Hobby languages
in [Cobol]
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From: George Orwell on 20 Jul 2010 20:19 > Let's say I want to write a Sudoko puzzler, a Rubic's Cube solver, or > a word puzzle solver. My home computer is a Mac and I expect this > won't change when I retire. > > What languages would you recommend for such a person? Hello Howard, I think the best language ever to hit the PC is Ada. I think a guy like you (from what I have seen of your postings anyway) would love it. It's like PL/I on steroids. If not for the fact it's only available (well modern versions anyway) under the GPL, it would be perfect. Actually the supplied libraries are LGPL (sortof kindof asfarasweknow) but most 3rd party libs are pure shitty GPL. If that doesn't bother you then there is no better language on the PC than Ada, and if it weren't for assembler there would be no better mainframe language either. Il mittente di questo messaggio|The sender address of this non corrisponde ad un utente |message is not related to a real reale ma all'indirizzo fittizio|person but to a fake address of an di un sistema anonimizzatore |anonymous system Per maggiori informazioni |For more info https://www.mixmaster.it
From: Richard on 20 Jul 2010 21:33 On Jul 21, 12:19 pm, George Orwell <nob...(a)mixmaster.it> wrote: > > Let's say I want to write a Sudoko puzzler, a Rubic's Cube solver, or > > a word puzzle solver. My home computer is a Mac and I expect this > > won't change when I retire. > > > What languages would you recommend for such a person? > > Hello Howard, > > I think the best language ever to hit the PC is Ada. I think a guy like you > (from what I have seen of your postings anyway) would love it. It's like > PL/I on steroids. If not for the fact it's only available (well modern > versions anyway) under the GPL, it would be perfect. Actually the supplied > libraries are LGPL (sortof kindof asfarasweknow) but most 3rd party libs > are pure shitty GPL. If that doesn't bother you then there is no better > language on the PC than Ada, and if it weren't for assembler there would be > no better mainframe language either. Your pseudonym is so appropriate because this message is just right for '1984'. .. apart from the bits about the GPL which is uninformed. """The FSF compiler is freely available and doesn't have the license restrictions of the GNAT GPL.""" """GNAT Modified GPL releases With these releases of GNAT, you can distribute your programs in binary form under licensing terms of your own choosing; you are not bound by the GPL.""" """GCC version 4.4 switched to version 3 of the GNU General Public License and grants a Runtime Library Exception similar in spirit to the GNAT Modified General Public License used in all previous versions. This Runtime Library Exception applies to run-time libraries for all languages, not just Ada.""" If you don't like the idea of GPL, or similar, then purchase commercial versions of GNAT and the 3rd party libraries. You seem to want stuff for free that you can build on and sell.
From: Pete Dashwood on 21 Jul 2010 02:26 Howard Brazee wrote: > On Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:02:58 +1200, "Pete Dashwood" > <dashwood(a)removethis.enternet.co.nz> wrote: > >> Why not do it in COBOL if that is what you are comfortable with? >> >> (COBOL stringing/unstringing facilities might be very useful for a >> word puzzler...) >> >> Procedural things like puzzle solving can be adequately done in COBOL >> although the solution may take a little more writing than in another >> language. > > Finding a good compiler for my Mac might be harder than learning, say > Lisp. Why not install Open COBOL? While it doesn't support OO, you probably won't need OO for games (unless you are thinking about avanced adventure gaming, where there could be some advantages in using OO). Back in the early 80's when PCs were still far from established, I remember writing a Casino Blackjack game (in Basic) to run on a Sinclair ZX Spectrum, for a friend's kids. I didn't know Basic at the time and learned it for the exercise. It was a lot of fun to do, and the kids involved loved the resulting program. Basic was more than adequate for this task. I tried Lisp on one project many years ago and found it excellent for data management and search, but I don't think I'd want to write a game in it. Oddly enough, many of the arcade games that ran on Texas Instruments chips during the 80s and 90s were written in Pascal. If it were me, and I was in your situation, I'd use Open COBOL. :-) Pete. -- "I used to write COBOL...now I can do anything."
From: Rene_Surop on 21 Jul 2010 07:27 On Jul 21, 2:26 pm, "Pete Dashwood" <dashw...(a)removethis.enternet.co.nz> wrote: > Howard Brazee wrote: > > On Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:02:58 +1200, "Pete Dashwood" > > <dashw...(a)removethis.enternet.co.nz> wrote: > > >> Why not do it in COBOL if that is what you are comfortable with? > > >> (COBOL stringing/unstringing facilities might be very useful for a > >> word puzzler...) > > >> Procedural things like puzzle solving can be adequately done in COBOL > >> although the solution may take a little more writing than in another > >> language. > > > Finding a good compiler for my Mac might be harder than learning, say > > Lisp. > > Why not install Open COBOL? > > While it doesn't support OO, you probably won't need OO for games (unless > you are thinking about avanced adventure gaming, where there could be some > advantages in using OO). > > Back in the early 80's when PCs were still far from established, I remember > writing a Casino Blackjack game (in Basic) to run on a Sinclair ZX Spectrum, > for a friend's kids. I didn't know Basic at the time and learned it for the > exercise. It was a lot of fun to do, and the kids involved loved the > resulting program. Basic was more than adequate for this task. > > I tried Lisp on one project many years ago and found it excellent for data > management and search, but I don't think I'd want to write a game in it. > > Oddly enough, many of the arcade games that ran on Texas Instruments chips > during the 80s and 90s were written in Pascal. > > If it were me, and I was in your situation, I'd use Open COBOL. :-) > > Pete. > -- > "I used to write COBOL...now I can do anything." For my retirement.... I would create a "personal" blog on my website, and of course watching the wheels turn around (John Lennon). My website is done in Cobol; http://www.infodynamicsconsult.com/Forum_main.asp Though it is local, I like the way it was built and patterned around vBulletin format.
From: Anonymous on 21 Jul 2010 08:35
> I tried Lisp on one project many years ago and found it excellent for > data management and search, but I don't think I'd want to write a game in > it. LISP has come a long long way and now is equal to almost any HLL in function, with tons of built-ins and many libraries available. It's just so hard to get adjusted to for many people it hasn't caught on. It's very good, but just not what many people are used to. For games it's probably a top choice with excellent built-in number crunching capabilities (large integer support, etc.) and many graphics library interfaces. For those inclined to use it, it's a fine language with much support. If all you're used to is algorithmic (algebraic) languages you'll be in for a shock though. |