js is the best language ever made, despite its flaws.

It doesn't surprise me to hear you say that.

In reply to a post by AnotherExPipex:

but not for teaching purposes.

And by that, you mean 'you need to learn how a computer works on a hardware level to work with c++ effectively.' so as a language to teach someone doing a compsci degree, it's perfect. But for a first language, it sucks, because you are better off learning the fundamentals of programming syntax without worrying about data types and pointers etc. By mastering simple languanges first, you can then dive into learning C++ with also having to learn programming too, if you catch my drift. Tthe fact that the OP is having trouble with basic coding, coding that is independent from C++ as a language, suggests that they skipped courses that you'd usually take at A-level. I certainly remember the first thing we did in A-level computing was learn pascal.

In reply to a post by AnotherExPipex:

It doesn't surprise me to hear you say that.

just take one simple example. Arrays. In js, you can do var a = [], then push(), pop(), sort(), join(), slice().. you can do everything and anything with it, and what you can't do you can simple add by making your own method. Compare that to c#. The standard array is so inflexible, ms had to add new array types in .net, and even then they made it overly verbose. You need lists and sorted lists, stacks and queues. Each one has their own methods, that you can't use one the other. It's lame.

A lot of languages could learn a thing or two from js.

Edited by deleted (Thu 10-Dec-09 17:10:10)

Sounds like you need Smalltalk - far more flexible.

And by that, you mean 'you need to learn how a computer works on a hardware level to work with c++ effectively.'

No I don't.

In reply to a post by AnotherExPipex:

... or even Perl.

In reference to james-iry.blogspot.com/2009/05/brief-incomplete-and-mostly-wrong.html:

1987 - Larry Wall falls asleep and hits Larry Wall's forehead on the keyboard. Upon waking Larry Wall decides that the string of characters on Larry Wall's monitor isn't random but an example program in a programming language that God wants His prophet, Larry Wall, to design. Perl is born

....

1995 - Brendan Eich reads up on every mistake ever made in designing a programming language, invents a few more, and creates LiveScript. Later, in an effort to cash in on the popularity of Java the language is renamed JavaScript.

In reply to a post by Kenneth:

In reference to james-iry.blogspot.com/2009/05/brief-incomplete-and-mostly-wrong.html:

1987 - Larry Wall
1995 - Brendan Eich reads up on every mistake ever made in designing a programming language, invents a few more, and creates LiveScript. Later, in an effort to cash in on the popularity of Java the language is renamed JavaScript.

The only reason ecmascript sucks so much is that loads of java devs ruined it early on, and microsoft kept all the bugs in it for 'backwards compatibility'.

Of course, the other main disadvantage to learning C++ as a first language, is that you'll become a huge snob.

Miaow!