From: ChuckEasttom <chuckeasttom AT my-deja DOT com>
Newsgroups: alt.comp.lang.learn.c-c++,comp.os.msdos.djgpp,comp.programming
Subject: Re: Undertaking a programming journey
Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2000 11:27:59 GMT
Organization: Deja.com - Before you buy.
Lines: 108
Message-ID: <8t3rnr$sft$1@nnrp1.deja.com>
References: <MOqE5.2173$W31 DOT 29870 AT news1 DOT online DOT no> <8scg36$gsm$1 AT nnrp1 DOT deja DOT com> <39E9CF07 DOT 785C0C0F AT eton DOT powernet DOT co DOT uk> <8scls9$kth$1 AT nnrp1 DOT deja DOT com> <rgnjusgvadc5q9d53jticrrgdthc9af3lv AT 4ax DOT com> <39E9FAD5 DOT DE1FDAE4 AT eton DOT powernet DOT co DOT uk> <8sdrub$h7u$1 AT nnrp1 DOT deja DOT com> <njPI5.7153$e5 DOT 18270 AT newsfeeds DOT bigpond DOT com> <8t2dkl$pi1$1 AT nnrp1 DOT deja DOT com> <39F52E56 DOT C516F9EF AT eton DOT powernet DOT co DOT uk>
NNTP-Posting-Host: 24.179.87.124
X-Article-Creation-Date: Tue Oct 24 11:27:59 2000 GMT
X-Http-User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows NT 5.0; Compaq; DigExt)
X-Http-Proxy: 1.1 x63.deja.com:80 (Squid/1.1.22) for client 24.179.87.124
X-MyDeja-Info: XMYDJUIDchuckeasttom
To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
DJ-Gateway: from newsgroup comp.os.msdos.djgpp
Reply-To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com

In article <39F52E56 DOT C516F9EF AT eton DOT powernet DOT co DOT uk>,
  Richard Heathfield <binary AT eton DOT powernet DOT co DOT uk> wrote:
> ChuckEasttom wrote:
> >
> <snip tirade from a Mr D Steward>
> > >
> > >
> > One of the weaknesses of usenet is that it allows people to go off
on
> > tirades totally devoid of anything approaching civil behavior.
>
> Ohhhhh I dunno... I'm sure it's a useful safety valve for some people.
> :-)

Could be, and for some (yourself included) a simple request to tone
down the rhetoric is sufficient.  BTW I do thank and congratulate you
for your willingness to change the tone of our various discussions.

>
> > Since
> > you have never seen a line of my code, you will forgive me for not
> > giving your opinion of my programming capabilities more weight.
>
> Well, I can see why you would not treat Mr Steward's opinion terribly
> seriously. Nevertheless, even though he is somewhat forthright, he
does
> have a point about Schildt, as has already been discussed not only by
us
> but by a million C programmers before us.
>

Welll I would say a million is a bit of an exaggeration.  However Mr.
Stewards opinion seems to be (note I say 'seems to be') this:  Schildts
books do have mistakes, ergo if you like schildt at all then you are an
incompetent programmer.  I personally think that is a tremendous leap
of thinking with very little logical basis.


> > I have
> > never said that Schildt was a great author or that his books where
> > perfect.
>
> No, you haven't. Nevertheless, I think you may have failed to
understand
> the sheer levels of incompetence to which Mr Schildt's programs
strive.
> I gave you an example recently, I believe. It's by no means atypical.

To be frank I have never tried to run any of his sample code.  I used
his books in my early days of learning C and C++ to quickly get the
concepts.  Everyone has admitted that his writting style is very good.
I found, and still feel, that this writting style allowed him to
quickly and efficiently present programming concepts in a very clear
manner.  Thats all, no more and no less.


>
> > I do feel that he does a good job of presenting concepts in a
> > very easily understood manner.
>
> Right. He does. Unfortunately, his explanations, though easily
> understood, are /flawed/. Let me find you an example - I shan't be
long,
> I promise you!...

It does not matter what example you find. I have not once said anything
one way or another about the sample code in his books.  You are arguing
a point,I have not made.

>
<snip irrelevant example>

> > No more no less.  If that opinion
> > upsets you to the degree that it seems to have, then I suggest you
> > might consider consulting a therapist... and I mean that in all
> > sincerity without any sarcasm at all.
>
> It doesn't bother me if you like Schildt, but (if you value your
> reputation) I think you'd be well-advised to steer clear of
recommending
> him to others in a newsgroup where technical accuracy is a concern, or
> you will attract many more mini-flames such as Mr D Steward's.
>

Frankly speaking I am seeing more and more people in this newsgroup who
seem to boost their own self esteem from frankly attacking other, in
which case I find it hard to really care what such people think of my
reputation.  My reputation remains intact with those who have:
      a.  Actually worked with me
      b.  Employed me
      c.  Or met me in person.

If someone on the net does not like me or respect me I can hardly be
overly distraught about this.

> --
> Richard Heathfield
> "Usenet is a strange place." - Dennis M Ritchie, 29 July 1999.
> C FAQ: http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/C-faq/top.html
> K&R answers, C books, etc: http://users.powernet.co.uk/eton
>

--
http://www.geocities.com/~chuckeasttom/


Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.