Programming skills (was: Teaching kids about - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

26 Nov 2007

--------Original Message:
Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2007 17:09:36 -0500 (EST)
From: der Mouse <mouse at Rodents.Montreal.QC.CA>
Subject: Re: Programming skills (was: Teaching kids about
	computers...)

...
 > Although some people apparently disagree, dBase is
not an application
> program; it's very similar to BASIC (and grew and matured just like
> BASIC did) but with fairly extensive file-handling and
> screen-handling capabilities. 
...
 How does that make it "not an application
program"? 
...
 I suppose this really amounts to "just what do you
understand an
`application program' to be?".  Certainly my own understanding of the
term leaves room for something like dBase (or a Lisp engine, possibly
even with a text editor attached...or for a C compiler...or for that
matter for a BASIC engine). 
---------Reply:
You're absolutely correct of course; *any* piece of software written to make 
a computer do a certain task, including compilers, assemblers etc. is an
"application program" and I thank you for pointing out that there is no 
distinction to be made between an accounting package or an MP3 player
or the software controlling a car's engine and a computer "language" with 
defined words and symbols, rules of grammar and syntax etc. designed and 
used specifically to "program" some of those very applications (and which I 
mis-understood to be something distinct from an "application program")...

And of course there's no categorical difference either between a hammer 
and saw and the chest of drawers one might build with them; both items 
intended for a specific "application."

I've learned an important lesson (mainly: to as of right now try *very hard* to
stop wasting time with these picayune "discussions") and I thank you again.

m