[PLUG] new guy with questions

Aaron Burt aaron at bavariati.org
Tue Jun 13 18:23:58 UTC 2006


On Tue, Jun 13, 2006 at 08:59:15AM -0700, Eric Biggs wrote:
> Thanks for the direction to FreeGeek, If I am right it is at 1731 SE 10th 
> Ave.  I think I'll bring my computer seeing that I am convinced that I want 
> Linux.  Is the clinic/meeting/whatever from 1 pm to 5 pm?

Correct-a-mundo!  And John Jason Jordan may be there.  He's a linguistics
student at PSU, and may have some tips on working with other languages.

> My motivation for learning C++ is kind of to add to my repitoire of 
> languages, though I don't know any computer languages yet.  I am a 
> classical (koine) Greek student as well as classical Hebrew (not 
> Paleo-Hebrew) and I'm going to be switching my major (eventually) to 
> applied linguistics.  I was "looking down the road" and considered being 
> familar with computaional linguistics and thought to myself, "self, you 
> should learn a computer language."  It seems that in this field C++ is 
> dominate.

Indeed.  There are many computer languages, and in my opinion, C++ is
like English: it may be a chaotic mishmash of different languages and
world-models, but it *is* dominant in many areas, and brutally effective
when used with skill.

Programming is an expressive art independent of language.  There are
other languages that are easier to learn first.  I might recommend Python
or Ruby; there are good books and local groups that can help you learn.

> Those that replied to my posts did some kind of inserting of my posts into 
> their replies...

It's called bottom-posting, and has been the traditional style for
electronic communications these past few decades.  Questions and such are
quoted and indented, responses are placed below them.

Top-posting (and the email virus) has come into vogue with the advent of
Microsoft Outlook on Windows, much to the consternation of us old-
timers, who prefer to converse rather than exchange broadsides.  <grin>

Thank you for noticing, and for asking.  Your humility and knack for
observation is rare and most valuable.




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