Programming languages is quirky
I've been writing more code lately, and I see myself writing a lot more over the next year. I need to get good at writing C code, keep getting better at python and add fortran to the list of languages that I'm competent in working in, along side the more scientifically oriented matlab and mathematica. I wasn't really into programming in the first few years of my college life although I was interested in algorithms. They were logical and intuitive and thought provoking, which isn't usually the case with programming languages. I guess they're like spoken languages and the same way the phonetics of a language and the underlying rules need to be respected, if you want the other person to understand what you're trying to convey, a program has the various semi-colons, colons, braces and everything so the computer, actually the compiler, understand what you want it to do. I brought up the spoken language analogy because i'm trying to think if there is a programming language that is similar to what the sign language is. While it is true that a large amount of inter-personal communication is through non-verbal cues, even among deaf people, i'm trying to understand the inability to stress on certain parts of your speech and how that can be overcome. Again, the reason i'm taking about spoken languages as programming languages is because I was personally put off from programming initially because I didn't like the syntax associated with it. I'm sure there are languages out there that can convey information in it's entirety without need for complexity and i think it'd be interesting if there were a programming language like that. I was also put off by the way in which programming was being taught. I feel that an application oriented teaching style would get through better to a student's mind. I guess i'll just have to wait and see if I change my opinions and if i'll find anyone to argue with on this topic.