Message-ID: <36B483EE.C427D099@montana.com>
Date: Sun, 31 Jan 1999 09:25:18 -0700
From: bowman <bowman AT montana DOT com>
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To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
Subject: Re: Need help with c!
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Francis Glassborow wrote:
> 
> novice finds learning to program and learning to integrate his tools an
> extra burden worth avoiding.

And after the novice integrates himself into MSVC++, CBuilder, rhIDE, or
some other cozy environment, and shows up on c.l.c or c.l.c++ asking
tool and platform dependent questions, you may point out that the
questions are not in the realm of Standard C or C++. The novice will not
even understand the reply, since the boundary of his world is mapped by
the IDE and its toolset.

This effect has been exploited for some time. DEC, IBM, Microsoft,
Borland, and others have made certain schools and universities have easy
access to their products, capturing yet another generation of novices.
In a cynical mood, one could ask if there would be a GNU today, if DEC
equipment running some flavor of unix had not been so prevalent in
universities almost thirty years ago.

In any craft, one starts by learning to use the tools of the trade.
Apprentice yourself to a crew of wizards, and sooner or later you will
find yourself living in the hell of the ancient children's tale.