Bjarne Stroustrup says

[Teddy]

Hello all

Bjarne Stroustrup says "The most important thing to do when learning
C++ is to focus on concepts and not get lost in language-technical
details" and "Focus on programming techniques, not on language
features" in his book <The C++ Programming Language>.

I don't follow these.
What does Bjarne Stroustrup actually mean?

[Victor Bazarov]

BigBrian wrote:

To emphasize the forest analogy: Concentrating on the tree only generates a
nice tree. The problem is that the forest is then populated by that tree
only. The first infection then jeopardizes the entire forest.
Yes, this analogy may sound good, but in reality [...]

I think that analogy is lost on you. Sorry I couldn't find anything
better.

So, since I don't agree that this analogy appiles to writting code, you
infer that I just don't understand. I gave my reasons, you can
disagree with them if you like ( but your inference is not called for).

Writing code is only part of programming. Writing perfect code is only
one possible way of implementing something. I think if you only see that
the analogy applies to writing code, you have already lost the view of the
forest for the trees. [And whatever inferences I draw don't have to be
called for. I draw them because I want to or because I feel like doing
so. No offense is intended in either case.]

I said I was sorry because I couldn't find a better (easier to understand)
analogy. Here is another one: while studying patterns of seasonal bird
migrations, there is no sense in concentrating on the shape of
a particular bird's wings, although they might play some role in how far
or how fast birds can fly... No? Missed again? I give up then.

V

[Andrew Koenig]

"Victor Bazarov" <v.********@com Acast.net> wrote in message
news:lM******** ***********@new sread1.mlpsca01 .us.to.verio.ne t...

I said I was sorry because I couldn't find a better (easier to understand)
analogy. Here is another one: while studying patterns of seasonal bird
migrations, there is no sense in concentrating on the shape of
a particular bird's wings, although they might play some role in how far
or how fast birds can fly... No? Missed again? I give up then.

Here's another try: You need more than just a good vocabulary to be a good
writer. Most people will improve their writing faster by studying how to
use the words they already know than they will by learning new words.

[Victor Bazarov]

Andrew Koenig wrote:

[...] You need more than just a good vocabulary to be a good
writer. Most people will improve their writing faster by studying how to
use the words they already know than they will by learning new words.

Thanks, Andrew, that helps.

[Robbie Hatley]

"BigBrian" <wo**@brianmiel ke.com> wrote in message
news:11******** **************@ z14g2000cwz.goo glegroups.com :

This might be true when learning, but its definately NOT true in
general. I've seen alot of code written by people who didn't
understand the intricacies of the language and it tends to be brittle
and hard to maintain.

Ummm, yes; and I've seen a whole lot of code written by
a man who DOES understand the intricacies of C and C++,
and yet, his code is extremely brittle and hard to maintain.
I should know, because I'm the one hired to maintain it
after he was fired.

Making code non-brittle has more to do with seeing a bigger
picture, asking "what if conditions x or y change? What if...
what if... what if..." and taking steps to innoculate the
code against those contingencies.

Brittle code comes about when someone is rushed or lazy or
panicing to meet a deadline. "Contingencies? ! Structure?!
Documentation?! Who has time for that $#!^! I've got to
get this @#$%&*!#$ program working!!!" Hence, code that
works, but is 650000 lines long, has no comments, has no
documentation, is full of subtle bugs, and is hard to
maintain.

Sigh.
--
Cheers,
Robbie Hatley
Tustin, CA, USA
email: lonewolfintj at pacbell dot net
web: home dot pacbell dot net slant earnur slant


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