read, I would not be able to do any of the above. I will continue to maintain that langauges (such as BASIC) exist for non-professional-programmers to implement solutions to their particular problems, and that such people have no business using C unless they want to invest the time to learn it. If they want a professional solution to their problems, they should hire somebody like me or spend the time themselves to learn what they are doing. You can't have it both ways; ease of use is always in a tradeoff with power. C is total power for the professional, and I wouldn't want it any other way. BTW, "luser" was not a typo. It is hacker slang for somebody who learns only enough about a computer system to get his/her particular job done, and does not explore the limits of what the machine can do (that sort of person is called a hacker).